Collingwood firing faster than any rival as AFL flag claims strengthen

Jordan De Goey was a standout in attack for Collingwood as the Magpies proved too strong for Geelong in Perth.

Courtney Walsh

3 min read

8:04PMJuly 17, 2020

Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy gives the Magpies a flying start against Geelong. Picture: Getty Images

Hot Pies straight out of the oven. And the coldest of defences.

Collingwood in 2020 have been dashing from the first bounce while grinding down their rivals.

The Magpies have found themselves in the midst of storms on several fronts this season but claimed outright premiership favouritism with their 22-point win over Geelong on Thursday.

But their triumph was soured when matchwinning forward Jordan De Goey suffered a serious finger injury that threatens his season late in the win at Optus Stadium in Perth.

De Goey, who is playing while on bail for a charge of indecent assault, was best afield when kicking five goals.

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The merits of the 24-year-old playing while charged with a serious offence, which relates to an incident in 2015, have been questioned, with De Goey due to face court again in late October.

But free to compete under AFL rules, De Goey added flair and strength to Collingwood’s forward line, an area that has struggled for consistency this season.

He kicked three goals in the final quarter despite injuring the flexor tendon in his right middle finger and will undergo surgery on the weekend, Magpies football manager Geoff Walsh said.

“Jordan will have surgery over the weekend and will remain with the team while he recovers,” Walsh said. “We will have a better idea of an expected return date following his surgery.”

With the AFL reportedly considering cramming the final 10 matches of the season into an eight week period, De Goey could be out until the start of the finals series.

Collingwood’s Jordan De Goey, left, celebrates a goal against Geelong at Optus Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

Such was his influence in attack on Thursday night, De Goey has effectively self-sabotaged his prospects of prolonged stints further afield, but coach Nathan Buckley will need to rework his forward line with Mason Cox set to return.

A key for Collingwood is their fast starts in a season where quarters have been shortened to help footballers cope with the pending compression of the draw from Round 9 onwards.

A fast start is something every side aspires to, but the trick is actually producing from the opening bounce and no club has managed it better than Collingwood this year.

The second-placed Magpies have led at quarter-time in six of their seven clashes and were level at quarter-time in their Round 5 clash against Essendon.

Their opening term percentage sits at 278.3 and, according to Fox Footy analyst David King, the Magpies have the mix right in the midfield.

Having a ruckman as good as Brodie Grundy taking command at the bounce is clearly a good starting point.

However captain Scott Pendlebury, Adam Treloar and Taylor Adams were prolific in possession against the Cats.

“You have to shock early. It just shows you have to put your best players at the coal face and trust them to do the job for you,” King said.

At quarter-time against Geelong, Collingwood led by just seven points, yet were close to a good thing based on a trend of this season.

Over the past decade, teams in front at quarter-time have a winning strike rate of 68 per cent.

That has increased to 78 per cent in 2020 to date, and increases to above 90 per cent if the club leads by more than seven points.

The only major outliers occurred when the Swans overcame a three-goal deficit against Adelaide in the opening round, while Fremantle reeled in St Kilda after trailing by six goals last week in a stunning form reversal.

But quick starts are not the only areas where things are falling Collingwood’s way on the field, which includes their run with the whistle.

Only North Melbourne has a more favourable free kick differential.

Defensively, the Magpies have been superb this season, a trend that has continued despite the loss of Jeremy Howe to a serious knee injury in Round 4.

Shortened quarters are a factor, but Collingwood held Hawthorn to their lowest score under Alastair Clarkson last Friday and then did something similar to Geelong.

With Darcy Moore in superb form and Brayden Maynard a distinguished defender, Collingwood is conceding just seven goals per match on average this year.

The top-placed Port Adelaide, which play Carlton at the Gabba on Sunday, are the next best when conceding 46 points so far in 2020.

The challenge now for Collingwood is to retain cohesion during what will be their longest break between matches aside from the season suspension ahead of another significant test.

The Magpies next play another well-fancied premiership contender in West Coast on their home turf next Sunday, while Geelong face Fremantle on Monday week at Optus Stadium.