Collingwood outclassed by Port Adelaide as finals seem a long way off

MATHEMATICALLY, Collingwood’s season isn’t dead but the disappointing manner of its loss to Port Adelaide demonstrated the Magpies aren’t simply good enough at the moment.

MATHEMATICALLY, Collingwood’s season isn’t dead. But on almost every other scale of judgment, the Magpies would need to be Lazarus with a triple bypass to be still alive this September.

The simple fact is, they aren’t good enough at the moment.

That much was evident for the majority of Saturday’s game at the MCG when Port Adelaide stamped itself as a serious contender in its first match at the MCG this year, outplaying and almost bullying Collingwood in the process.

And star forward Robbie Gray matched the Magpies on the scoreboard for the best part of three quarters, finishing with five goals and five other scoring assists.

Gray was clean and clinical, which was almost the antithesis of Collingwood’s day.

The final margin was 31 points, even if it could have, and should have been more.

Still, it was the club’s heaviest defeat of what has been a stuttering, yet mostly competitive season.

The loss leaves Collingwood 5-8 on the ledger. Given the way it played, the Magpies don’t have seven more wins left in them for the remaining nine games of the year to break what looks like being a four-year finals drought.

Robbie Gray single-handedly destroyed the Magpies with five goals. Picture: AAP

In many ways, the only reason their season since has a pulse is because of the ridiculously even spread on the AFL ladder.

The disappointing loss, before a poor crowd of 35,933, will once more spark the debate on Nathan Buckley’s future as coach.

Leaving that aside for the moment, because it won’t be determined until much later in the season, Buckley was bitterly disappointed in the way his team was so easily pushed aside by an impressive and powerful (pardon the pun) opponent.

The one thing that Buckley and his team have prided themselves on this season has been their competitiveness, but not on Saturday.

Brodie Grundy takes a hanger over teammate Darcy Moore. Picture: George Salpigtidis

It seemed as if only once during the match that the Magpies seemed as if they were capable of getting things back on an even keel.

They kicked the first goal of the third term to cut the margin to 11 points. Then, on the next move forward, Tom Langdon sprayed the ball going into attack, which was symbolic of Collingwood’s disposal woes all over the ground.

The Power responded with the next five goals of the match, and it was game over.

Robbie Gray was everything Collingwood didn’t have — a polished, creative forward who made the most of his opportunities.

In contrast, Collingwood’s forward line was the equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle — the ball went in and mysteriously (yet predictably) came out beyond reason at times.

Tom Langdon handballs under pressure. Picture: George Salpigtidis

The Magpies struggled for an effective forward all day, with Alex Fasolo trying hard, Darcy Moore well beaten but kicking three late goals, and with the sort of headaches caused by a scoreline of only nine goals.

It was made worse by the fact that Collingwood’s gun midfielder brigade had 132 disposals between them, but none troubled the scorers.

Disposals clearly everything. The Magpies had the ball 78 more times than the Power, and had only six fewer inside 50s, but so much of this game comes back to what you do with it, rather than how often you get it.

That has been the story of Collingwood’s missed opportunities this season, and unless that changes, the narrative won’t either.

COLLINGWOOD 1.0 4.3 6.7 9.8 (62)

PORT ADELAIDE 4.3 6.8 11.11 13.15 (93)

GOALS

Magpies: Moore 3, Fasolo 2, Brown, De Goey, Crocker, Reid

Power: R.Gray 5, S.Gray 2, Impey, Neade, White, Wingard, Wines, Dixon

BEST

Magpies: Sidebottom, Treloar, Pendlebury, Grundy, Howe, Reid

Power: R Gray, White, Wines, Hartlett, S Gray, Pittard, Hombsch

INJURIES

Magpies: Nil

Power: Nil

Reports: Nil

Official crowd: 35,933 at the MCG