Winless Crows lose grip as Pies surge to safety
It smelt like a danger game for Collingwood and looked like one when they couldn’t kick in the first half but the Magpies avoided a disastrous loss
It smelt like a danger game for Collingwood and looked like one when they couldn’t kick in the first half but the Magpies avoided a disastrous loss to the winless Crows to remain in touch with the top eight.
The banner behind the goals in the Crows’ cheer squad read ‘We Believe In You’ and for the first half at least so did everyone else as they led by nine points. But when Collingwood finally finished its work in front of goal in the third term they couldn’t be caught.
Most frustrating for Adelaide was Collingwood’s first three goals were all due to Crows mistakes. Fischer McAsey and Brodie Smith missed kicks trying to switch play in defence allowing Josh Daicos and Jaidyn Stephenson to convert set shots and Lynden Dunn capped his return from a knee injury with a goal thanks to a 50m penalty in the middle of the ground.
While the eighth-placed Magpies won by 24 points without some of their biggest names, the loss extended Adelaide’s record losing streak to 11 games and Tom Doedee and Tom Lynch both finished the game early with hamstring injuries.
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley says his side is walking a fine line between picking a team to win now and preparing a run for the finals.
“We could have played a better 22 tonight, and I dare say every side in the competition is going through this in some shape or form, but we’ve still got our eyes on the prize,” said Buckley.
“It’s not just about getting the win now, it’s about what is your team going to look like in three, four, five weeks and are you going to find the best of what you have in your squad to be able to present as well as you possibly can beyond (the last minor round)?”
All eyes were on Tim Broomhead and Dunn who were playing their first games since 2018 for Collingwood after a horror run with injury, and it didn’t take long for them to find the action.
Broomhead’s first touch was to rove a ball and kick inside 50m while Dunn’s big moment came 15 minutes into the second quarter when a 50m penalty brought him to within 20m of goal and he kicked the set shot.
The popular defender who was coming back from a double knee reconstruction was mobbed by his teammates, 773 days since his last AFL game which came in Round 15, 2018. Broomhead meanwhile put his set shot out on the full and finished the game with seven disposals.
Collingwood’s inefficiency forward was a major reason why Adelaide was not only in the game but in front at halftime.
Darcy Cameron, Broomhead and Chris Mayne all had set shots in the second quarter from inside 50m and did not score as the Magpies managed just 2.1 from 19 inside 50s in the first half.
But three goals from Crows mistakes put them right back in it and Trey Ruscoe helped break the game open in the third quarter when he kicked consecutive goals.
Despite the Pies’ wayward kicking early in the night, they made up for it in the second half and finished with an accurate 10.2.
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