Nathan Buckley says Collingwood ready for finals pressure of Perth clash with West Coast
COLLINGWOOD is confident a turbulent lead-in to its first final in five years won’t derail the club’s chances against West Coast on Saturday night.
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COLLINGWOOD is confident a turbulent lead-in to its first final in five years won’t derail the club’s chances against West Coast on Saturday night.
The Magpies trained in the rain at Optus Stadium on Friday afternoon — the latest chapter in a countdown to a qualifying final against the Eagles punctuated by problems.
Scott Pendlebury was hospitalised with illness, Travis Varcoe was rocked by his sister’s tragic death and half the side had a four-hour delay leaving Melbourne late on Thursday night.
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On top of all that was a bold team selection that included Tyson Goldsack (knee) for his first game of the year, Adam Treloar (hamstring) for his first appearance in 10 weeks and Jeremy Howe’s return after more than five weeks out with a corked thigh.
Coach Nathan Buckley said all three players come in with no risk attached.
“We’re picking our best 22,” Buckley said.
“Given that Tyson hasn’t played for a while, ‘Ads’ (Treloar) has missed a bit of footy and ‘Howey’ has missed the last five or six weeks there’s questions mark in regard to that, but if you had all the information and seen the block of training that these guys have put in you wouldn’t be concerned.
“Finals intensity goes up, but that will be a test for all 44 players.”
Like the Bulldogs of 2016, Collingwood is in Perth for a first-week final a fortnight after playing its last regular season game here and with a batch of big-name players returning from injury.
It’s a scenario assistant coach Justin Longmuir last night declared a blessing after the Pies players were shocked by the atmosphere inside Optus Stadium in their narrow win over the Dockers two weeks ago.
“It’s quite eye-catching when you go out there. It’s a different dynamic and something the players couldn’t believe how loud it was,” Longmuir said.
“Having known the West Coast supporters, they do get loud. It’s probably no different to any other team we’ve played and being Collingwood, you play in front of some hostile crowds.
“I wouldn’t imagine our guys would be intimidated by that.”
While wary of the Eagles’ powerful forward line, Buckley said his team would play its brand — a contested, high pressure game he hopes will stop the home side from controlling the ball.
Forecast showers in Perth on Saturday could also play a part.
“We’re coming up against a side whose got some real strength in the air,” Buckley said.
“They do take high uncontested marks, but at the same time they also take the long kick down the line and access their forwards as quick as any other side in the competition.
“We’re aware of the challenge they present offensively and we back our ability to defend the ground and support our back six so that’s a big part of the game for us.
“It is a final, that’s a fact. But the other fact is the trend of what finals games ask for.
“The type of footy played, and you saw it last night, is a brand that comes towards the type of footy we play. Finals holds no fears for our group whether they’ve played them or they haven’t.
“We’ve played a finals-like brand of footy for the whole season so we’re confident our boys will be able to handle that.”
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