Mick McGuane: Why Beams, Moore and Elliott hold the key to Collingwood’s next premiership
After Dayne Beams’ trade back to the Pies, Mick McGuane identified the pros and cons of the move. And after reading his comments, Dayne Beams rang the former Collingwood great seeking clarity.
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The one knock on Dayne Beams — as good as player as he has been — has centred on his defensive output.
He plans to dismiss that query forever, starting against Geelong at the MCG tonight, in his first game for Collingwood since 2014 — and I can tell you that as a fact.
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When he was traded from Brisbane back to the Magpies last October, he contacted me.
He wanted to discuss a radio interview in which I talked about the pros and cons of his return to Collingwood.
He hadn’t heard the interview, but he had read an abbreviated follow-up story that focused on his defensive deficiencies and glossed over the offensive positives that I had also talked about.
He wanted clarity about my comments. Fair enough, too.
We talked for more than half an hour about his excitement of being back at Collingwood and the challenges associated with a move back to Melbourne.
What shone through was his maturity, accountability and leadership, as well as a fierce drive to improve his own game, most notably his defensive work.
The crux of the discussion was his mission to become a more complete player. That’s what the greats do.
“I’ve changed a fair bit as a person and I am up for the challenge,” Beams told me.
“The defensive (criticism) stuff is spot on and has been the knock on me for my whole career, to be honest. But I am working on that to make this team go all the way (in 2019).”
The promise of this offensive midfielder becoming more defence orientated — and two sets of healthy hamstrings belonging to virtual recruits Darcy Moore and Jamie Elliott — holds the key to Collingwood’s quest for a 16th premiership.
POTENT BEAMS
Beams is all class and complements Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom, Adam Treloar and Taylor Adams (when fit).
He fits in with the Magpies’ high-volume possession game with lots of handball.
Beams last year averaged 29.1 disposals. He has a great balance between contested/uncontested possessions (elite) and his 416 metres per game rates above average.
You will find him on the end of those handball chains because he reads the game so well.
He also adds a big point of difference for the Magpies — he’s a goalkicking mid.
He has averaged a goal per game (168 games, 167 goals) across his career, and his capacity to score goals from the midfield sees him rated up with some of the best in the competition.
Collingwood needs that, and if he can buy into the team’s demand for pressure, that will be a massive win.
KEEP MOORE BACK
Coach Nathan Buckley must stick with Moore in defence and resist the temptation to shift him forward unless the team is hit by a footy “thunderbolt” — such as a serious injury to Mason Cox or Brody Mihocek.
Moore has the attributes to become an elite defender, if his body is kind to him.
We only saw him in seven games last year — four in defence (Rounds 1, 17, 19 and 20) and three in attack (Rounds 2, 7 and 8).
He is mobile, athletic, can jump and reads the game well. He is prepared to leave his post and help a vulnerable teammate in a one-on-one matchup.
He kicks the ball out of the defensive 50 (D50) reasonably well and with more continuity in the role, his decision-making will improve.
Bucks has identified Moore’s ability to intercept and spoil aggressively, which fits Collingwood’s philosophy of improving their turnover game.
In Round 17, against West Coast, he had 10 intercepts and seven spoils. Two weeks later, against Richmond, he had eight intercepts and 13 spoils, when spending 74 minutes on Jack Riewoldt.
That’s 18 intercept possessions and 20 spoils in two matches against “A Grade” opposition — which are elite numbers.
This explains why I was so desperate for him to be fit and healthy — and to be picked — in last year’s Grand Final.
With a healthy Moore playing alongside Jeremy Howe and Tom Langdon, that trio can challenge the likes of West Coast’s Jeremy McGovern, Tom Barrass and Shannon Hurn, and Richmond’s Alex Rance, Nick Vlastuin and David Astbury, as the AFL’s benchmark interceptors.
After Lynden Dunn went down with a ruptured ACL in Round 15, the Magpies became the second easiest team to beat in a one-v-one contest on their defensive 50m and the easiest team to be out-marked against.
Moore’s inclusion in Collingwood’s back six will rectify that.
ELLIOTT’S DAICOS-LIKE ATTRIBUTES
Can Jamie Elliott’s body hold up? It’s a fair question, given he played no games in 2016 and 2018, and has played 89 games in seven seasons (12.7 games a year).
But his 2017 profile gives an indication of why he can be classified as an elite small forward (who also plays tall) on averages alone.
In that season, he fits into a conversation alongside Tony Greene, Eddie Betts and Robbie Gray, based on their 2017 profiles — and with more marks than the others.
Elliott has strength and speed — a combination defenders often struggle with — and he is a fantastic mark for his 178cm frame.
I saw first-hand the nightmare opposition teams had to deal with when confronting Collingwood legend Peter Daicos.
If they went with a smaller, undersized defender with agility, Daics would invite them into marking contests and prove too strong with his body position/judgment.
They would react by putting a taller, less mobile defender onto him so that he wouldn’t be out-marked. That’s when Daicos got separation on a lead and if he found himself under the high ball, he would bring the ball to ground.
Just ask St Kilda’s Danny Frawley, who found out one day at Waverley.
Chris Scott will have that same conundrum tonight.
He’s not the Macedonian Marvel, but Elliott has some Daicos-like attributes. He is catlike, can swoop on ground balls and has the skills to go to either side to convert scoring opportunities.
It excites me to see Elliott, Jordan De Goey and Jaiden Stephenson work together; it’s an unconventional set-up but workable. They are strong overhead and can create headaches with their speed and power.
The Collingwood cake is baked, but Beams, Elliott and Moore are the cream.
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