Rd 8 vs Collingwood Magpies @ MCG - Match Thread

[Ludwig]

From Day 1, whenever Kinear Beatson is asked about Stephens he says Stephens is a hybrid mid - can play inside or outside. That's why he was drafted ahead of others. Maybe the powers that be have decided to give him a go inside. Whenever he got the ball in the twos he looked like a Rolls Royce - head and shoulders ahead of anyone on the field. In that VFL game he reminded me of Dylan Shields when he was with GWS.

Stephens hasn't always looked that good in the VFL. He had a bad spell last year when couldn't hit a target to save his life.

If he can win the ball at a stoppage, he can be quite dangerous, with his quick acceleration and ability to kick the ball long and hard. I don't know if he will get much AFL action as an inside mid though.

I would prefer Stephens as our small defensive forward in lieu of Clarke. If a player gets past him, Dylan can still run him down from behind; something that Clarke can't do.

[H2F]

3 wins from our last 9 starts

Those wins against Hawthorn(18th) Richmond(15th) and Gold Coast (14th)

I dont even count Hawthorn as they are tanking so 2 wins.

Very definition of a poor side.

[i'm-uninformed2]

Coaches votes (which seem about right to me):

9 Brody Mihocek (COLL)
9 Scott Pendlebury (COLL)
5 Errol Gulden (SYD)
3 Darcy Moore (COLL)
2 Isaac Quaynor (COLL)
2 Luke Parker (SYD)

[mcs]

Coaches votes (which seem about right to me):

9 Brody Mihocek (COLL)
9 Scott Pendlebury (COLL)
5 Errol Gulden (SYD)
3 Darcy Moore (COLL)
2 Isaac Quaynor (COLL)
2 Luke Parker (SYD)

Gulden stiff not to pick up a few more votes, but understandable in a team ultimately well beaten.

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[Blood Fever]

I'm a fan of Mclean but he is too slow and lumbering to be a key defender

[Ludwig]

I thought I heard booing directed at Franklin at the MCG, but like everyone, could not fathom what it was about. Today I heard that this was the first game we played at the MCG v Collingwood since 2013, which I gather was the game AG got racially abused. Could this be a 10 year payback to complaining about their booing an aboriginal player 10 years ago?

I'm a fan of Mclean but he is too slow and lumbering to be a key defender

Speed is more important for a key forward, so if he's too slow and lumbering, he has no place in footy.

[stevoswan]

3 wins from our last 9 starts

Those wins against Hawthorn(18th) Richmond(15th) and Gold Coast (14th)

I dont even count Hawthorn as they are tanking so 2 wins.

Very definition of a poor side.

Yep, more of that special brand of optimism. Love it.

[mcs]

Yep, more of that special brand of optimism. Love it.

Not sure what is really wrong with that comment. A simple reflection we've beaten no-one of note so far this season.

If the season ended now, we'd rate it as a poor year. Luckily it doesn't, but we aren't exactly setting the world on fire so far.

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[stevoswan]

I thought I heard booing directed at Franklin at the MCG, but like everyone, could not fathom what it was about. Today I heard that this was the first game we played at the MCG v Collingwood since 2013, which I gather was the game AG got racially abused. Could this be a 10 year payback to complaining about their booing an aboriginal player 10 years ago?

Do the toothless brigade have memories that long?

Apparently Horse was asked about the booing of Buddy in the post match and said he couldn't work out why they would want to boo a champion. Then again, that's pretty much what Buckley said about the Goodes booing.

[BRS328]

BRS

I feel there are a number of reasons for our decline this year that need to be considered.

1) The impact that Sam Reid had when he came into the team at the mid point of last season was immense. Playing as a forward ruckman, he was a dominant presence right up until halftime in the preliminary final. We hardly lost a game to that point. It was no coincidence that Collingwood almost won the game after he was injured.

2) Clearly the loss of experienced players through injury, particularly the tall’s on the back line, forward line and ruck has hurt, and affected the confidence of some of the younger players. At times you see some of them trying to do too much, and perhaps with the influence of some of the more experienced players around them this may not happen as much. We simply don’t have replacements for Reid, Hicky, Paddy McCartin, Rampe, and while he is not experienced I will include Armartey in that group based on his obvious improvement this year prior to his injury.

3) Our midfield is a highly talented group, but with the exception Parker and Mills is very inexperienced compared to most other teams.

It is not all doom and gloom.

[stevoswan]

I feel there are a number of reasons for our decline this year that need to be considered.

1) The impact that Sam Reid had when he came into the team at the mid point of last season was immense. Playing as a forward ruckman, he was a dominant presence right up until halftime in the preliminary final. We hardly lost a game to that point. It was no coincidence that Collingwood almost won the game after he was injured.

2) Clearly the loss of experienced players through injury, particularly the tall’s on the back line, forward line and ruck has hurt, and affected the confidence of some of the younger players. At times you see some of them trying to do too much, and perhaps with the influence of some of the more experienced players around them this may not happen as much. We simply don’t have replacements for Reid, Hicky, Paddy McCartin, Rampe, and while he is not experienced I will include Armartey in that group based on his obvious improvement this year prior to his injury.

3) Our midfield is a highly talented group, but with the exception Parker and Mills is very inexperienced compared to most other teams.

It is not all doom and gloom.

A well considered post.....should be more of it.

[stevoswan]

More on the Franklin booing:

"Collingwood has issued an apology to Sydney's Lance Franklin after he was routinely booed by members of the crowd during Sunday's match at the MCG. Co-signed by captain Darcy Moore, coach Craig McRae and chief executive Craig Kelly said the club "does not support booing, particularly champions of the game".

"Yesterday was the first time we played the Swans at the MCG in a decade – it provided an opportunity to respect a champion of the game and we fell short.

Buddy is a great of Australian Football – what he has achieved on the field over a long period of time demands a high level of respect.

"To our members and supporters, we are on an exciting journey at Collingwood and we do not take for granted the unwavering support you provide us with at every game – home or away. Our fans turn up like no other – you're our 19th player – you're loud, you're passionate, you're emotional.

"We hope the next time we get the chance to witness a champion of the game we treat them with respect, the same respect we ask for when it comes to our players and our champions." the statement read.

From an online ABC News article....maybe a mod can correctly post the link because I still don't get the link posting rules no matter how many times I read them.

Hopefully this will signal the last time McRae says 'the fans pay their money, they can do what they like'. I thought that was a weak cop out.

[dejavoodoo44]

Gulden stiff not to pick up a few more votes, but understandable in a team ultimately well beaten.

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I might be biased, but I would've went for Errol, and the stats tend to back me up. BOG for disposals, clearances, contested possessions, metres gained and fantasy points: the last two by a long way. Perhaps the coaches had a bit of recency bias, as Errol had a quiet final quarter, while Mihocek and Pendlebury were instrumental in Collingwood skipping away with the game.

[Blood Fever]

I feel there are a number of reasons for our decline this year that need to be considered.

1) The impact that Sam Reid had when he came into the team at the mid point of last season was immense. Playing as a forward ruckman, he was a dominant presence right up until halftime in the preliminary final. We hardly lost a game to that point. It was no coincidence that Collingwood almost won the game after he was injured.

2) Clearly the loss of experienced players through injury, particularly the tall’s on the back line, forward line and ruck has hurt, and affected the confidence of some of the younger players. At times you see some of them trying to do too much, and perhaps with the influence of some of the more experienced players around them this may not happen as much. We simply don’t have replacements for Reid, Hicky, Paddy McCartin, Rampe, and while he is not experienced I will include Armartey in that group based on his obvious improvement this year prior to his injury.

3) Our midfield is a highly talented group, but with the exception Parker and Mills is very inexperienced compared to most other teams.

It is not all doom and gloom.

+1

[dejavoodoo44]

I thought I heard booing directed at Franklin at the MCG, but like everyone, could not fathom what it was about. Today I heard that this was the first game we played at the MCG v Collingwood since 2013, which I gather was the game AG got racially abused. Could this be a 10 year payback to complaining about their booing an aboriginal player 10 years ago?

Yes, I was coming up blank when trying to work out why they were booing Buddy. I suspect finding out, would involve wading through sludge filled corners of the internet, that I don’t really want to visit. At least the Collingwood management has made it clear that they didn't appreciate it. So good for them.

Their fans were also booing Papley, but that was fairly easy to figure out, as he did stir them up during the grand final parade, by going with the toothless Collingwood fan look.