AFL finals 2022: All the latest news ahead of Collingwood’s semi-final clash against Fremantle
John Noble’s Collingwood had just sealed his dad’s coaching fate when father and son shared a bittersweet moment on the MCG. The Magpies breakout star takes you inside their embrace.
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First, it was the butcher.
Then, stacking shelves overnight – “night fill”.
For John Noble, eventually working as a day manager at Foodland supermarket while playing SANFL with West Adelaide and studying teaching, AFL had seemed a world away.
Let alone a finals series, on the MCG, for arguably the biggest club in town.
Fast forward to 2022 and the defender – a 2019 mid-year draftee – says he could have only “laughed” at the prospect of a third shot at September.
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“I’d be pinching myself if you’d said in three and a half or four years’ time, I’d be representing Collingwood in my third finals appearance,” Noble said this week.
“I would have laughed at you. It’s a dream come true and the longer I’m in the system, I become more and more grateful for the position that I’m in and am forever thankful to Collingwood – Dekka (Derek Hine, recruiting manager) and Ned (Guy, then list manager) at the time – for giving me a chance.
“It’s just unbelievable. It’s been an amazing journey so far and I just want to grab every bit of it.”
Collingwood – which faces Fremantle in an elimination semi-final on Saturday – is hopeful it still has at least a few weeks left to go, but to say it has been a big year for the Noble family would be an understatement.
Noble, 25, bears an intricate sleeve tattoo on his right arm that depicts African animals to represent his family members – his father, David, a striking lion on his forearm.
As his father – then coach of North Melbourne – bore the blowtorch of scrutiny before he was ultimately sacked from Arden Street just days after Collingwood and North Melbourne met in round 17, Noble admits he could not have anticipated how difficult that period would be as he knuckled down across town.
Fairness, he believes, is not a certainty when it comes to football.
“It can be tough,” he said.
“I probably didn’t think it was going to affect me as much as it did, to be honest.
“But I’ve got an amazing family unit with the support that I have with my family, my friends, my partner. They’ve been massive for what dad’s gone through.
“He’s been in the system for a very long time and has got a lot of respect for what he’s done and contributed to the game. He’s aware that footy can be a cutthroat industry, and sometimes not as fair as it should be. He knows how to deal with those sort of things. We supported him as a family.
“Sometimes things happen for a reason, but it is what it is.”
The pair embraced at the end of their MCG clash in round 17 – a bittersweet moment.
“It was a little reflection,” Noble said.
“It was maybe a nice moment, but also not. It is what it is. He’s processed it and is moving on and spending some quality time with mum up in Queensland, which is nice.”
David is preparing to lead a review of St Kilda, and Magpie Noble said he “would be silly” not to draw on his father’s extensive experience and “unrivalled” knowledge of the game as the Pies attempt to push for a preliminary final berth.
He said the transformation of the club under coach Craig McRae had translated on-field, and while it had been an “incredible” ride from a results point of view, the bigger picture had to be recognised.
“Having Fly and the new coaches and new staff, the whole club has just been feeling completely different in terms of its environment,” Noble said.
“The genuine care that we all have for each other has been building over the last couple of years and I think this year it’s really started to jell and it’s certainly gone to another level.
“It’s an amazing place to come to work each day and that flows through every department of the footy club at the moment. It’s showing on-field. To win those close games, you have to be close to your teammates and know what they do under pressure and things like that.
“It’s been an amazing journey so far.”
DE GOEY VERDICT IN AFTER PIES TRAINING RUN
Rebecca Williams
Collingwood coach Craig McRae has declared Jordan De Goey “right to go” for Saturday’s sudden-death semi-final against Fremantle.
Testing out his sprained AC joint at training on Thursday morning, the Collingwood star completed a slightly reduced training load, sitting out a couple of contact drills and the tail-end of match simulation.
But McRae said De Goey had done more than the Magpies had hoped for.
“Jordy will be right to go,” McRae said.
“We actually, funnily enough, thought he did more than we were asking.
“He is confident that his shoulder is going to be fine
“He may be in discomfort for the rest of the year, maybe, but according to what he needed to do well today, he ran around well and we are confident he will play.”
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De Goey suffered a grade one sprained AC joint in the Magpies’ qualifying final loss to Geelong, but played out the match.
McRae said there was no concern over star defender Darcy Moore after he copped a knock on one of the training drills on Thursday.
“In one of the contact drills, he just got kneed on the knee, so no issues at all,” McRae said.
Of more concern was finding a replacement for injured vice-captain Taylor Adams, whose campaign ended after he suffered a serious groin injury against the Cats.
“It’s a difficult one,” McRae said.
“We don’t have a plethora of Taylor Adams on our list, we don’t.
“He is a unique player, he is a contested player and we just don’t have a replacement so then you go, ‘What moving parts do we have?’.
“Can we get somebody to play a different role? There is a whole array of things we need to discuss at match committee this afternoon.”
Colac eye guy playing key role in Pies’ finals fairytale
– Lauren Wood
It’s one of football’s unlikeliest friendships.
A former college basketballer from Texas and the optometrist from Colac.
But it’s been game-changing. Literally.
The prescription glasses that made their debut this season have been an addition to Mason Cox’s game that the 211cm former basketballer admits have attracted way more attention than he could have imagined.
As the curious case of the stolen spectacles continues, Collingwood big man Mason Cox has credited Colac optical specialist John Carbury for his role in reviving his playing career.
An accidental poke to the eye in 2019 resulted in surgery for a torn retina, with surgeons also discovering that Cox’s otherretina was detached after a different incident.
Left legally blind for a period that year, Cox was restricted to a dark room on his back for 45 minutes of every hour, unable to move.
He feared he may never see properly again.
But his own investigations led him to Colac, of all places, about 150km southwest of Melbourne – a town primarily known for its dairy farming, and a few handy footballers along the way.
Cox said the relationship he had struck up with owner of the prescription eyewear company had become a treasured one, with the specialist even hitting the road in the lead-up to the Magpies’ qualifying final against Geelong last week in the wake of what could have been a costly theft.
The last fortnight sounds like a classic Cluedo scenario – but in this real-life turn of events, there’s no Colonel Mustard in the library.
Rather, a light-fingered thief in the mail room who recently made off with a parcel containing Cox’s prescription playing lenses.
Cox, who is in the thick of the finals series as Collingwood prepares to take on Fremantle at the MCG on Saturday, said police had scoured CCTV footage from his apartment block in an effort to apprehend the alleged offender who made off with the lenses worth more than $3000 – but essentially worth nothing to anyone but Cox.
It’s another unique chapter in the American Pie’s complex route to another premiership push.
“I went to the cop station the day that it happened,” Cox told the Herald Sun this week.
“It got stolen between 2pm and 5pm, I got home at 5 and my neighbours had seen the package at 2.
“They got CCTV footage of the guy walking in, so they have footage of him. They haven’t shared it with me. They can see him walk in, I had two packages stolen. One was like $50 worth, but the other one was the lenses.
“They’re completely custom, so they’re of no use for anyone else in this world. They probably pinched them, opened it, and then threw them out knowing they couldn’t re-sell them.”
Carbury was away in the Flinders Ranges when the theft took place, meaning his team at Eye Sports quickly went to work over a few hours to produce the prescription lenses before the man himself hit the road to Melbourne with the precious cargo.
“He was so nice to be able to drive here, drop some off and make sure everything was all right,” Cox said.
“He’s really looked after me for the whole year.
“(After they were stolen), he ordered them on the Monday, customised them on the Wednesday and then drove up on the Friday.
“I’ve got a lot (of pairs). He’s been able to change my career – just that one person. The whole story of me finding him was just off my own bat, just Googling this thing and trying to see it, and then sending a cold email.”
Carbury, who owns Eye Sports, said “the guys who took the call … didn’t really put two and two together” of who was on the other end of the inquiry.
“We worked out who he was, and that was kind of it,” Carbury said.
“We put it all together from there.”
Carbury told the Herald Sun that as the lengthy fitting process began – after Cox’s initial inquiry – sessions of kick-to-kick between his son and the star Pie had helped to tinker the “recipe” to produce the final product, including variations of different tints to account for stadium lighting.
“I’ve become really close friends with him – he’s a really nice guy,” Cox said this week.
In a twist of irony, Carbury – whose three sons all play football – is a Carlton supporter, with the Blues having had their season ended at the hands of the Pies in round 23.
Cox, who became an Australian citizen earlier this year, laughed that he could never have envisaged when he made his debut in 2016 that he could become something of a poster boy for prescription eyewear.
“It’s been unique,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of parents that have reached out to say, ‘My kid wears protective glasses and you’ve changed it completely, his life in a sense of his athletic career and his friendships to be able to play again’.
“That’s stuff that’s just a by-product. I didn’t expect that to really happen, but it’s pretty amazing to think in the situation and the environment that we are able to have that impact on people.
“It’s the whole reason you play sport, really, is to be able to change lives and be able to provide a bit of hope for other people and a bit of encouragement.”
Carbury, whose business produces prescription glasses and goggles for cyclists, athletes, motorsports competitors and snowsports enthusiasts along with plenty of football-playing kids, said the response in the wake of Cox’s serious vision issues in recent years had been evident.
“We certainly have picked up people because of Mason being out there, for sure,” he said.
“It’s been interesting really, the whole thing. He’s been a pleasure to work with. He really is just a kind and genuine person. It’s been really good.”
Hurt De Goey pushes case for semi-final start
Collingwood star Jordan De Goey got through most of training as he tested his sprained AC joint on the track at Magpies headquarters on Thursday morning.
De Goey completed most of the session, only sitting out a couple of contact drills and the tail-end of match simulation.
After it was revealed De Goey had suffered a grade one AC joint sprain on Saturday’s qualifying final loss, it was suggested De Goey would face a lighter week on the track ahead of the Magpies’ cut-throat semi-final clash against Fremantle on Saturday night.
Injured vice-captain Taylor Adam’s was seen looking on early in the session after his campaign was ended by a serious groin injury.
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Why Grundy’s understudy wants star to stay
– Scott Gullan and Lauren Wood
Collingwood ruckman Darcy Cameron has labelled the man he’s replaced, Brodie Grundy, as a “massive weapon” who he hopes is alongside him next year.
There is growing speculation Grundy will be squeezed out next year – with Melbourne a likely suitor – because of his sizeable $1 million plus contract combined with the impressive form of Cameron and back-up Mason Cox while he’s been out injured.
“I think we have shown this year that the two rucks work and you are able to do that 50-50 split where you can go forward and be damaging and then come into the ruck and have a bit more energy,” Cameron said.
“It works and I would love to be doing it with Brodie and I love doing it with Coxy as well for that matter.”
Cameron, 27, took over the No.1 ruck role in Round 7 after Grundy injured his knee. The dual All-Australian then suffered a stress fracture in his ankle while returning in a VFL game last month which ruled him out of the Pies finals campaign.
“I’ve really enjoyed (being No.1), obviously when Brodie went down earlier in the year I got given that opportunity I was really excited about it,” he said.
“I played a lot of ruck earlier in my career, playing NEAFL at the Swans even down Claremont, North Albany, I knew what to do so I was pretty exited by the opportunity.
“I think it is exciting that I can perform at the level in that position but also Brodie is a massive weapon for us as well and he dominates in the position as well.
“I lean on Brodie a lot, he has been around and played 150 plus games, he’s experienced the ruckmen that I am going up against every week so it is important to use him as a resource and get his opinion on how to tackle them each week.”
Cox has saved his career in the second half of the season, including a best-on-ground performance on Anzac Day, although he played a diminished role in Saturday’s qualifying final loss to Geelong.
He only played 46 per cent of game time against the Cats, which he said had largely been a result of sheer circumstance.
“I think it’s just that Darcy Cameron was stuck on the other side of the ground for about 10 minutes of the first quarter, so I was just sitting there on the side just twiddling my thumbs,” Cox said.
“Obviously everyone wants to get in and play, but it’s just situational, really. Sometimes you just can’t get on the ground and it is what it is – you can’t get upset with it.
“We’ve just got to make the most of the moments we have out there.”
Nathan Krueger was subbed into the game after months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, though Cox admitted he’s “got no idea” whether all three talls could realistically fit into the Magpies’ line-up this week in the semi-final against Fremantle.
“I don’t get paid enough to know those answers,” he said. “Kruegs has come back from a shoulder injury that we probably thought was the end of his season.
“His mentality is always ‘I’m going to get back’. He just loves footy and it’s just good to see him get the opportunity.”
Scans in: De Goey suffers injury blow
– Scott Gullan
Scans have confirmed Collingwood star Jordan De Goey suffered a grade one AC joint sprain in Saturday’s qualifying final loss to Geelong.
De Goey suffered the injury when he copped a bump in the second quarter but played out the game – including kicking two crucial last-quarter goals – with limited range of movement in his shoulder.
The Pies will limit his contact work at training this week but are expecting him to be available to play in Saturday’s semi-final against Fremantle.
Young forward Ash Johnson, who kicked a miracle goal from the boundary on Saturday, sustained a corked glute in the game but has also been cleared of major damage. He is expected to train fully on Thursday and take his spot against the Dockers.
Vice-captain Taylor Adams won’t be appearing again in the finals with scans confirming he’d ruptured his abductor in the final quarter against the Cats.
Adams had missed several weeks with a slight partial strain of the tendon in the same abductor but had managed to function at “quite a high level” before the rupture happened as he went to kick the ball.
“We know that these injuries now are long-term so unfortunately Taylor’s finals series is certainly over,” Collingwood’s high performance manager Jarrod Wade said.
“The time frames are around about the start of our pre-season training block towards the end of November, early December so Tay will be able to get stuck into his rehab over the next month or so.
“He will then start running in about five or six weeks time to be available for some level of training when we start pre-season training next year and probably full availability for all of our training drills comes in January.”
Pies star weighs in on McRae ‘losers’ comment
— Scott Gullan and Lauren Wood
Collingwood veteran Steele Sidebottom has backed coach Craig McRae’s post-game reminder to his players of the club’s “winner” mentality which has driven the Pies extraordinary turnaround this year.
McRae wasn’t happy when he saw several Magpies slump to the MCG turf after the heartbreaking six-point qualifying final loss to Geelong, saying he didn’t want his team to look like losers and vowed it would never happen again under his watch.
“I think the way that you carry yourself after a game and the way that we have carried ourselves through the whole year, and it started from pre-season with our body language and everything, we want to stand tall and be proud as that’s what winners do,” Sidebottom said.
“I support what Craig said, that’s the way we go about our business around here. It was spoken about after the game, his comments were very positive after the game, we lost by a goal to the top team who a lot of people have said are going to take some stopping.
“We take a lot of confidence out of that game and I’ll continue to say we can’t wait to take the opportunity that is in front of us (on Saturday against Fremantle).”
Pies ruckman Mason Cox said McRae had been serious about the way the players conducted themselves from his first day on the job.
“I wouldn’t say we looked like ‘losers’, we probably didn’t look like winners,” Cox said.
“We’ve got a big culture that has changed in the last year, and part of that in being a new coach is he wants to set a precedent that we are winners, from body language to everything else.
“I totally understand where he’s coming from. You look at what he’s been able to accomplish within a year and being a first-year coach – not many people have been able to do what he’s been able to do. When he makes solid statements like that, there’s a reason for it.
“He’s serious about the way we portray ourselves and the way we go about it. Over the weekend, he just saw a few boys laying down and thought it wasn’t the body language that a winner would portray so he made sure to nip it in the bud.
“I can guarantee you it won’t happen this year ever again.”
Sidebottom said the feeling after the game was similar to the 2018 qualifying final loss against the West Coast Eagles where the Pies led by 10 points at three-quarter time only to be overrun in the final term.
They then bounced back to defeat GWS in the semi-final and then upset Richmond in the preliminary final to set up a grand final showdown with the Eagles.
“I sort of got flashbacks to 18’ when we lost over in Perth,” Sidebottom said. “I guess the way we lost, clearly the boys were tipping in and you’ve got to be able to move on pretty quick.
“I think it is about being able to put last week behind us as quick as we can, taking the learnings from it but not dwelling on it too much.
“I probably found myself yesterday feeling sorry for myself a little bit but you‘ve got to be able to snap out of it as quick as you can at this time of the year, you have to be doing everything you can to prepare well and sitting at home sooking is probably not going to help.”
Sidebottom predicted Jordan De Goey, who injured his shoulder against the Cats, would be right to play against the Dockers despite not training on Monday.
The Pies will be without vice-captain Taylor Adams who suffered a serious groin injury on Saturday but Sidebottom said the sight of him at training had buoyed his team’s spirits.
“It is easy to stay at home and get stuck in your own head a bit,” Sidebottom said.
“For Tay to be here, he probably didn‘t have to be here today but it sends a strong message to everyone that we’re all in it together no matter if you’re playing or if you’re not.
“We‘ve all got a role to play and Tay has definitely got a big roll to play and it’s obviously not on the field but he is a leader of the footy club and he’ll keep leading.”
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Originally published as AFL finals 2022: All the latest news ahead of Collingwood’s semi-final clash against Fremantle
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