Collingwood big man Ben Reid among the eye catchers in Pies’ intra-club practice match
BEN Reid was a standout but his radar was off as Collingwood strutted its stuff in an intra-club practice match on Saturday. GILBERT GARDINER reports on the eye-catchers at the Holden Centre. SEE THE PICS
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BEN Reid was the standout for Collingwood in Saturday’s secret intra-club match at Olympic Park.
Reid, 28, starred in his new role as Magpies’ spearhead despite, at times, being let down by his set-shot routine.
The All Australian defender clunked everything he could reach, but failed to capitalise on the scoreboard.
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A frustrated Reid could be heard grumbling about the wayward shots during the one-sided affair, in which a stacked “Yellow” Magpies squad obliterated the “Black” team in the first half.
Not surprisingly, Reid benefited on the first class service from Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Taylor Adams, who rotated off halfback through the midfield.
Livewire Travis Varcoe provided a spark in attack, while father-son jet Josh Daicos used the ball well going forward.
Brayden Maynard played in a variety of roles, but faded in the second half.
He went head-to-head with Jordan De Goey in the first quarter, then rested forward and in defence either side of half-time.
Brodie Grundy and Mason Cox shared the ruck duties, while Lynden Dunn marshaled a backline, that included luckless defender Matt Scharenberg and Tom Langdon.
Wingman James Aish and Tim Broomhead showed the desperation of players entering the final year of their contracts.
Surprise Collingwood recruit Sam Murray looks set for a lockdown role in the backline, while top draft pick, Jaidyn Stephenson, who was taken pick No.6 in the draft, showed flashes in his first serious hitout before a likely AFLX campaign and JLT Series.
After being linked to a potential move to the backline, Darcy Moore was a notable absentee along with Daniel Wells, Jamie Elliott (ankle) and Jeremy Howe.
Gun midfielder Adam Treloar, Levi Greenwood (knee) and Alex Fasolo (shoulder) only ran laps of the boundary.
The Pies were keen to use the corridor at every opportunity with Reid the primary target.
But goalkicking remained problematic for Nathan Buckley’s charges despite multiple set-shot opportunities.
In a scratch match devoid of any real high points, Pendlebury, who had also been linked to a new halfback role, looked razor sharp in and around stoppages.
He showed no signs of discomfort from the finger complaints that plagued the end of 2017 season.
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