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Two teams whose recent records have been disappointing meet on Saturday afternoon at the MCG. The Magpies are on a five game losing streak, their last win coming against the GWS Giants in the week after Queens Birthday. That was the day that Mummy, Phil Davis and Joel Patfull all got injured and the Giants fell apart conceding eight final quarter goals in what became a 42 point defeat. A week earlier, it also took a resounding final term for the Magpies to prevail over their old rivals, the Demons. For its part, Melbourne has also been disappointing with two wins (Geelong and Brisbane), some narrow defeats (St. Kilda and Essendon) and a couple of beltings (West Coast and St. Kilda, the second time around). Both teams can lay claim to being young and inexperienced and use that to explain away their indifferent form. You could also say that the form of both teams is as cold as ice (or snow in the case of the MFC ) However, most people would still see the Magpies' form as more encouraging than the Demons. Whilst Collingwoods run of losses has been disastrous to its finals prospects, the defeats have in the main been gallant as they have struggled with injury and still come close to beating some of the competition's leading lights like Fremantle and Hawthorn. Recently, they have had to soldier on without Travis Cloke and Jamie Elliott who between them kicked 10 goals straight and registered 200 dream team points on Queens Birthday. With both players highly in doubt to take their places in their team this week, you would have thought Collingwood might start underdogs but hey ... the opposition is Melbourne, a team that's flakey and never too comfortable with the prospect of being the favourite. In fact, the Demons are more likely to perform well when they're down and out ... so perhaps there's hope for them. THE GAME Melbourne v Collingwood at MCG Saturday 1 August 2015 at 2.10pm (AEST) HEAD TO HEAD Overall Collingwood 146 wins Melbourne 79 wins 5 drawn At the MCG Collingwood 79 wins Melbourne 54 wins 3 drawn Last Five Meetings Collingwood 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches: Buckley 2 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Sports 3 at 2.00pm (live) Radio - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Collingwood $1.31 to win Melbourne $3.45 to win LAST TIME THEY MET Collingwood 17.8.110 defeated Melbourne 13.7.85 at MCG in Round 10, 2015 It was a game where both teams played in fits and starts but the Demons were forced to play catch up footy for most of the afternoon after Travis Cloke burst out of the blocks with a bang and smashed the previously untouchable Tom McDonald. Melbourne made a good fist of catching up, doing so twice in the space of the afternoon before a goaless final quarter finished them off. TEAMS COLLINGWOOD B: Tom Langdon, Nathan Brown, Marley Williams HB: Alan Toovey, Jack Frost, Brayden Maynard C: Paul Seedsman, Dane Swan, Steele Sidebottom HF: Sam Dwyer, Darcy Moore, Jordan De Hoey F: Alex Fasolo, Brodie Grundy, Jamie Elliott Foll: Jarrod Witts, Jack Crisp, Scott Pendlebury I/C: Tyson Goldsack, Levi Greenwood, Paul Seedsman, Travis Varcoe EMG: Jarryd Blair, Jonathon Marsh, Matthew Scharenberg IN: Taylor Adams, Sam Dwyer, Jamie Elliott, Paul Seedsman OUT: Jarryd Blair (omitted), Ben Kennedy (omitted), Adam Oxley (rested), Jesse White (omitted) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Jeremy Howe C: Jack Grimes, Dom Tyson, Heritier Lumumba HF: Angus Brayshaw, Chris Dawes, Bernie Vince F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: James Harmes, Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen, Aaron vandenBerg EMG: Mark Jamar, Matt Jones, Jordie McKenzie IN: Alex Neal-Bullen OUT: Billy Stretch (omitted) There are two games of AFL being played on Saturday afternoon and historically at least, you would have thought a Collingwood v Melbourne clash would easily overshadow the one down the highway between Geelong and the Brisbane Lions. After all, the two teams doing battle at the MCG were once the biggest show in town when they clashed, they're won plenty of premierships between them and they've produced some fascinating and famous past contests. Not so these days. The Pies are facing their sixth defeat in a row - something they haven't done since 2005 when you could have sworn they were tanking for draft picks. Melbourne is looking at a fifth consecutive game in which it has been unable to exceed 60 points and its opposition in its three past games have occupied the bottom third of the ladder, a fact that is so completely damning of its playing style, skills and the decision-making of those who make up its team, that some of its staunchest and most loyal supporters are wondering whether it's really worthwhile turning up to the game. If there is a silver lining for the Demons, it's the fact that the two players instrumental in destroying them on Queens Birthday, Cloke and Oxley, will be watching from the stands and another in Elliott was looking proppy earlier in the week and even ruled out of this game by some at the club. However, it may not matter because the Pies seem to have discovered a new goal kicking ace in Darcy Moore who booted five last Sunday against the Bulldogs and, let's face it, anyone can fill the role that Oxley played if they're allowed to play the extra man in defence while their presence goes completely ignored by an opposing side that continually bombs the ball up making it all the more difficult for its own forwards to take marks and outnumbered if the ball hits the ground. Melbournes midfield led by Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince and Jack Viney can be relied upon to toil away and work hard but that's not enough. Apart from the possibility of a few sparks of excitement from Jesse Hogan and Angus Brayshaw and another strong ruck performance from Max Gawn, there's little for the Demon fans or anyone else for that matter to get excited about in what was once billed as one of the great clashes of traditional rivals of our game. Collingwood by 42 points in a low scoring, dull affair that will make many wish they were in sleepy hollow or just home by the fireside.

They went down by 25 points after a goalless final quarter. The Queens Birthday game promised a lot - especially the beginning of Max Gawn's ruck dominance but two months down the track, we simply can't score goals any more. MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Tom McDonald, Jack Fitzpatrick HB: Jeremy Howe, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta C: Daniel Cross, Aaron vandenBerg, Heritier Lumumba HF: Ben Newton, Cam Pedersen, Jack Viney F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Aidan Riley FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Matt Jones, Jimmy Toumpas, Jack Watts EMG: Jack Grimes, Viv Michie, Jake Spencer IN: Max Gawn, Ben Newton, Aidan Riley OUT: Rohan Bail, Jack Grimes, Jake Spencer (all omitted) COLLINGWOOD B: Tom Langdon, Nathan Brown, Marley Williams HB: Alan Toovey, Jack Frost, Tyson Goldsack C: Travis Varcoe, Dane Swan, Paul Seedsman HF: Jamie Elliott, Jesse White, Steele Sidebottom F: Alex Fasolo, Travis Cloke, Jarryd Blair FOLL: Brodie Grundy, Jack Crisp, Scott Pendlebury I/C: Tim Broomhead, Jordan De Goey, Adam Oxley, Jarrod Witts EMG: Sam Dwyer, Ben Kennedy, Brayden Maynard IN: Tim Broomhead OUT: Taylor Adams (toe)

THE LEAN AND HUNGRY LOOK by The Oracle "Let me have men about me that are fat, Sleek-headed men and such as sleep a-nights. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look, He thinks too much; such men are dangerous." William Sheakespeare - Julius Caesar: Act 1, scene 2, 190–195 It was a strange game of football at Etihad Stadium. While it ebbed and flowed as all good games do, the ascendency was held, surprisingly, by the team that finished off 2011 like a ship without a rudder. Not the one that came into last year's grand final as the warm favourite. At half time, when the Magpies had just managed to snatch the lead for the first time with a Nick Maxwell goal after the siren, they decided to make a sporting declaration by removing half a dozen of their A team and replaced them with youngsters and overseas imports. The Demons responded with some changes of their own and proceeded to apply the same disciplines using the same structures that gave them a moral victory in the first half. The result was not simply a victory on the scoreboard but an early moment of pleasure for the coach and supporters. A breakthrough for Melbourne at the Docklands and the dawn of a new era for the club. After so long, the lean and hungry look has returned to the Melbourne Football Club and we welcome it back with open arms even if it comes in a NAB Cup game that everybody says noddingly in agreement that it means nothing. Especially when they lose. We've heard about and discussed Mark Neeld's game plan whereby his team hustles and grinds the opposition, works hard defensively to eke out errors, kicks long to position and performs with discipline. But this is also the result of hard work on the track and in the gym over many months. Strength, endurance, bodies changing and taking shape. We saw some good signs; the rejuvenation of players, some in rebirth and some new faces. Brad Green is back in town. Nathan Jones and Matthew Bate are changed for the better and a couple of hard nuts in James Magner and Tom Couch have been found. And there's more to come. Melbourne 0.2.6.18 0.3.9.27 0.7.11.53 0.11.13.79 Collingwood 0.2.3.15 0.4.4.28 1.6.5.50 1.9.7.70 Goals Melbourne Dunn Jones Martin Petterd 2 Green Howe Sylvia Collingwood Shaw (supergoal) Rounds Thomas 2 Ball Ceglar Cloke Maxwell Paine Best Melbourne Garland Petterd Magner Jones Sellar Green Injuries Melbourne Nil. Collingwood Nil. Reports Melbourne Nil. Collingwood Nil. Umpires Stevic Armstrong Kronk Official crowd 12,954 at Etihad Stadium