Review - Collingwood v Kangaroos: NAB Cup

Kangaroos stylish in downing the ’Pies

Luke Mason
Friday February 23, 2007

The Kangaroos have welcomed in the new football season with a stylish 51-point triumph over an inexperienced Collingwood at their new home away-from-home at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast.

A strong first term set up the victory, which keeps the Roos in the hunt for the $1 million bonus from the NAB for the overall victor.

Quality all round performances from Corey Jones, who scored three goals including a supergoal, and Aboriginal debutant duo Lindsay Thomas (four goals) and Matthew Campbell (three goals) piloted North home to the perfect beginning to 2007.

Collingwood, meanwhile, were led from the front by hard nosed defender Ben Johnson, who never gave up with his dash from halfback, whilst proven performers Heath Shaw, Scott Burns and Shane Wakelin put in steady performances.

But the match was played, by the Kangaroos anyhow, under the cloud of embattled defender Jonathon Hay’s retirement this afternoon. The 2001 All-Australian cited his ongoing battle with depression as the cause for his withdrawal from the game.

His loss will be felt by the Roos, who were anticipating a top class fullback when he arrived from Hawthorn 18 months ago, although logic has prevailed, and Hay will now benefit from time on the sidelines.

The trend for the match was set in the opening minutes of the first term, as the Kangaroos snared the ascendancy and refused to allow Collingwood even a sniff of it, as they burst to a five goal lead at the first break.

Jess Sinclair opened the 2007 goal scoring account with a typically lovely left footer from inside the fifty, followed up by young Aboriginal draftee Lindsay Thomas. Thomas, an 18-year-old hailing from Port Adelaide, was the 53rd choice in last November’s National Draft, who flew high above Magpie veteran Scott Burns to snare an excellent mark, before converting full points from the resultant kick.

Although Travis Cloke’s supergoal, born from some clever vision from Scott Pendlebury, kept the visitors in touch, the Roos seemed to hold the edge in class, appearing sharper and sleeker across the turf.

Although Fremantle recruit Paul Medhurst added his name to the Collingwood scorebook, majors to the old firm in Shannon Grant and Brent Harvey opening up a 30 point quarter time break.

It was all Blue and White in the second stanza, overrunning Collingwood in all facets of the game to stretch the lead at the main change to a hefty 47 points.

Try as they might, the inexperienced Magpie outfit lacked a match altering presence in attack, with Cloke well covered and Sean Rusling unable to stamp his authority on the contest, well blanketed by Shannon Watt at fullback.

Errors by foot marred the term, one in which the Pies had their chances but were unable to make an impact on the scoreboard, failing to score a major for the duration of the 20 minutes.

To their credit, Collingwood did fight back in the third term, scoring three of the first four goals, many off the back of the never-say-die, hard running Ben Johnson from halfback. The Roos, however, steadied late in the quarter, heading for the huddle 63 points ahead.

Again, the Woods fought the match right to its conclusion, booting the first four goals of the quarter, a highlight being Indigenous lad Brad Dick’s inaugural goal in senior football, a neat left foot snap opening his league account. But it was all to no avail, junk time goals by the home side bloating the margin out to 51 points.

In all, a promising showing by the Kangaroos, who will no doubt be boosted both on and off the field by their comprehensive success, the promise of emerging, crumbing forwards in rookies Lindsay Thomas and Matthew Campbell putting the exclamation mark on an evening which will no doubt go a long way to pulling more supporters through the Gold Coast turnstiles.

The match was not a true reflection on the standing of the Magpies this season, as the Australian cricket team have shown of late, any sporting team lacking their top echelon, in this case Buckley, Rocca, Prestigiacomo and Licuria, will indeed find the going an uphill battle.

The win sees the Kangaroos return to the confines of Telstra Dome next week to take on the victor of Sunday’s Derby between West Coast and Fremantle, Collingwood to play the loser in Western Australia.

The season opener will go down in history as the first time the precision of Bruce McAvaney was teamed with the velvet voice of Dennis Cometti reintroduced football back to Channel Seven after five years spent on the backburner.

The two, having called Grand Finals throughout the 1990s alongside one another, are considered as two of the best of their ilk, McAvainey calling football for the first time since he farewelled the game back in 2001.

Kangaroos 0.6.10, 0.9.11, 1.13.14, 1.15.14 (117)
Collingwood 1.1.1, 1.1.3, 1.4.5, 1.8.9 (66)

Goals – Kangaroos: Thomas 4, Jones 3 (one supergoal), Campbell 2, Grant 2, Sinclair, Thompson, Edwards, Riggo, Harvey.
Collingwood: T.Cloke (supergoal), Medhurst, Rusling, Davis, Egan, Burns, R.Shaw, Dick.

Best – Kangaroos: Jones, Wells, Thomas, Sinclair, Petrie, Hale, Simpson.
Collingwood: Johnson, H.Shaw, Maxwell, Burns, R.Shaw, Wakelin, Pendlebury.

Injuries - Kangaroos: Nil. Collingwood: Harry O'Brien (ribs).

Crowd: 11,341 at Carrara Stadium.