AFL 2024: Sydney upset Collingwood to send reigning premiers 0-2

Collingwood were way off the pace against a rampant Sydney outfit, leaving the reigning premiers 0-2 to start the season. SAM LANDSBERGER says it’s not a premiership hangover, yet.

Sam Landsberger and Ronny Lerner

4 min read

March 15, 2024 - 11:44PM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

Craig McRae. Picture: Getty Images

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You can’t call it a premiership hangover yet, but Collingwood certainly looks worse for wear.

Craig McRae – one of the calmest figures in football – spent Friday night coaching with his hands on his hips.

Last week’s loss against Greater Western Sydney was largely due to inaccuracy. It was not overly troubling.

Friday night’s loss against Sydney was simply a smacking – and for ‘Fly’ that will prove to be more confronting.

The final margin was 33 points. It felt like it should have been closer to 70 points.

Sydney’s 5.7 (37) from set-shots in the first three quarters didn’t help, but its run of five consecutive losses at the MCG – that started with the 83-point belting in the 2022 grand final – is over.

And while it is not exactly a Melbourne Cup field, this might have been the most worrying loss in the mighty McRae era.

Collingwood fans didn’t enjoy the Pies first outing at the ‘G in 2024. Picture: Getty Images

There were moments that had Magpie fans scratching their heads.

Like when Steele Sidebottom and Darcy Moore handed the Sherrin back like Christmas gifts to set up Swans majors.

Last year the Magpies ranked No.1 in the AFL for goalkicking accuracy and forced their opponents to take tough shots.

Last night there was a glut of gimme goals for Sydney. Moore’s switch kick gone wrong allowed Justin McInerney to stream into an open goal square.

Logan McDonald slotted two from unmissable ranges and Jake Lloyd was set to also run into an open goal until he fumbled and was brought down on the goal line.

Conversely, all but one of Collingwood’s goals were scored from beyond 30m.

The Swans clung on to 19 marks inside 50m compared to Collingwood’s nine.

In the first half it was Nick Daicos (37 disposals for the match) or bust for the Magpies. In the second half fellow young gun Errol Gulden (30 disposals) took charge for the Swans. He ran 14.9km, the same distance clocked by defensive forward Robbie Fox.

The Swans look a genuine premiership threat. Picture: Phil Hillyard

We all know Gulden is a gem and his 11 score involvements as well as 652m gained were golden.

Gulden is also a gut-runner. He clocked 14.9km along with defensive forward Robbie Fox.

The performance of James Rowbottom was poignant.

The ruthless midfielder – hardly the most talented but arguably the hardest working – laid five out of Sydney’s 23 tackles in the first quarter.

Last year it felt like almost every Magpie played with such ferocity. On Friday night that edge had softened.

Rowbottom finished with 13 tackles with his onball defensive work among the best in the AFL.

Rowbottom would know that competition for spots will heat up and so he must maintain the rage.

This is a Swans outfit with Callum Mills, Luke Parker and Taylor Adams still to come in.

They’ve got Jake Lloyd playing on a wing at the minute.

Collingwood won clearances 35-30 and centre clearances 17-9. So what? It felt like they were party pies – in a sense that they were shallow wins.

Collingwood have work to do to get back up the ladder. Picture: Michael Klein

So many centre takeaways failed to generate an inside 50m and so many kicks inside 50m failed to get anywhere near the goalmouth.

In the first 16 ruck contests between Brodie Grundy and Darcy Cameron the Swans won four more clearances and kicked 2.2 (14) to 0.0 (0).

Collingwood’s stoppage wins were far from damaging and not many would have expected that performance would follow the club’s flag unfurling.

Nathan Buckley had the perfect retort when the former Collingwood coach was asked about the club’s last 0-2 start to a season.

“It’s round 2, mate. Take a breath,” Buckley said in 2018.

The Magpies are 0-2 again … and it isn’t even round 2. But Buckley – who was coaching for his career in that campaign – was bang on, as his Magpies motored from 0-2 into the grand final.

Let’s remember that this year’s defeats have come against flag contenders from the Harbour City.

Similarly, in 2018 the Magpies opened with losses against clubs that went on to finish in the top six.

It is not exactly as if West Coast and North Melbourne have rolled McRae’s reigning champs.

But – like Geelong 12 months ago – the flag defence is off to the rockiest of starts.

ABSENT ASH

Ash Johnson was seen as the answer to fill the void left by Dan McStay (ACL) this year, but after only managing two disposals last week, he was subbed off in the third quarter this week having mustered just three touches, one of which was a horrendous set shot from 40m out which went way off target and out on the full.

SKY CAM IN THE WAY

Early in the second quarter, Gulden bombed it forward, but on the way inside 50, the ball bounced off Channel Seven’s Sky Cam in mid-air, ensuring it deviated way off its original course. Collingwood’s quick-thinking Brayden Maynard noticed the aerial collision, but couldn’t get to the drop of the ball in time to take a diving mark.