Post-match: Cats beat Pies in armwrestle. All comments.

[K]

Our media guys have chosen Moore:

https://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/video/2019-03-25/player-of-the-week-darcy-moore

[Medieval]

[35forever]

Ah we've already found players to bash in Lieu of Smith & Blair. Wasn't sure how it would go, but I gotta say I wasn't expecting Treloar.

WHEN will you people learn about football. Its a TEAM game. All THIS team has to do to win, is play our best footy for 25-45 minutes. (in a row!) Not Treloar, or Trav, or any other player, the TEAM.

This team didn't put 6 minutes of its best footy on the park, they just seemed to take it too easy, sounds insane in Rd.1, but there was a certain amount of (GOD I hate saying this) Posing. Showing off. Pissing about if you like.

A couple of guys worked hard to show their skills, in particular Moore & Billy, but it wouldn't have mattered if they were 3x better than they were, the SIDE had an attitude of "Look how clever I am", No ONE player can cause that. When we're playing the game the way we did last year against Melb., Port, In the Prelim, or the first qtr of the GF, we WIN. And when the side is doing that, NO one guy can kill us, even if he's spending the quarter seeing if he can climb the point post, others will cover.

It felt like everyone was thinking about climbing SOMETHING on Friday, just not the damn ladder. This was the SAME attitude we had against Carlton, WHERE did it come from???

I still tip us to win it all, but THAT crap has to GO! Kick the 20 goals we need each week, THEN you can fart-arse round!

[Medieval]

[Pies4shaw]

On the other hand, 10 clangers is a lot in one game, even by Treloar's lofty standards.

[K]

^ Don't tempt QM67 to look up the most clangers Langers has had in a game.

[Medieval]

[Raw Hammer]

THE WRAP

Despite the pain of last year’s Grand Final loss lingering like a bad smell due to the incessant footage of that damn goal being broadcast all pre-season (you know the one, his name rhymes with ‘f**k you Dom Sheed’) a buoyant Collingwood entered the new season with an optimistic spring in its step.

It had just added 2010 premiership hero Dayne Beams to its already impressive list, and with both Jamie Elliott and Darcy Moore feasting on a strict off-season diet of German calves’ blood, most pundits declared the Magpies a lock for deep September action, with some going so far as to predict the ultimate success for the men in black and white.

However, after Friday night’s shockingly lacklustre performance that ended in eerily similar fashion to that fateful day just six months prior, the premiership race appears as wide open as it has ever been.

During a laughably sluggish opening stanza from both rust-affected squads, Elliott reminded the football world of his elite talent by kicking three of Collingwood’s four first half goals. Remarkably, his primetime cameo was enough for an 11-point lead at the main break, as Geelong struggled its way to a paltry three majors. The Cats’ inability to break through Collingwood’s stingy defence was due in large part to the rock-solid Moore, prompting many to again contemplate what might have been had the prodigal son been declared fit during the 2018 finals series.

The third term provided more of the same error-riddled football as “Benny Hill” began trending on Twitter, before the Cats managed to slam through three unanswered goals, including one after the now customary Joel Selwood head high free kick. But like a shambolic game of tug of war, the Magpies responded with three of their own, two via the clearly underdone Jordan De Goey who remarkably could have finished with five if not for the cobwebs and brain farts. At three quarter time, scores were locked. Oh boy, here we go again.

Like a bad record on repeat, both teams continued to butcher the ball and squander a litany of chances by making the seemingly simple look ridiculously hard, with De Goey the main offender just twenty metres from goal. But his goalmouth gaffe was soon forgotten when Beams kicked his first ‘real’ goal since 2014, and when Callum Brown snapped truly from the pocket just moments later, the Magpies had regained the lead heading into time on and the “Cooolliiingwooooood” chant was unleashed for the first time in season 2019.

However, without being able to push numbers behind the ball due to Steve Hocking’s satanic masterstroke, two quick centre square clearances all but sealed Collingwood’s fate, as Geelong nailed a pair of cheap goals in as many minutes to silence the Magpie Army and break their hearts all over again.

In keeping with the theme throughout the blooper-laden night, a Jeremy howler was easily picked off in his own defensive arc to all but snuff out Collingwood’s last gasp foray forward.


THE GOOD

Welcome back Jamie Elliott and Darcy Moore.

Oh, what might have been! There’s little doubt that a fit Elliott and/or Moore in 2018 would have likely secured Collingwood’s 16th piece of silverware. It’s a painful “what if?” scenario that still keeps members of the black and white faithful up at night, even more so after the duo’s successful return to football on Friday night.

It took less an hour into the new season for Elliott to prove his A-grade credentials, kicking three of Collingwood’s four first half goals, including a crafty effort while hemmed in tight on the boundary. Elliott only knows one speed: full throttle attack on the pill. While it makes for an explosive highlight reel, it must be hell on the body. Every time the pocket dynamo launches himself into a contest, you can sense thousands of Magpie hearts in as many mouths waiting with bated breath for “Billy” to get back on his feet unscathed. Let’s hope this fan favourite stays injury-free, because he is electric to watch.

At the other end of the ground, Moore reminded everyone why he was taken with the ninth pick in the 2014 draft. Last year and still unsigned, a chorus of so-called experts debated whether he was even good enough to break into Collingwood’s best 22. After a couple of JLT games and just one round into 2019, that argument already has not aged well, with some already declaring him a likely challenger to the All Australian CHB throne. Despite his lack of playing time over the past twelve months, his reading of the ball is still as good as any, he has strong, sure hands, and is a mostly long, reliable kick. A welcome addition to an undersized defence and a standout performer on Friday night, Moore was the only Magpie to receive votes from both coaches.

Here’s hoping Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt fixed their ‘strings good and proper.

THE BAD

No Greenwood. No chance.

What were the match committee thinking? With in-and-under bull Taylor Adams out, Brayden Sier (aka The Bear) underdone, and man-child Rupert Wills not yet ready after missing a heap of footy, Collingwood opted to back its much vaunted and offensively-minded midfield vs the bigger-bodied Geelong midfield. Greenwood, serviceable without being remarkable throughout the JLT series, has an impressive recent record sitting on Joel Selwood and in hindsight his omission was a head scratcher. Although he won’t pick up any Brownlow votes, the Geelong skipper popped up enough times on Friday night to ultimately influence the end result, and although Callum Brown did put the Magpies in front late in the game with a peach of a snap, Greenwood would have been the safer round one bet for what is historically a sloppy first-up scrap.[/img]

[Pies4shaw]

[BazBoy]

Callum Brown apart from a goal kicked made little impact against Cats

Is Tyler a better option to make the AFL side

[Pies4shaw]

Not at this stage, now. Tyler will likely be the better of the two in the medium term.

[K]

The media are talking up the possibility. They claimed he was good as an inside mid against Geebung VFL.

[K]

[BazBoy]

He’d be down the pecking order methinks—asked on Sier Bucks made the usual “he’s in the mix” thing but mentioned Wills without being prompted

Tyler was impressive in JLT —-his time will come IMO before Cal

[RudeBoy]

Callum Brown did not have a good game, but at some stage we have to blood these young players, otherwise we will never improve. While Greenwood is a hardened warrior, he’s clearly near the end of his career, so should not be spoken of as our saviour. If a hard inside mid is required, I’d prefer to see Wills come in.