Geelong inflicts another narrow defeat on Collingwood in MCG blockbuster
For someone who’s won two Brownlow Medals and played 321 games, Gary Ablett was under the most pressure coming into the opening game of the season. He ended that in 10 minutes.
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When Mark Blicavs’ simple short-pass went out-of-bounds and resulted in a Callum Brown goal for Collingwood deep in the final term he had the role of villain all wrapped up for the night.
That goal put Collingwood back in front at the 19-minute mark and given it had been a low-scoring slog, the mistake by the Cats defender loomed as the pivotal moment of the match.
Enter Jeremy Howe.
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A Brandon Parfitt response for Geelong a minute after Brown’s goal had levelled the scores again before Tom Hawkins got the Cats back in front with five minutes remaining.
But all night Collingwood had always had the answers and had owned all the best passages so there was an expectation they would come again.
Howe’s takeover bid for the villain tag came with just two minutes remaining when he marked the ball in his defensive goalsquare.
He then saw a teammate free up the middle but his kick was Blicavs-like in its execution and went straight to Patrick Dangerfield.
While the Cats superstar went back and missed the set shot, the clock had been drained and the margin was now seven points. Game over.
It was a case of deja vu in many ways for the Pies who controlled the match the last time that were at the MCG and yet lost.
They clearly had most of the best players on the ground with Adam Treloar dominant with 34 possessions and Jamie Elliott the stand-out forward for the night in his comeback with three goals.
But the new-look Cats with four debutants, and six new faces overall, hung tough and showed the tweaking in the pre-season might just be magic potion they’ve been lacking.
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There were glimpses of the new rules opening up the play, but the notion that they were supposed to increase scoring was a fizzer.
Two of the most skilled teams in the competition struggled for any fluency thanks to a combination of rustiness, sloppiness and pressure.
Collingwood scored its only goal of the second quarter — at the 29-minute mark — through Jamie Elliott, with its 19th forward-50 entry.
The Pies’ final two goals of the opening term showed why the 6-6-6 rule has merit.
A quick centre clearance went to Mason Cox in a one-on-one with Mark Blicavs, who infringed after panicking because there was no help around.
Then at the next centre bounce the Pies got another quick entry with Geelong defender Jake Kolodjashnij in two minds whether to leave his man and contest the high ball.
He did go and failed to impact it, with his opponent Brody Mihocek gathering the ball and handballing over the top to Elliott for an easy goal.
ABLETT SILENCES HIS CRITICS
For someone who’s won two Brownlow Medals and played 321 games, Gary Ablett seemed to be the player under the most pressure coming into the opening game of the season.
The narrative coming in was all about the 34-year-old and how he’d adapt to playing as a permanent forward.
Well, Gazza didn’t muck around and put the doubters back in their box by being the leading possession-winner on the ground after the opening 10 minutes of the game.
The highlight of his eight-possession quarter (which included three inside-50s and two clearances) was a typical Ablett goal on the run from 40 metres.
In the end he finished with 23 possessions, three tackles, four inside-50s and two goals.
FRESH FACES SHINE FOR CATS, PIES
Elliott was clearly the best of the new/returning faces but there, was plenty to like about a few others.
Darcy Moore looked so at home as a key defender and his athleticism and intercept-marking ability was impressive all night.
Dayne Beams started slowly in his return as a Pie and had just three touches in the first quarter and a bit before unleashing an impressive 10-minute burst in the second term when he seemed to have the ball on a string.
From there it was back to regulation ball magnet mode (23 possessions) and he also kicked a vital goal in the last quarter.
The Cats team included four debutants and they all had good moments.
Tom Atkins came in with a reputation as a tackling machine and it was certainly worthy (five tackles, three score assists) while fellow goalsneak Gryan Miers brought good pressure.
Charlie Constable was thrown straight into the middle of the ground and flourished with 21 possessions while first-round draft pick Jordan Clark showed some explosive bursts off half-back.
Ex-Bulldog Luke Dahlhaus was back to the form from a couple of years ago with 24 touches, six tackles and one goal.
Former Swan Gary Rohan again didn’t get many touches, but his chase-down from behind in the final minute to disrupt a Collingwood forward thrust summed up the evening for his team.
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