Brodie Grundy the key to a Magpies upset against the Eagles, writes Matthew Lloyd
COLLINGWOOD’S biggest weapon is its midfield and any chance it has of causing a boilover in Perth will start with Brodie Grundy dictating in the ruck, writes MATTHEW LLOYD.
Matthew Lloyd
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COLLINGWOOD must use its biggest weapon, its midfield, to expose West Coast.
Brodie Grundy should dictate terms in the ruck against Scott Lycett and give first use of the ball to his in-form, onball brigade of Steele Sidebottom, Scott Pendlebury, Taylor Adams, Jordan De Goey and Adam Treloar.
It’s a strength. The Magpies are the No.1 clearance team in the AFL and they rank second for contested possession.
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The Magpies have also been lauded for their pressure and it has been the key reason why they have held their position in the top four, despite a high injury toll.
The Eagles love to control the ball and are a highly skilled group by foot.
They will slice and dice you all night long if you allow them and they did exactly that to Collingwood at the MCG in Round 17.
They took 104 uncontested marks on their way to a convincing 35-point win.
While Collingwood’s strength is its midfield, the Eagles are superior at both ends of the ground with quality players in defence and attack.
Jeremy McGovern, Shannon Hurn and the under-rated Brad Sheppard took 35 marks between them in Round 17.
In attack, the starting six forwards have kicked 180 goals between them this season.
Going into last year’s finals, teams feared the firepower of Adelaide’s forward six and over the next month West Coast may well be that team.
This will be the first time the six have played together this season, but Jack Darling, Josh Kennedy, Jamie Cripps, Mark LeCras, Willie Rioli and Liam Ryan is one scary proposition for an undermanned and undersized defence.
If Collingwood cannot take control in the midfield and lock the ball inside its forward half for large periods, I believe Nathan Buckley needs to use Grundy as Melbourne has used Max Gawn since Jake Lever’s season-ending injury in Round 11.
Gawn has taken 40 intercept marks for the season compared to Grundy’s 14.
Grundy likes to push forward, but to protect the Collingwood defence in the air from power players Kennedy and Darling, Grundy will have to alter his game to support the likes of Jeremy Howe and Tom Langdon in the defensive 50.
Kennedy is 196cm and 103kg and Howe 190cm and 88kg.
That is a daunting task for Howe if the match-up falls his way.
Howe is Collingwood’s best key defender in the absence of Lynden Dunn, who was taking the monster forwards.
But with that height and weight differential, Grundy’s ability to give aerial support is critical.
The tactical battle between coaches Adam Simpson and Buckley will be intriguing because their teams’ styles of play are polar opposites.
The Eagles want to own possession and the Pies want speed on the ball in a high-pressure contest.
The stakes are just massive with a home state preliminary final dangling in front of them.
Eagles by 20 points.
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