Fremantle crashes Collingwood’s party with thrilling win

Collingwood’s caretaker coach Robert Harvey revealed his plans for the side following a narrow loss to the Dockers on Saturday afternoon.

The Dockers got the job done on the road without dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Collingwood will look to play with more flair and employ a more expansive and faster game style in the next eight weeks, caretaker coach Robert Harvey said after his side’s 12-point loss to Fremantle.

Harvey said it would be a nine-week project, but he wanted his side to play with more dare, something that was fleeting for much of the contest at Marvel Stadium.

In his first game in the Collingwood hot seat Harvey said it was a bit of a different feel and lamented second and third quarters where the Pies went into theirs shells.

“We started really well and finished really well and had some inconsistent moments in the middle patch, in the second and third quarters,” he said.

“I thought from the point of view of what we asked the players for before the game their intent was good around what we wanted to do.

“We just fell into a few patterns where we couldn’t quite get out of that affected our ability to score and also getting scored against.”

Collingwood’s game style and ball movement has been criticised heavily this season, but Harvey said he will urge his troops to put more speed on the ball in their last eight games.

“It’s finding the right opportunities to speed the ball up,” he said. “We were a bit slower in the third quarter and didn’t want to do that per se.

“As we go forward it’s about finding that balance in our game. To score six goals from the back half is an improvement for us. We haven’t done that for a while.”

Harvey said while Collingwood lost its edge with the ball in the middle part of the game, the last quarter was a model of where they want to get to.

“We did (lose a bit of daring in the second and third quarters),” he said.

“We want our players to express themselves and in the last quarter the gloves came off and we were bolder and that’s what we want to see. It’s not going to be perfect first week. This is a nine-week project and we scored 79 points, ideally we’d just keep them to less.”

Taberner is nearing 100 AFL games. Pic: Michael Klein

Keeping Tabs

Matt Taberner has escaped serious injury after being subbed out of his side’s 12-point win against Collingwood, Justin Longmuir said.

There were fears the 28-year-old had suffered a reoccurrence of a serious ankle injury when he was subbed out in the second quarter.

There were also fears it could’ve been a knee injury, but Longmuir said the key forward has suffered a high calf strain and escaped a prolonged stint on the sidelines as his side pushes for a top eight berth.

“It doesn’t look like Tabs’ is a serious injury,” Longmuir said.

“It’s not a reoccurrence of an ankle injury, it looks like a high calf strain, so fingers crossed it’s only a short-term injury.”

The decision on whether Nat Fyfe would play was given right up until an hour before the game started, and Longmuir said he expects to have his skipper back for their game at home against Carlton next week.

“He was close enough to playing for him to travel with us and for us to make the decision last-minute, so having said that he should be right for next week, we expect him to play,” he said.

Fremantle will return home to Perth to quarantine before their clash with the Blues, something Longmuir said was an imposition on day-to-day lives.

“We’ll get exemptions to train and then once we’ve trained we’ll go home,” he said.

“It is an imposition, but really every team has had to go through something like this during the season, and we’re not immune to that, it’s our turn now.”

Longmuir reserved special praise for veteran midfielder David Mundy after another stellar performance.

“I’d be surprised if he wasn’t All-Australian,” he said.

“He’s a super player and been our captain the last two week and leads us really well whether he’s got a title or not.

“He understands the position we’re in with starting younger players in the midfield, and the midfield battle was crucial all day and he was a big part of that.”

Freo’s win was their first in Melbourne in over two years. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Fremantle ruined Robert Harvey’s first game in charge of Collingwood, holding on for a nailbiting 12-point win to record their first win in Melbourne in more than two years.

Harvey’s jump into the Collingwood coaching hot seat started perfectly as the Pies kicked the first two goals of the game with slick and direct ball movement.

But after Fremantle took control of the game, a late Collingwood fightback was hampered by one of the worst decisions of the season which completely stopped the Pies’ momentum.

Brayden Maynard was called for front-on contact after Liam Henry pushed off the Collingwood defender, and an ensuing 50 ensured Fremantle kicked the unlikeliest of steadying goals.

Sam Switkowski had a heavy influence on proceedings in the first and second quarters, and two goals from Lachie Schultz to go with singles from Liam Henry and Andrew Brayshaw in the second term helped extend Fremantle’s lead to 19-points at halftime.

When Rory Lobb kicked a goal just 40 seconds into the third quarter it looked like an uphill battle for the Pies.

But goals to Brodie Grundy, Callum Brown and Josh Thomas had the margin back to just two goals.

A third goal to Rory Lobb in time on had the Dockers’ lead back at three goals as the sides turned for home.

Three goals in the opening six minutes of the last quarter to Collingwood – to Will Hoskin-Elliott, Brody Mihocek and Trent Bianco – remarkably had the scores level and Collingwood with the momentum.

But the extraordinarily dubious free kick and ensuing 50-metre penalty made sure all momentum Collingwood had built was eroded as Liam Henry gave Fremantle back the lead with just more than half a quarter to play.

The Pies were able to blunt Fremantle again after Rory Lobb sprayed two shots at goal, before Josh Thomas answered to carve the margin to just one-point.

Two late goals to Fremantle secured the four points and kept them in touch with the top eight.

McCreery hamstrung

Collingwood’s standout first year forward Beau McCreery lasted only a couple of kicks of the Sherrin before limping his way to the Pies’ bench with a left hamstring injury.

So good has McCreery been in Collingwood’s forward line, he’s the only player in the competition to average more than two tackles inside 50 per game this season.

The Pies missed that forward pressure and small forward buzzing around the feet of twin towers Mason Cox and Darcy Cameron as the Dockers transitioned the ball from defensive 50 with ease.

Collingwood showed plenty of good signs in Robert Harvey’s (R) first game as caretaker coach. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Clearance conundrum

Coming off smashing the league’s pace setters in clearance and with Brodie Grundy back in the side it shaped as an area for Collingwood to dominate.

But despite losing Nat Fyfe as a late out the Dockers were able to assert dominance around the footy and much of their early dominance could be put down to winning the clearance battle 17-11 at halftime.

Young Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy led the way for the Dockers with four, and his tap work to Adam Cerra (also four clearances) proved pivotal in them establishing dominance in the game.

It creates a headache for Collingwood coach Robert Harvey following the two strong games Max Lynch put together for the Pies before making way for Grundy.

Lobb stands tall

With Darcy Moore out for the Pies the tall Fremantle forward line was always going to be an area they could stretch Collingwood.

But when Matt Taberner went down early in the second quarter with a leg injury, they needed one of their big men to stand up.

Rory Lobb proved to be just that for Freo as he kept the Pies at bay with two of his three goals in the third quarter as Collingwood looked to get rolling.

Milestone blinder

Will Hoskin-Elliott has been at the centre of Collingwood fans’ wrath at times this season, but the winger put together his best performance of the year to mark his 150th game.

The 27-year-old was a constant option for the Pies on the wing and provided the perfect link between defence and attack, finishing with four goal assists to go with 17 disposals.

He also chimed in with a goal in the third quarter.

PIES 2.2 4.4 7.6 12.7 79

DOCKERS 3.3 7.5 10.6 14.7 91

MOTTERSHEAD’S BEST Pies: Hoskin-Elliott, Maynard, Adams, Mayne, Sidebottom. Dockers: Mundy, Lobb, Brayshaw, Wilson, Schultz, Bewley.

GOALS Pies: Thomas 2, Bianco 2, Grundy 2, Elliott, Cameron, Sidebottom, Brown, Hoskin-Elliott, Mihocek. Dockers: Lobb 3, Schultz 3, Henry 2, Bewley 2, Treacy, Switkowski, Brayshaw, Crowden.

INJURIES Pies: McCreery (hamstring). Dockers: Taberner (leg).

UMPIRES Gianfagna, Rebeschini, Mollison.

Marvel Stadium 11,570

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

JAMES MOTTERSHEAD’S VOTES

3 D.Mundy (Frem)

2 W.Hoskin-Elliott (Coll)

1 R.Lobb (Frem)