Lots to like in Rivalry romp:

Lots to like in Rivalry romp:

No Buckley, no Didak, no Johnson, no Lonie, no Holland, and with ten minutes until gametime, no Clement (for the first time since 2003). No worries!

I haven’t been this happy with a Collingwood side since, well, midway through last year, but that feels like eons ago. Anyhow, Friday night’s come from behind win over Richmond was extremely satisfying. We were forced to do a 180 degree turn in form at the halftime break, and we did so, turning a 22 point deficit at the major break to a 25 point victory.

One question I must ask is as follows: Why can’t we play the whole four quarters? Agreed, Richmond were more than a handful in the first half, and outplayed us quite convincingly. It’s so typical that a guy like Richard Tambling, who has so far in his three year career struggled to stamp his authority on a contest, would jump out of the box and sting us early to play what is now being called a career best match.

But why be negative? Right now, everything emanating out of the Lexus Centre is positive, starting with the three Western Australian debutants, who each played their part in Friday night’s win.

Alan Toovey, arguably the most unheralded of the trio, jumped out of the box to boot three goals and two behinds. Most impressive considering he was recruited (in the rookie draft) and spent his first year with Williamstown as a defender. Whilst he looked a little jittery early by foot, I’m sure that can be put down to first game nerves. As the night wore in, he continued to grow into his role as a medium sized forward. Believe it or not – he has already scored as many goals as Presti has in 170 games!

Meanwhile, the two Aboriginal boys, Brad Dick and Shannon Cox, both showed promising signs. “Dickie”, as the crowd shouted every time he laid hands on the leather, will be well pleased with his two goals, the second of which helping set up our third quarter charge at the lead. What Dick brings to the side is class, he oozes it with every movement, and his pace, the way he seemingly glides across the turf yet mows down all opponents is first rate. We can’t expect too much from him yet, however, for he still weights only 70 odd kilos, and will have his ups and downs before he settles into a consistent pattern of footy. But thankfully, he brings enthusiasm and genuine spark to the side, perhaps a touch of the unknown.

Cox, on the other hand, was not as prolific or eye catching off halfback, but like Dick, oozed class in each contest. He showed terrific closing speed in spoiling in defence, and his general movement, the vibe he produced in the defensive half, was encouraging.

But the on a night of real encouragement, the two most exciting, heartwarming aspects of the match were the efforts of Dale Thomas and Tarkyn Lockyer. Thomas was terrific out of the middle, tucking the ball under his arm and running at full pelt at every opportunity. What I really like in Dale is that he is not afraid to take a risk, and is willing to run hard and take on his opponents. At times it is detrimental to the side, for there have been players in space who have been overlooked as Daisy charges towards goal. But I like it; it is something daring and different.

As for Lockyer, he is currently playing like a man possessed, and if they halted the Copeland Trophy voting now, he’d be leading, surely. For whichever reason, the penny appears to have dropped inside Tarks, who has/is returning to the heights reached in his halcyon days of 2001-2002. And thank goodness for that, because his place in the senior side was, to my mind, and those of many other Magpie fans I know, in serious jeopardy as the arms race for fast youth continues to roll on.

But it’s time to declare something – yes, Tarkyn Lockyer is back! He is now one of the first picked in my Collingwood side. Great to have the old Tarks back.

His work in the midfield was terrific, his tenacity never questioned and, dare I say it, his speed was evident. He was a real spark, and not just a linkman, but an instigator in creating play further down the field.

Elsewhere, other positives included the form of Big Anthony Rocca, who picked up where he left off last week, adding another three goals to the scoreboard, but plenty more in terms of his influence around the ground. He is still our most important player, and it’s a huge plus to have Ant running around minus a few of the kilos of muscle he added to his frame 12 months ago with an eye to playing out of the goal square, with Tarrant leading up the field. Now, it seems Pebbles is again a true centre half forward. It’s so much better to have him back to his pack crashing best. His overall value to the team was worth far more than three goals.

Paul Medhurst also chipped in with four valued goals in attack. Okay, some may argue that they were cheap junktime goals scored when the game was over as a contest. Well, yes, that may be true, but I don’t care – I’ll take them. As I said to someone post match, they were four goals Chris Tarrant would never have snared. In effect, with Rocca doing when he did best in 2002, Travis Cloke doing Tarrant’s donkey work in leading up to the wings, and then Medhurst chipping in with 2-3 goals per week. When you add to that combination a floating Fraser, a potent Buckley, Alan Didak, Leon Davis, Dick and the midfielders, goals should not be too hard to come by. The steak knives to the Tarrant deal he may be, but he’ll give bang for his buck.

The fact that Malthouse had the will to throw three kids to the wolves, on Friday night footy in front of 70,000 on the MCG – real sink or swim stuff. Thankfully, they all pulled through terrifically, and that can only aid the cause for the rest of the season. We are supposedly a team in a ‘transition’ faze, but on the evidence of the past two and a quarter weeks (starting from the final quarter against the Kangaroos), we’re on a fast track. You may argue that we’ve beaten ‘only’ Richmond and the Roos, but not only that; we held sway with West Coast all night until the very last minute.

Running out games is important – we’ve showed that in our two victories with second half charges to victory – but starting them is equally as crucial, something we’ve been lacking in todate. Even against the Eagles they got the jump on us, something to worth on.

But before I finish, I’ve got to have a laugh at the Richmond supporters. How can you not? The same old, same old, same old lines have been trotted out as yet another Tigers coach, in this case Terry Wallace, feels the heat. After their premature arrogance, it was nice to see the likes of Medhurst, who I was unashamedly not a fan of in his Fremantle days, pump the fists with vigour, turning their smug looks into something not quite depicting a happy camper.

And would it be a Collingwood-Richmond match without Matthew Richardson and his enigmatic kicking for goal? Three goals and four behinds on a perfect evening for footy. Say no more.

Looking to next week – if we are able to defeat Port Adelaide on our own MCG turf, which I’d say is an even money bet, it sets our season up perfectly. Imagine that, 3-1 after a month of footy. Helping our cause is the news that Dean Brogan will be absent through an ankle injury. Perhaps part of Malthouse’s thinking in blooding three speedy debutants was done with an eye to the match with the Power, who possess plenty of small, quick midfielders and forwards who can slice opposition sides to shreds. It will be much easier for the likes of Toovey, Dick and Cox to settle in having already played a match.

But that’s for next week. Before I finish, kudos to Dane Swan, who continues to grow in stature.

Strike while the iron is hot, and keep faith.

Votes:

3: T.Lockyer

2: S.Burns

1: D.Swan

Player Review:

Leon Davis: Flashed in and out from half forward and in the midfield. Really sparked the side with his clean hands and cool use of the football out of the centre square in the second half. Snap from the pocket was something special. Quality over quantity. 7/10

Paul Medhurst: Did all but nothing until the final term (albeit having rolled an ankle in the first quarter) when he snagged three of his four goals to bury the Tigers. I don’t care if he only gets four kicks for the game, as long as they’re four goals, I’m happy. Great to have him in the Black and White. 5/10

Scott Pendlebury: Won enough of the ball to have his say in the win, and always seems to be doing things on the bit a la Travis Johnstone. 5.5/10

Shane O'Bree: Ball magnet in the midfield, in particularly early on, and was always damaging at the stoppages. Vastly underrated. 6.5/10

Shannon Cox: Smooth mover in defence, and showed great closing speed. Plenty to work with. 3/10

Dale Thomas: Continues to inspire with his desperation onball. An onfield leader after 19 games. 7/10

Shane Wakelin: Late inclusion for James Clement, and did his job both in defence and when in attack. 4/10

Scott Burns: Ageless onball with his grunt and ability to win the hardball. In that form, Burnsy could play on forever. 8/10

Paul Licuria: May be slowing up a little but is still certainly worth his place in the midfield with the way he tackles and harasses around the packs. 5.5/10

Guy Richards: Improves with each match, and is beginning to work harder around the ground. Had the right idea with the hitouts but was unable to put all of them to proper advantage. 3/10

Rhyce Shaw: Am I really about to say this? – Oozes class off halfback. But really, he does nowadays, Shaw Snr, for he is now developing into an onfield leader, rarely missing targets by foot. 6/10

Anthony Rocca: A match winner in attack, and as mentioned above, he is worth more than just goals. 8/10

Tarkyn Lockyer: See above comment – Tarks is back to his best in the midfield. 8/10

Josh Fraser: Transformed an average first half into a quality second, and used his football brain to set up forward forays. Still cannot wait until Richards hits his straps allowing him into the forward fifty on a consistent basis. 6/10

Nick Maxwell: A quiet night down back, but kept a variety of Richmond forwards quiet. 3.5/10

Harry O'Brien: Not prolific but held Pettifer to a quiet night in the backline. 5/10

Travis Cloke: Led up the field hard but ran out of puff on occasions. Just needs to keep presenting and working and the results will come. 5/10

Brad Dick: A heartening debut from Dick, who has already cemented himself as a crowd favourite with his ability to score freakish goals and break the play open with his speed. Will be required to back up again against Port Adelaide next week should he come up from his ankle injury. 4/10

Alan Toovey: Turned a nervous start into three goals and two behinds as a medium sized forward – a terrific debut. Looks a little like Mark McGough, and whilst his kicking action may be similarly ungainly, it is certainly effective off the left. 6/10

Simon Prestigiacomo: Broke even with Richardson (3.4) and refused to allow him breathing space. 5/10

Dane Swan: Ran hard, found the ball, used the ball brilliantly and finds space. What more can we ask for? 8/10

Heath Shaw: Another to feature heavily, this time off halfback. I cannot recall Shaw actually playing a ‘poor’ game since his debut against St Kilda in late 2005. He continually backs up and does the job. 7/10

Game breaker: Dale Thomas