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AFL 2024: Follow live updates and SuperCoach scores as Collingwood faces Sydney

Collingwood has slumped to 0-2 in its premiership defence after being stunned by Sydney — and some popular SuperCoach picks impressed. Recap the match and see all the scores here.

Dan BattenDan Batten
@danbatten_
9 min read
March 15, 2024 - 10:34PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
Brodie Grundy during the Sydney Swans training session at the SCG. Picture: Phil Hillyard
Brodie Grundy during the Sydney Swans training session at the SCG. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Collingwood’s horror start to 2024 has continued as the Pies were completely outplayed for the second straight week.

Sydney’s manic pressure and elite ball-use by foot exposed the Pies on their home turf, with the Swans winning by 33-points after a couple of consolation goals late.

Fans of both both sides shared a laugh earlier when the Sherrin collected the spider cam.

It’s been that sort of day for spider cam, with bees attacking one at Indian Wells earlier on Friday, forcing tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev off the court.

In this game, a high snapping ball from Errol Gulden inside 50 ricocheted off the camera — and Brayden Maynard did well to nearly mark it.

SuperCoach is back for 2024

10:16PM TOP PERFORMERS AND SCORERS

James Rowbottom topped the scorers list with 142 points from just 16 disposals, with 13 tackles helping him reach the mammoth total.

But the real story was Isaac Heeney — in less than 25 per cent of teams — who backed up his 144 in opening round with a 136 points from 29 disposals, seven marks and two goals.

Chad Warner lit up the MCG with three goals, 27 disposals and 126 points and popular pick Errol Gulden recovered from a slow start to finish with 30 disposals and 109 points.

Brodie Grundy failed to back up his opening round efforts, managing just 72 points — which certainly wasn’t helped by SEVEN frees against.

But owners would be pleased with James Jordon (84) and Matt Roberts (69) who are set for a price rise after next week.

For the Pies, Nick Daicos posted a lazy 135 points from 37 disposals, 15 contested possessions and seven clearances. Got to lock that in if you have the VC on him.

And Finlay Macrae did his best after being injected in the third quarter, winning eight disposals and scoring 29 points in just 26 per cent gametime.

TOP SUPERCOACH SCORERS

James Rowbottom - 142

Isaac Heeney - 136

Nick Daicos - 135

Brayden Maynard - 131

Logan McDonald - 130

Chad Warner - 125

Errol Gulden - 109

Scott Pendlebury - 98

Jordan De Goey - 96

Darcy Cameron - 94

10:10PM SYDNEY PRESSURE

Sydney has had 13 more disposals but have laid 23 more tackles.

That is a dramatic differential for a side that is also getting their hands on the footy.

Tackling machine James Rowbottom, the top ranked player on the ground, has laid 13 of them, while seven Swans have laid four or more.

10:00PM HEEN MACHINE

Isaac Heeney has played some sort of game.

After his second goal of the night, Heeney has 27 disposals, 12 contested possessions, seven marks, four clearances and 126 SuperCoach points.

He should come close to his 144-point total next week.

Will be a must-have for non-owners last week ahead of his first price rise.

9:53 GAME OVER

It’s curtains now.

Hayden McLean received a free kick for a hold and slotted the set shot, and then Swans sub Sam Wicks joined the party with a goal of his own after a precise pass from Heeney.

While the Swans’ pressure has been manic, their ball use by foot has been sublime, allowing them to pick apart Collingwood’s defence with ease.

9:50PM PIES START STRONGLY

Collingwood slotted the first and should have had another, with Brody Mihocek missing a snap set shot from close range on a tight angle.

But the Pies have definitely lifted their intensity and ceratinly aren’t giving in despite being 34-points adrift.

9:44PM TOP PERFORMERS AND SCORERS

Isaac Heeney has been dominant yet again, booting a goal in that quarter to get himself over the 100-point mark for the second straight week, while Nick Daicos also passed three figures before three-quarter-time.

On the other side of the spectrum, Brodie Grundy has baatled with a whopping six frees against as his former deputy Darcy Cameron has had the better of him in the ruck.

James Jordon is on track for another solid score on 63, while Matt Roberts (51) is set for a promising price-rise rise after round two.

9:33PM SWANS DOMINATING PIES

Craig McRae’s side has had a knack for coming back from any margin, but this seems insurmountable.

Chad Warner has put through his third goal of the game to extend the lead to 47 points, completely silencing the Pies on their home deck.

Collingwood’s turnovers from the back-half has cost them several goals with Sydney’s pressure a feature in this contest.

9:31PM MACRAE INTO THE GAME

Finlay Macrae has been subbed and he had an immediate impact, winning the first centre clearance he was stationed at.

Ash Johnson has been subbed out after just three disposals — one of those effective — in a night the athletic forward would rather forget.

9:21PM COSTLY ERRORS HURTING PIES

Another back-half turnover, another goal for the Swans.

This time it was Jack Crisp being mown down by Will Hayward with Logan McDonald waltzling into his third goal of the match.

But in bad news for the Swans, livewire Tom Papley was left limping after sliding awkwardly in a contest and is off the ground.

Logan McDonald has been one of the Swans’ best. Picture: Getty Images
Logan McDonald has been one of the Swans’ best. Picture: Getty Images

9:14PM SWANS EXTEND LEAD AS PIES IN STRIFE

Sydney has the first goal of the second half with Justin McInerney strolling into an open goal after a Collingwood skill error.

Errol Gulden nearly had another moments later with a banana on the run just bending on the other side of the post.

To say Collingwood need the next goal is an understatement.

9:10PM JOHNSON’S POOR FIRST KICK

Ash Johnson’s first kick of the game didn’t exactly go to plan...

After a strong contested mark in front, his set shot from close to the arc went off the side of his boot and sailed out on the full.

Johnson has been blanketed so far with just two disposals and a mark to his name in 80 per cent gametime.

Brody Mihocek has also been unusually quiet with just two handballs.

8:54PM TOP PERFORMERS

Take a bow, Nick Daicos.

The ball-magnet has leather poisoning to halftime, amassing 21 disposals, 10 contested possessions, four clearances, a goal and 80 points.

But James Rowbottom leads the SuperCoach standings with 11 disposals, a whopping nine tackles, a goal and 89 points. The underrated Swan has been superb offensively and defensively so far tonight.

Isaac Heeney is well on track for a ton with 16 disposals and 60 points, and that could have been more if not for two set shot behinds.

James Jordon (50) has raised the bat for a half century, while Brodie Grundy (45) has been solid without dominating.

HALFTIME SCORES

James Rowbottom - 90

Nick Daicos - 80

Chad Warner - 67

Jordan De Goey - 61

Isaac Heeney - 60

Brayden Maynard - 55

Logan McDonald - 55

Tom McCartin - 50

James Jordon - 50

Harry Cunningham - 50

8:50PM SWANS TAKE HT LEAD

Sydney was super impressive in that second quarter but Collingwood managed to get a couple back as the Swans lead by 18-points at the main break.

The Swans will be ruining a late Joel Amartey set shot miss that would have extended their lead further in the dying seconds.

Fox Footy expert Jordan Lewis said the Pies have looked “tired” tonight and they certainly were overrun in that second quarter.

8:33 SWANS OPEN UP PIES WITH BARRAGE

It has been all Sydney in this second quarter, with the Swans piling on four goals to nothing — and it could have been five if Jake Lloyd hadn’t slipped over in the goalsquare.

That makes it six unanswered goals with the Swans having all the momentum

It is 14 scoring shots to four midway through the second quarter and the Pies are -26 for disposals and -9 on inside 50s.

8:19PM SWANS SLIP-UP

Wow... A huge chance wasted for the Swans!

Tom Papley marked inside 50 and snapped over the top to Jake Lloyd running into an open goal, but the ball just alluded him on the full.

With plenty of space, the experienced Swan had a fumble and a slip before a Pies defender sprinted over to him.

The result was a holding the ball free kick for the Pies when it should have been a certain Swans goal.

8:10PM QUARTER TIME SCORES/STANDOUTS

Plenty happening in this game from a SuperCoach standpoint!

Nick Daicos is everywhere with 11 disposals, 44 SuperCoach points and a goal, but it is James Rowbottom on top of the charts with seven disposals, five tackles and 53 points.

Popular buys Brodie Grundy (28), Isaac Heeney (25), Matt Robets (27) and James Jordon (27) are all on track for strong scores.

Errol Gulden has started a bit slower with four touches and 20 points to start.

TOP SCORERS

James Rowbottom - 53

Jordan De Goey - 46

Nick Daicos - 44

Mason Cox - 36

Chad Warner - 30

Bobby Hill - 28

Brodie Grundy - 28

Matt Roberts - 27

James Jordon - 27

Scott Pendlebury - 26

8:00PM DE GOEY KICKS CRACKER

Leave Jordan De Goey alone at your peril.

The high-impact midfielder was left to gather a ball out the back of a stoppage inside 50 and De Goey did the rest, snapping a banana from range to put the Pies eight points up.

Tough Swans midfielder had performed a bit of a run with job on De Goey early but he wasn’t with him at that point.

7:52PM PIES HIT BACK AS DAICOS FIRES

And just like that... the Pies have fired back with two goals from as many entries inside 50.

It was Nick Daicos who slotted one from beyond the arc, while he played a part in the other with some nice vision with a clean handball.

He is certainly proving with he is in 79 per cent of SuperCoach teams, and those who put the VC on would be happy with this start.

7:47PM SWANS GET FIRST BLOOD

Sydney has started this game hot with six inside 50s to zip and the Swans have finally got the first through Chad Warner.

The speedster picked off Steele Sidebottom’s handball and cooly slotted the running goal from 40m.

Speaking of starting hot — Isaac Heeney (three disposals) and James Jordon (three tackles) are both among the top scorers early.

7:33PM HORSE’S HINT ON HEENEY ROLE

There is still a bit of uncertainty over Isaac Heeney role, but John Longmire said his midfield minutes are set to continue — at least in the short-term.

“We’ve got three or four midfielders out and so to play him in the midfield last thing was a really good thing for us, and we’ll continue to do that,” Longmire told Fox Footy.

“We’ll play him where we need him, whether that’s forward or midfield, we’ll work out what happens during the course of the game. At the moment he is playing a fair bit midfield, we need his experience in there — a number of 23 and under midfielders in that group so to have some experience like Isaac in there is important.

Not exactly enough to make you change your mind and bring him in, but it might be enough for you to back him in if he’s already sitting in your forward line.

7:16PM SUPERCOACH RELEVANT PLAYERS

Three players in more than half of SuperCoach teams will be running around tonight.

The most popular of those is of course Nick Daicos (79.2 per cent) who is coming off a 131-point total against the Giants.

Brodie Grundy (73.9 per cent) dispelled the doubters with a monster 139 himself, while James Jordon (57 per cent) did the job with 82.

Matt Roberts is the most popular rookie playing tonight, in 47 per cent of sides after scoring 76 against Melbourne.

Isaac Heeney (24 per cent) flourished with more midfield time. Will it be another dominant score for the Heen machine this week?

Then there's Errol Gulden in 22.6 per cent, with many jumping off after a disappointing score of 77. But he blitzed the Pies last time around with 156 points against them.

And with minutes till Friday night lockout, there's plenty of players pulling their hair out — myself included.

7:07PM HERE’S MY SC TEAM, HAVE AT IT

Welcome to tonight’s blog! We’ll start with something a touch self indulgent...

I stripped my team back completely this afternoon and this is what I’ve come up with...

Was down the highway for Chris Scott's presser today and he is bullish on Oliver Dempsey, who is in just three per cent of sides. With Macrae now sub, I reckon I’m going with him on my forward bench.

Shaun Mannagh is one who could come in late depending on whether he is sub, with Scott keeping his cards close to his chest on that one.

It’s going to be a nervous watch for me tonight — Nick Daicos, Isaac Heeney, Brodie Grundy, James Jordon and Matt Roberts in action.

6:40PM MACRAE NAMED SUB

Popular SuperCoach rookie Finlay Macrae has been named as sub for the Pies in tonight’s game against Sydney.

Macrae was locked into all sides before pre-season games started, but during those practice matches it looked like he wouldn’t get the minutes in the real deal.

He was left out of Opening Round, but with Tom Mitchell out managed most SuperCoaches thought he’d be a shoe-in for midfield minutes, with former Pies coach Nathan Buckley saying the same on the coverage.

Craig Macrae has told FoxFooty’s coverage that Tom Mitchell would have been able to play if requiring, with the Brownlow medallist carrying a “minor problem”.

“If he’s a late withdrawal he’ll play, we thought with a six day break and a six day break after it, we’ll rest him and see how we go next week.”

Macrae as sub effectively puts a line through him at the moment for SuperCoaches.

Meanwhile, Collingwood has unfurled its premiership flag.

A few thousand fans made their way down to the MCG early to watch the flag raised into the air, with 16 premiership cups there as well.

It’s served a reminder to the competition that despite the Pies dropping last week’s clash against GWS that they’re still reigning premiers.

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Originally published as AFL 2024: Follow live updates and SuperCoach scores as Collingwood faces Sydney

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