Round One Preview - Collingwood v Kangaroos:
Collingwood vs Kangaroos: Match Preview:
By Luke Mason
The summer of cricket has concluded, the tennis is over, the A-League is all but a memory, and the glorified NAB Cup done and dusted – the real football starts this Saturday afternoon at footy’s home ground, the MCG, with Collingwood taking on the Kangaroos in what promises to be an intriguing battle.
A big season shapes for both sides, in many respects defining ones in terms of future planning. The contrast in this case is evident, Collingwood rebounding from a humiliating loss to the Western Bulldogs in the First Elimination Final last season, spoiling, somewhat, a season which saw the ‘success’ box ticked, for the club rose from a sad and sorry 15th in 2005 to finish the home and away season on the cusp of the top four and a double chance.
The Roos, meanwhile, passed the Magpies in the other direction, plummeting from fifth in ’05 to the lower reaches of the 2006 table, their off-season punts on tried and true footballing commodities failing to fire as was hoped, Kasey Green the only experience import to display any sort of solidarity as the team, and club, ran itself off the rails.
But that isn’t to say that their 2007 aspirations are already dashed, not in the slightest. As we all know, a week is a long time in football, and six months much, much longer, and it will be no surprise to see North hit Collingwood will all its might in front of what is tipped to be a strong crowd at Jolimont, not doubt remaining hopeful of attracting a few members to add to their tally, which makes the newspaper headlines so often.
In comparison, Collingwood won’t have any concern over the state of their ever loyal members, who continue to sign up come rain, hail or shine, or wins, losses or draws (but that said, there’s room for all on this Black and White bandwagon).
Instead, regaining the respect of the football public is the order of the day. The dismal showing in our only final has, in many quarters, cast a pall over a year in which the club took great strides, relaunching from 13th and 15th in the previous two seasons to be knocking on the door of the final four. As in 2003, one loss seems to have the capacity to ruin the opinions of the scribes who relentlessly downplay our prospects for the upcoming year.
Are they right? Are we simply shrouded in the eternal optimism which is borne from this time of year? Time will tell, although it does appear a formality that we will prove a force in the years to come (think 2008 and onwards) due to our clever drafting of late, however just where we sit in the pecking order is undecided.
However, what has been oft overlooked by the many newspaper and magazine previews is that the Magpies were only percentage (and realistically victory over sellardweller Essendon) away from securing a top four berth and with it a double chance.
Too old, too slow, they say. Just a bunch of honest plodders. “Brittle under pressure” wrote the Herald Sun’s chief football writer Mike Sheehan. Sheehan says this in response to the statistic that shows that of our 10 meetings with other finalists from last year, we triumphed on only three occasions.
But isn’t he overlooking the fact that we cut both Grand Final outfits down to size? Our round 12 conquering of
The match ups:
Sadly for the Kangaroos and for football supporters in general, attacking spearhead Nathan Thompson will be sidelined for the rest of the season through a knee injury suffered in a practice match against St Kilda at Optus Oval only a fortnight prior to the season proper.
In his absence, as well as that of Sav Rocca, who is now trying his luck on the NFL punting circuit, Dean Laidley and co have quite a void in which to fill in attack in order to post a winning score.
Laidley, who enters the season under pressure to produce results, must surely be thanking his lucky stars that he nabbed former West Coast and Frankston wildchild Aaron Edwards. The 23-year-old bagged a ton with the Dolphins in the VFL last season, as well as securing the JJ Liston Trophy as the player of the season.
Hard and fast on the lead and a reliable kick for goal, Edwards will be the main man in attack when the ball is bounced on Saturday afternoon despite his meagre league tally of three games (with the Eagles in 2005), in comparison with likely opponents Prestigiacomo and Wakelin, who have chalked up 394 games between them.
With this in mind, goals may prove difficult to come by for the Roos, again relying on the wily Shannon Grant to again produce alongside midfield veterans Brent Harvey and Adam Simpson, who regularly float into attack for a goal or two.
Will Drew Petrie, so settled in defence last year, return to his early days at the club and find himself stationed in attack? Could the burly Leigh Brown be the man? Or will a youngster the ilk of Brad Moran be forced to stand up and be counted?
Of the three options, it is feasible that one of Petrie or Brown line up in attack at some stage, with whoever is left over from Wakelin/Prestigiacomo to be assigned the role of the more experienced player.
One to watch at ground level is SANFL excitement machine Lindsay Thomas, who impressed greatly in the pre-season with his speed and zip across the ground, showing an ability to create something out of nothing and ignite a Roos attack which was lacklustre last year.
Circumstances pending, expect one of Tarkyn Lockyer or Heath Shaw to lock down the man who will be making his official league debut, leaving the general, James Clement, to mind the dangerous Grant, who will be hungry for action after prematurely ending his season last year in round 19, when he opted to plan ahead and have knee surgery instead of playing out the season.
A pivotal battle will be fought out in the centre and around the ground, as Guy Richards and Josh Fraser lock horns with
Chris Bryan, too, may receive his opportunity to don the Black and White and provide support to the two frontliners in the ruck.
Offered only a one-year deal by the Blues, Bryan didn’t need to be asked twice whether he’d sign up for two with Collingwood, the burly former Frankston VFL star set to make an impact in his adopted colours. His main task will be to alleviate the burden carried by Fraser since the final days of Steve McKee, and link up with Richards to become the rucking duo all top flight clubs require to mix it with the best.
Their opponents, Hale and McIntosh, come from the same side of the tracks, having spent plenty of time on the footballing backburner before reaching the top level. Both are former top ten draft choices (numbers nine and 10 respectively), and will shoulder the hopes of the Roos in the coming decade, the club living in the hope that a future Corey McKernan may be unearthed.
Hale’s mission won’t lack any motivation, for he has been one of the four footballers tangled in the betting web during the pre-season, and the way he backs up after the public scrutiny will be keenly anticipated.
The midfield duels will be interesting to say the least. Sans Buckley, Didak and
It will be exciting for all to witness the new of the Collingwood onball brigade congregate in the centre of the MCG, the likes of Dale Thomas, Scott Pendlebury, Rhyce Shaw and Sam Iles set to be joined by some more battled hardened bodies, such as those of Scott Burns, Paul Licuria, Shane O'Bree and Ben Johnson.
The club has come in for some criticism in recent times for its perceived lack of youth and speed in the midfield. But have those critics remembered Dane Swan and Ben Johnson’s remarkable improvement last winter? Or the meteoric rise of Heath Shaw in defence? What of Scott Pendlebury’s chances of a major impact in overcoming his second year blues?
Thomas and Pendlebury, who together whetted the appetites of Magpie supporters around the nation last winter, have benefited from their second pre-seasons, adding much needed muscle to their once slender frames; the pair now looked at as the men to carry the Collingwood torch over the course of the next ten years.
Laidley’s headaches won’t stop when it comes to halting the Collingwood attack, either, the forward line chockfull of emerging talent carrying with it the hint of unpredictability.
Having shed Chris Tarrant from the roster, a new era was set to dawn in attack, Travis Cloke and Sean Rusling, two of the most exciting rising key forwards in the business, in position to stake their claims to claim Tarrant’s mantle as the hardest leading forward at the Lexus Centre.
Sadly, Rusling will not take part in the first three months of 2007, restricted once again by his troublesome shoulder, which was dislocated not for the first time in a practice match for the club’s VFL feeder side Williamstown.
Cloke will, at least, have Tarrant’s role to himself in providing hard leads further afield, clearing space for Anthony Rocca and co. It is said each and every pre-season that Rocca is the key to this outfit, and, yes, he is. Should the big fella prove able to reproduce his numbers from the first half of 2006 across the 22 rounds, the club will be well on its way to a September finish.
Unpredictability lurks beneath their feet, Aboriginal duo, Leon Davis and Chris Egan set to be joined by Fremantle recruit Paul Medhurst in a small forward combination that, on its day, could explode to never before seen heights.
Trading in the mishmash of purple, red, green and white for the class and elegance of the Black and White, Medhurst has overcome a nasty bout of tonsillitis to prove himself worthy of filling the breech opened by injury to Alan Didak and the retirement of Blake Caracella.
On his day, the man known as the ‘Coonskin Cap’ by Rex Hunt is one of the most damaging small forwards in the game. Belying his 178cm, Medhurst has the capacity to haul in strong grabs with his incredibly sticky fingers, his freakish talents having earned him an extraordinary bag of nine goals in the Dockers upset of the Brisbane Lions in 2004.
Despite Jonathon Hay’s untimely retirement on the eve of the NAB Cup, the Roos still have plenty of talls in which to choose from. Brown may go to Rocca in the battle of the big men; Shannon Watt may be pitted against the run of Travis Cloke, and draftee Lachlan Hansen, perhaps, given a glimpse at the immense talents of Fraser.
The form guide:
Collingwood’s pre-season campaign was marked by just the solitary victory, over St Kilda in impressive fashion at Optus Oval, losing to Sydney on two occasions and Richmond the once, as well as going down to a much stronger Kangaroo side in the first week of the NAB Cup at Carrara on the Gold Coast.
In contrast, the Roos came out of the blocks like a house on fire, winning their first two matches of the NAB Cup, before stumbling against the Blues in the face of some Brendan Fevola heroics, then losing both Thompson and the match in their final practice outing against the Saints at Optus Oval.
New faces:
The Magpies are set to unveil both Medhurst and Bryan, each crossing from league clubs with a point or two to prove. Should he come up from a niggling foot injury, Medhurst will run out for the 100th time in his career, beginning back in 2002. Draftee Ben Reid is also in the mix, as are second year players yet to debut in Danny Stanley (should he overcome an ankle ailment) and Ryan Cook, who has enjoyed an impressive pre-season.
Laidley’s Kangaroos will no doubt enter play with a host of new faces, Lachlan Hanson, Thomas, and Ben Ross, drafted in the Pre-Season Draft, among the new crop to play for the first time.
Injuries:
Unfortunately, it will be the first time since 1993 that a Collingwood side will take to the field in round one minus their skipper and heartbeat, Nathan Buckley, who twinged a hamstring last week, an injury set to sideline him until round three. Alan Didak’s reconstructed knee has been deemed unfit for service for another week, while
On the flip side of the coin, the Roos are in a similar position, although without the influence of Thompson in attack, it will be a difficult afternoon in the search of goals, and lots of them.
Head to Head since 2000:
Collingwood: 7
Kangaroos: 4
With the Roos era of 1990s dominance coming to a close in the early part of the decade, the Magpies have cashed in, snaring a three match lead in the head-to-head stakes, opening up the gap courtesy of a four match winning streak over the blue and white between round 22 2001 and round 10 2004, backing it up with consecutive successes last season.
The X-Factors:
Collingwood: Scott Pendlebury. Can the silky-smooth Pendlebury live up to the hype and become the bona fide midfield star the Magpies so desperately require?
Kangaroos: Aaron Edwards. The eyes of the game will be upon him, the question posed – is he good enough to make the adjustment from the state leagues to the main game?
Questions to be answered:
Can the Roos hit the bottom of the table one year and bounce off the floor the next?
How will Collingwood’s Thomas and Pendlebury cope with the added attention, can they survive the dreaded second year blues?
How do the Pies attack stack up without Tarrant?
The tip:
An industrious side are the Kangaroos, and can be expected to continue chugging along no matter the odds, and any side including the likes of Thompson,
posted by Luke Mason at 1:55 pm
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