Collingwood will grow in confidence after fighting loss to Richmond at the MCG
RICHMOND may have taken home the four premiership points on Sunday. But when the two clubs reflect back on one of the best games of the season, it will be Collingwood who grows most in confidence.
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RICHMOND may have taken home the four premiership points on Sunday.
But when the two clubs reflect back on one of the best games of the season so far, it will be Collingwood who grows most in confidence from this one.
The 43-point Richmond win does not do the Pies justice, especially considering Collingwood lost Ben Reid (leg), James Aish (knee) and Brayden Maynard (leg) all to injuries after the main change.
GAME RECAP: HOW THE TIGERS EDGED THE PIES
MATCH STATS: WHO STOOD UP FOR TIGERS, PIES?
You commend the Tigers, who kicked away admirably in the eight-goal final term to maintain top spot on the ladder six rounds into their premiership defence.
We’re yet to really find any chinks in the yellow and black armour, aside from a second-round hiccup in Adelaide. They’re continuing to play on edge, the Tiges, and while they might not be the most talented team in the competition they are arguably the most disciplined.
The hard-fought victory was a club-record 12th consecutive win at the MCG and it’s going to take a mighty effort to pip them at the home of footy come September.
And when the whips were cracking on Sunday, premiership skipper Trent Cotchin continued to enhance his reputation as “one of the best five or six players in the AFL”, according to Paul Roos. Wayne Carey said Cotchin was the best captain in the league on Triple M.
The pressure was enormous throughout Sunday’s match but Cotchin showed incredible composure and toughness at a crucial period.
Weaving around two opponents close to the boundary, the brilliant ball winner hit up Josh Caddy on his non-preferred left foot to help break away from the Pies late in the third term.
On a weekend where former players and commentators widely lashed the standard of footy, Cotchin’s class stood out.
And ruckman Toby Nankervis also produced a heroic last term, taking a swathe of marks behind the ball, in his heavyweight battle against the AFL’s form big man Brodie Grundy.
Two of their other leaders, Jack Riewoldt and Dustin Martin also rallied late, while speedy small forward Dan Butler and Josh Caddy combined for seven goals.
Job done.
But the final 43-point margin at the MCG doesn’t do the evenness of this contest justice, nor the merit in this valiant Collingwood performance.
Magpies wingman Tom Phillips could have closed the margin to only 13 points in the last term when he was caught with the ball, virtually on the goal line.
Phillips (38 possessions) and Adam Treloar (42) both racked up career-highs, while first-gamer Flynn Appleby showed plenty of ticker in his first game in a back pocket.
Overall, however, against the best-performed team in the competition, Collingwood showed its overhauled game plan can stand up to finals-type footy, despite losing three men to injuries in the second half.
The Magpies lost Aish and Maynard (leg) in the third term and then star key forward Reid later in the fourth, and the stats tell you teams very rarely win when you are two men down on the bench.
If anything, the Pies will lament some concentration lapses around the stoppages after main change where Caddy slotted a pair of goals to put distance between the two teams.
Riewoldt also nailed one from a boundary throw-in in the fourth but by that point the injury-marred Pies looked out on their feet.
Mason Cox has been lauded for his aerial work over the past fortnight but he took his game to a new level early on Sunday with some towering marks.
The Tigers’ backmen were genuinely shaky there for a while as Collingwood targeted Cox with some high balls and the marks stuck, giving him a pair of goals.
The Magpies have shown faith in the 211cm Texan after a dismal Round 1 performance and despite doubts that he could make it the top level, Cox was at times the most dangerous forward on the ground, before quietening in the second half.
For the early part Collingwood looked the better side, matching the reigning premier for tackle pressure and defensive intensity.
But coach Buckley went into meltdown in the Collingwood coaches box when Richmond first year hard nut Jack Higgins was handled a double goal.
Higgins was celebrating after drilling a set shot goal from close range when he was hip and shouldered by Lynden Dunn, gifting the Tigers a second major.
Otherwise, Richmond struggled to score throughout the first half due to a swathe of kicking errors.
Magpies high flyer Jeremy Howe was outstanding in the aerial battle and took another customary screamer over the top of Jason Castagna.
RICHMOND 3.4 4.9 8.14 16.17 (113)
COLLINGWOOD 2.2 5.7 7.9 10.10 (70)
CLARK’S BEST
Tigers: Cotchin, Nankervis, Martin, Caddy, Riewoldt, Grimes.
Magpies: Treloar, Phillips, Howe, Pendlebury, Grundy, Scharenberg.
GOALS
Tigers: Caddy 4, Riewoldt 3, Butler 3, Higgins 2, Castagna 2, Short, Martin.
Magpies: Reid 2, Hoskin-Elliott 2, Cox 2, Pendlebury, De Goey, Treloar, Stephenson.
INJURIES
Tigers: Nil. Pies: Aish (knee), Reid (leg), Maynard (leg).
UMPIRES
Deboy, Hosking, Chamberlain.
CROWD
72,157 at the MCG.
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