Carlton v Collingwood: Magpies move closer to playing finals following frenetic win over Blues
Chris Mayne has likely fractured his cheekbone after a sickening collision with Patrick Cripps, which has led to an outpouring of love and support from Collingwood players including Scott Pendlebury and Taylor Adams.
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Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says he is working hard to chase a maiden premiership but even if he does not win one, missing out will not define him.
Buckley ended his press conference after Sunday’s 24-point win over Carlton by raising a Herald Sun article suggesting there was an emptiness inside him because he had not triumphed in an AFL Grand Final as a player or senior coach.
“My life is very far from empty – I don’t have a flag, but I will be working towards it,” Buckley said.
“That’s not going to define me, whether I get it or not.
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“My life is very full and I’m very fortunate. I’ve got a lot of love and got a great club, and great group of boys and I’m looking forward to whatever the next couple of months brings.”
The Magpies went a long way to securing another finals berth because of Sunday’s result, in a match that had a huge build-up and the intensity of an elimination final.
Buckley said the club felt the significance of the game leading into it and was determined to beat the Blues.
“We were really looking forward to the contest and there’s obviously a bit of spark that it’s a Carlton-Collingwood game,” he said.
“I was hearing from mates of mine I didn’t even know barracked for Carlton over the last couple of days and they were looking forward to the game and thought they were going to go well.
“I’ll be getting back to them in the next 24 hours.
“That was the strongest performance we’ve put together over the last five or six weeks and we want to see that continue.”
Collingwood’s win moved it to sixth spot on the ladder with an 8-5-1 record ahead of another crunch clash – against premiership fancy Brisbane at the Gabba on Friday night.
The Magpies go into the game having triumphed in four of their past five and believing they can beat anyone if they play their way.
“We’ve always had that confidence in the way we played,” Buckley said.
“We’ve had to really grind out the last five or six weeks and I think most sides sort of feel like they’re in that position.
“Pretty footy will get you so far, but really it’s that consistency of being able to stay in shape and win contested ball and defend well that’s going to keep you in games.
“There’s been a fair bit of scrutiny on the way we’ve gone about the last five or six weeks and outside of the West Coast and Melbourne games we’ve been fairly competitive.
“We’ve used 39 players so we’ve gone to the depth of our squad.”
Buckley said Chris Mayne’s contest with Patrick Cripps in the last quarter, which led to Mayne likely fracturing his cheekbone, being knocked out and going to hospital, reflected how the ex-Fremantle Docker played.
Collingwood players, including captain Scott Pendlebury and Taylor Adams, joined the outpouring of respect for Mayne after the sickening injury.
“His commitment to this team and this club is unrivalled. A caring, loving soul off the field, on the field he just does whatever it takes,” Adams tweeted alongside a love heart icon.
His commitment to this team and this club is unrivalled. A caring, loving soul off the field, on the field he just does whatever it takes. ðŸ™â¤ï¸ https://t.co/hUtpYaVOef
— Taylor Adams (@taylor_adams13) August 30, 2020
This Man! 🤠pic.twitter.com/WOWCUwPPB2
— Brodie Grundy (@brodiegrundy) August 30, 2020
â¤ï¸ https://t.co/tBT5Jw2T0n
— Scott Pendlebury (@SP_10) August 30, 2020
He is one bloke that you know will give his all week in and week out. Absolutely love playing alongside him â¤ï¸â¤ï¸ https://t.co/m0Q3ckIveU
— Jack Crisp (@jmancrisp) August 30, 2020
Buckley said: “That’s the second week in a row that a contest of his was really crucial in the flow of the game,” he said.
“It’s a bloke who continues to put his body on the line and his teammates love him, but he’s not in a great way at the moment.
“He’s a sore boy.”
TEAGUE TAKES GOOD WITH THE BAD
Carlton coach David Teague was frustrated with losing to Collingwood on Sunday but was determined to bounce back in what could be a last roll of the dice to make the eight against GWS on Thursday night.
The Blues dropped to 12th on the ladder with a 6-7 record after failing to kick a goal in the second half.
It was a huge game for the fierce rivals’ finals chances and now Carlton would likely need to win all four of its remaining matches to make the finals for the first time since 2013.
But Teague said the result was “a tough one to swallow full stop because we probably didn’t play our way for four quarters and that’s what we came here to do”.
“It was probably a little bit frustrating,” said Teague, who talked down the significance of the game in the build-up to it.
“It leaves us ready to compete in four days’ time against GWS and that’s what we’ll do.
“We’ll prepare for that, we’ll put our energy into a quick review, learn from this and we know we’ve got a lot of areas to get better at.”
Teague said his side showed some really good signs but could not finish off, having actually had more inside 50s (43-40) than Collingwood.
“The second half, to Collingwood’s credit, they got the game on their terms and we didn’t play the way we wanted to play,” he said.
“They started to win the contest – that was probably the biggest difference.
“We still got the ball inside 50, but some of our ball use and connection inside 50 needs to improve.
“When we are on top in the contest, we need to make sure we are making the most of it on the scoreboard.”
PIES ALIVE, BUT BLUES’ SEASON IN THE BALANCE
Carlton’s season is on the ropes, while Collingwood has moved closer towards sealing a top-eight spot after the Magpies’ gritty 24-point win at the Gabba on Sunday.
Blues coach David Teague spent the week playing down the significance of the match, calling it “just another game” and saying Collingwood was one of the club’s “17 rivals”, but it clearly had extra significance and the intensity reflected an elimination final from the outset.
Neither team could break clear for most of the day and the biggest margin to either side was 10 points until Josh Daicos extended the Magpies’ advantage to 13 with eight minutes remaining.
In the end, Carlton failed to kick a goal in the second half and Collingwood came up big in the final term after trailing by two points at three-quarter time.
Goals were hard-earned for most of the match, apart from the second term when eight majors were kicked.
It became an arm-wrestle again in the third quarter and the first goal did not come until the 16th minute when Mason Cox trimmed the Blues’ lead back to three points.
Jaidyn Stephenson then butchered two chances to put the Magpies ahead – when he played from 25m out on a slight angle late in the third term and with a set-shot from 40m early in the last, which Liam Jones touched on the goal line, giving Collingwood its first lead since the opening half.
But he redeemed himself with a dribbled major from close range seven minutes into the last term.
Once Daicos and Brody Mihocek kicked their fourth-quarter goals, the result was sealed.
Carlton is up against it to make the eight now, sitting 12th with a 6-7 record.
The only dampener on Collingwood’s win was an injury to Chris Mayne, who was sent to hospital post-game with a suspected fractured cheekbone after a collision with Blue Patrick Cripps in the last quarter.
ELLIOTT ON BALL
Jamie Elliott starred for Collingwood in an unfamiliar midfield role.
Typically a small forward, Elliott was thrust on the ball in the absence of Steele Sidebottom, who returned to Melbourne for the birth of his child, and the injured Adam Treloar, and had an immediate influence, registering 13 disposals and six tackles in the first half.
He ended the match with 19.
Elliott’s season-high disposal count before Sunday was 15.
BETTS IS BACK
Eddie Betts has played his role, been unselfish as ever and provided a spark for the Blues over the past couple of months.
But there was one thing he had not done since Round 6 until Sunday – kick at least two goals in a game.
Betts, who returned to the Blues from Adelaide in the off-season, was lively from the outset and snapped truly on his left foot in the first term.
He added a second from a tight angle and continued to threaten near goals.
THREE-PRONG PIES
It will be interesting to see how long Collingwood persists with playing three 200cm-plus big men – Brodie Grundy, Darcy Cameron and Mason Cox.
For the second game in a row, the Magpies had the tall trio in their line-up.
In his sixth game for the season, Cox bobbed up to kick a crucial goal in the third quarter after a mark from the top of the goalsquare then booted the last major of the game.
Cameron was quiet, while Grundy was influential as the lead ruckman.
MAGPIES NOW LEVEL
Carlton entered the game having only won two of its past 12 clashes with the Magpies and holding a one-victory lead over them in terms of total victories since first facing off in 1897.
But the Magpies are now level with 127 apiece (and four draws) after their triumph.
It is the first time the teams have had the same number of wins since 1982.
SCOREBOARD
COLLINGWOOD 2.2 5.6 6.8 10.12 (72)
CARLTON 2.0 7.2 7.4 7.6 (48)
GOALS – Collingwood: Thomas, Stephenson, Mihocek 2, Phillips, Cox, Daicos.
Carlton: Betts 2, Walsh, McKay, Fisher, Newnes, Curnow.
BEST – Collingwood: Adams, Elliott, Pendlebury, Moore, Maynard, Grundy, Daicos, Crisp, Noble.
Carlton: Walsh, Curnow, Setterfield, Docherty, Weitering, Betts.
INJURIES – Collingwood: Nil.
Carlton: Nil.
MATT TURNER’S VOTES
3 – Taylor Adams (Collingwood)
2 – Jamie Elliott (Collingwood)
1 – Sam Walsh (Carlton)
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