3 minutes ago, speed demon said:

Lots of great posts in this thread but this one is my favourite.

Convincingly beat the premiership favourites and this is the first post in the postgame thread!

Timing is everything in comedy!

Strange because I thought it was ANB best game for some time. The connection was there for the whole team yesterday just the finishing in the forward line was missing.

20 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

It’s the same people over and over carrying on about Gus Macca. Been happening since the early rounds of 2021. 

I'm wondering why they don't single out every single player?  Because all our players make errors as does every player in the league

I reckon it's just pure scapegoating and those needing something to moan about 

Some can only be happy when they're whinging. Those types would clear a room in 5 minutes

1 minute ago, YearOfTheDees said:

Strange because I thought it was ANB best game for some time. The connection was there for the whole team yesterday just the finishing in the forward line was missing.

ANB had a fine game.  Made a couple of errors but so did every player on the field

11 hours ago, Roost it far said:

If you don’t want to listen to BT get yourselves to the game……if you can

Yeah but what about the replay? It was painful watching the 2nd half against last night with those Muppets commentating (BT probably the best of them which is saying a lot!) I wish there was an option for crowd noise only.

3 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I wish there was an option for crowd noise only.

You and me both. Possibly with an ABC radio commentary option. 

11 hours ago, Mel Bourne said:

How can people seriously discuss dropping ANB? If anybody is under the pump right now it's Kossie.

 

Kossie needs to lift but similar to last week against Saad I feel he was playing a more defensive forward role on Noble who often drives the Pies off half back. Don't forget Kossie is (or was before this weekend) #1 in the comp for tackles inside 50 so he's still doing some things right. Just has to get the mistined speccies out of his game and nail his set shots, if he kicks the 2 regulation ones yesterday I think people are seeing his game a bit differently.

15 hours ago, chook fowler said:

Like Tomlinson down back - is very reliable and good for Levers game. 

Hope he stays in the side, his first 2-3 weeks were rock solid and he was only 'dropped' for positional purposes. May can handle himself against any forward, but his only weakness can be the odd-game where a tall ruck/forward out stretches him on 2-3 occasions. Tomlinson could be our dedicated giant killer if he gets some confidence, and it leaves the rest to their strengths and also allows us to get Petty back in the forward line to give that "experiment" a fair trial further. Joel Smith is still the perfect depth that can help us cover any future absence.

1 minute ago, Webber said:

You and me both. Possibly with an ABC radio commentary option. 

not when kelli is the main commentator and malthouse the colour

she gets players wrong continuously - as bad as bt in that regard - and aunty replaced one miserabilist in mclure with another in mick

i'd like to have sen, but i can't stand their constant in-call ad references to the this scoreboard, the that highlight, the other goal...it's annoying

1 hour ago, mauriesy said:

The Age game day blog said Sparrow was subbed off. Close enough to Spargo apparently.

What kind of bird is a Spargo, maybe a type of seagull? 

Edited June 12, 20231 yr by John Crow Batty

Four quarters of gut running to space to create an attacking option, or to block the corridor or whatever outlet the opposition are looking for.

Often first to ball and if not always goes for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th efforts.

Attacks and harasses the opposition into errors.

Creates the 'perceived pressure' leading to further unforced errors.

Sure, lets drop ANB  🙄

3 hours ago, Demonland said:

Surely this needs to be updated for 2023? And the little Collingwood death says "Y-yes, Daddy".

2 hours ago, Dee Zephyr said:

I’m 5 mins into the replay and Gil’s bro has called Sparrow Swallow…twice.

Sounds like the Demonland podcast. 🤣😜

How many one finger salutes can you spot after Fritta put us in front?

38 minutes ago, YearOfTheDees said:

Strange because I thought it was ANB best game for some time. The connection was there for the whole team yesterday just the finishing in the forward line was missing.

Anb had a very quiet first half. Hardly involved except for his tackle count which is always high. Tbh I think he's had a lacklustre season for him. He certainly rallied in the second.

I dont think Anb is a great footballer but  I reckon he gives his absolute all every game and never question his passion and commitment. Nice running to connect with Kozzies kick and good conversion against a trend of shockers.

8 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

How many one finger salutes can you spot after Fritta put us in front?

haha there's a 10 year old girl giving one.... amazing

2 hours ago, wisedog said:

Viney was amazing. McVee so clean. The defence has clicked with Tomlinson back and May and Lever playing freely. The question is, where does Petty go when he returns? Gawn on his Instagram posted a single picture of Tomlinson without a caption. I’d say it’s going to be very hard to omit him.

Smith added tenacity and aggression to our forward line. Can we play Smith, JVR, and Petty together?

I feel the writing is probably on the wall with Spargo being subbed. I’ve felt for a while Spargo, Chandler, and Pickett is playing too many smalls.

A note on Trac. The commentators went on about his disposal efficiency today, but he did some great work in close and as usual seemed a class above. His finishing was clearly off and it’s really only his goal kicking that is preventing him from being regarded in the same way as Dustin Martin.

Final note. I’ve always had a soft spot for the international players but I’ve had enough of Cox. Not just the stuff after the siren but after he kicked his goal, it looked like he screamed at Gawn as he ran past (like fast bowlers do to batsman). The arrogance to think you’re anywhere near the class of Max Gawn.

A very important win.

I think it showed yesterday that we can absolutely 'carry' all those smalls, and they're integral to the way we press and ideally, they should be integral to ensuring ground ball or at the very least, stopping the chaining by hand off half back.

I think Smith will ultimately make way for Petty, but we don't have to rush Harry now. I'd give him 2 more games off, and see how Smith and the forwardline functions.

The thing about Smith that history tells us is that it's unlikely he'll be able to play the whole second half of the season without injury. And if that's the case, I'd prefer we bed down our defence, so keep Tomlinson there to ensure synergy with all the backs, and continue to tinker with our forward half. This will make us unpredictable offensively, but we want to be defensively predictable, so cohesion continues to grow.

Against a Collingwood with Elliott and Ginnivan (if they can fit them in), a backline of Tomlinson, Lever and May, might be a little too slow at ground level? But I think you've got to back the rest of your system to win out.

So Tomlinson stays for mine, and it's between Smith, Petty, BB and TMac for that other tall forward position. The latter two are better kicks and BB has the height, but I'd argue Petty is the best mark of the lot, but Smith is the most agile by far.

We have some thinking to do, which is great, but I think injuries and fitness will also play into the decision making.

2 hours ago, Red and Bluebeard said:

As someone said earlier, 16 points up with less than 2 minutes to go and us with ball in hand at a kick-in should mean that the opposition doesn't touch the ball again. Chip kicks and switches galore should have been the order of the day. We got there in the end, but heart palpitations should have been unnecessary!

I'd rather learn that lesson now though! 

3 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

haha there's a 10 year old girl giving one.... amazing

That's what a toxic environment does for you. Precisely why that young Collingwood supporter had a go at Goodes a few years back. She didn't make it up herself, she learned it.

16 hours ago, Green Demon said:

Not sure if already posted - Cox being a ejit after the game: https://twitter.com/SuperCoachIQ/status/1668166439914844160

Dont like Cox's style when he rucks he makes sure he puts his knee into his opponent every time he can. One bounce went astray and the ump blew the whistle re bounce but cox still had a swing he hit gawny not the ball.

3 minutes ago, A F said:

So Tomlinson stays for mine, and it's between Smith, Petty, BB and TMac for that other tall forward position. The latter two are better kicks and BB has the height, but I'd argue Petty is the best mark of the lot, but Smith is the most agile by far.

I think poor Tom's body is just letting him down. Petty was fantastic in his last game up forward so hopefully he comes back to the role. Especially since Tommo is playing like he is. Smith was good in the 2nd half. I like his speed and athleticism. Brings a defenders skills and pressure into our forward line. Hopefully Bbb to can play into some good form, so we will have a number of options. Jvr continues to show some great consistency and is getting better each game.

Well, what a day at the G yesterday! Went into this game more hopeful than confident. Went to the Tippler and Co for a nice lunch then off to the G for the action. Got there in time to see some of the Freeze festivities, I’ve never seen so many blue beanies, so proud of everyone that took part both Melb and Coll fans. 

In those first 10 minutes there was a sense of foreboding as Collingwood were skinning us on the outside and getting some brilliant overlap runs. It’s not just their ability to run all day with speed but the way they time their runs into space, I turned to my mate and said that it was like their team is full of track sprinters and have excellent reaction time to the gun. It looked great and I didn’t feel we had much of an answer as they got 3 goals ahead. 

However from that point on, the emphasis was on the inside and winning enough contested ball. The Carlton and Essendon game the night before was shaped similar and the Blues needed to keep things in close and not let Essendon get the uncontested marking game going, they obviously failed miserably. But the difference between them and us is that we are a better side that has the capability to execute a plan like this. We led clearances and contested footy for most of the day and this denied the Pies a chance to get their inside to outside game going enough. We also defended the corridor very well and kept play out to the wings unless it was extremely necessary, the influence of both Langdon and Hunter were crucial in this area. 

I felt that accuracy in front of goal was going to be our best shot at winning, if you told me that we would kick 18 behinds and essentially give Nick Daicos that many chances to create something that I’d have assumed that we lost, which actually makes this win even more impressive. We defended brilliantly all over the park. Clogging up the spaces and setting our structure up quicker than any team has been able to this year against Collingwood. It won’t win as much of the plaudits like great goalkicking or intense tackling pressure does but I’m so glad see us pressing higher again and forcing those dump kicks out of our 50. 

For so long it’s been Collingwood running and gunning, hitting teams on the break and piling their scoring on late. In this game I felt we physically intimidated the Pies a bit not just in the contest but by making them earn their possessions and getting in their face. The moment where McVee won there 50-50 which led to the brilliant bump from Hunter on Hoskin-Elliott typified this, had Grundy nailed the set shot it would have brought the house down, I had feelings of Neitz on McCabe or Whelan on Hird in that moment. We were not going to be hunted yesterday, we were the hunters (delicious pun).

Looking on the Matter of Stats site last week it looked like both teams were highly ranked for quarter by quarter performance in 2023 except for 3rd quarters where we were ranked 8th and Collingwood 12th, I felt this was going to be a big one to perform in. We were inaccurate in front of goal, yes it is becoming a bit of a worry but I think the break will do us the world of good in this area. It gets said often that if you don’t take your chances you lose games and bad kicking is bad football but I said on here last night that if you’ve been dominating the balance of play and missing a lot of chances but still manage to pull out the win than that is actually a really impressive thing too. Especially against a side like Collingwood that can put you to the sword. I’m still sitting here marvelling at the fact that we hung on in this one and didn’t just become another one of those many teams that Collingwood have managed to mow down late because it was all setup for them to do that. I believe that makes this win even more impressive, we slayed the dragon and you need to be a good, disciplined side to do that. 

We needed a big one from Jack Viney and we got it, he did the work of at least 1.5 guys in the middle. Christian Salem showed just why we missed him so much, 10 marks and most of these intercept marks, hitting those targets as usual. The occasion was a big one for Brodie Grundy and I thought he handled it very well. It’s never easy playing against a club that moved you on but I thought he put on a good performance around the ground with some great hitouts to advantage, the set shot that he did kick was crucial as well. Trent Rivers continued his purple patch of form, making good decision and putting his body on the line.

And this praise deserves it’s own paragraph. Our backline was simply outstanding yesterday. To hold a team who is averaging around 90 points a game to 62 points (their lowest for the season) I think you have to give them a lot of credit. Steven May is back, his last 3 games have been exceptional. I’m seeing some people here suggest that this could have been Adam Tomlinson’s best game for the club and I don’t think that is too far wide of the mark. Judd McVee going from strength to strength and Michael Hibberd as solid as ever. 

The score really did flatter the Pies in the end, don’t let your Collingwood friends rib you saying it was only 4 points, don’t let them use injuries as an excuse – Steele + De Goey vs Oliver + Petty is a wash as far as I’m concerned. This was just a pure good win with excellent coaching and a reminder to the competition that they are gettable and it’s a marathon not a sprint.

Lets go into the bye and have a good rest, it’s not even 2 x weeks and before we know it we’ll be down in cesspool city on a Thurs night, Go Dees!
 

56 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I actually didn't think we started that slowly. Some poor skill errors (notably from Hunter and Brayshaw x2 each) and not taking our opportunities in front of goal while they did meant it was 3 goals to 1 their way but I thought we still had the game on our terms. Just have to nail those chances when we get them.

At the game, I felt our forwards weren't on, so Collingwood could transition the ball too easily, but on the replay, you're right mate, it was mostly skill errors. However, we let them have the corridor a bit too much and hadn't quite set our defensive shape to defend these moments on the wings. 

By the second half, we were set perfectly from these situations.

How was it not a push in the back to Viney at the end there when 30 seconds before it was a push in the back on Adams.

 

15 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

haha there's a 10 year old girl giving one.... amazing

Ah her parents must be so proud!

4 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

I think poor Tom's body is just letting him down. Petty was fantastic in his last game up forward so hopefully he comes back to the role. Especially since Tommo is playing like he is. Smith was good in the 2nd half. I like his speed and athleticism. Brings a defenders skills and pressure into our forward line. Hopefully Bbb to can play into some good form, so we will have a number of options. Jvr continues to show some great consistency and is getting better each game.

This is a good point mate. Be able to give JVR a rest heading into finals will be vital IMO. He plays such a physical role that having a week or two off wouldn't hurt him I reckon.

I wonder if we plan to rest Max or Grundy in the lead up too...?

16 minutes ago, layzie said:

for Brodie Grundy and I thought he handled it very well. It’s never easy playing against a club that moved you on but I thought he put

Great post Layzie.

The Pies fans booing Grundy at every turn and clapping his missed goal truly shows why their called the filth. Its my understanding the poor bloke wanted to stay at cfc . J7st strange.

That and big Cox having a crack at Trac after the siren makes this win just so sweet. And yes Jack stood tall big time and played his best one of the year.

Happy birthday for tomorrow. 

Edited June 13, 20231 yr by leave it to deever