PIES PISS WEAK AND LEON REPORTED

[Proud Pies]

Pies weak! Not so, says their skipper
By Nabila Ahmed
May 05 2003


Collingwood players were greeted with the words "piss weak" as they arrived for their recovery session at Victoria Park yesterday morning, but captain Nathan Buckley denied coach Mick Malthouse's suggestion that the Magpies were crumbling under the sky-high expectations of their army of fans.

The freshly painted message was written across the front steps of the entrance to the football offices at the team's ground, after the Magpies' 20-point loss to Sydney at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.

And their on-field woes were compounded yesterday with the news that out-of-form forward Leon Davis had been reported during Williamstown's 61-point win over North Ballarat in the VFL, and will front the VFL Tribunal, most likely tomorrow.

Davis was reported during the third quarter for charging North Ballarat's Justin Perkins, with the club to start preparing his case today. Davis kicked one goal for Williamstown, and Collingwood football manager Neil Balme said: "He didn't do a lot, did a few things. Wasn't great but wasn't terrible. He was fair, only fair."

After Saturday night's loss to Sydney, Malthouse said his players were under mounting pressure from their fans to live up to the lofty standards of last year, when the Magpies missed out on the flag by nine points.


But Buckley said dealing with fans' expectations was just another part of AFL football.

"I don't think the pressure from over the other side of the fence is going to affect us either way," he said.

"We get great support from our supporters and we get razzes when we disappoint them. I think that's probably football. It's happened for 100 years so we don't expect it to be any different."

With the Magpies desperately needing a win on Saturday night against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium to break their three-game losing sequence, Buckley said the players would dig deep in search of the aggression and confidence that was the hallmark of the Magpies last season but has now deserted them.

Buckley said it was a matter of players finding what was not there at the moment, "thinking outside of yourself and making sure you try and help everyone else around the club".

- with Melissa Ryan

This story was found at: http://realfooty.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/04/1051987607231.html