THE FIRST PREVIEW OF THE SEASON: ROUND 1 Collingwood v Fremantle Round 1 2014 Friday 14 March Etihad Stadium, 7.50pm Channel 7/Fox Collingwood B: Alan Toovey, Nathan Brown, Nick Maxwell HB: Tyson Goldsack, Jack Frost, Tom Langdon C: Steele Sidebottom, Brent Macaffer, Taylor Adams HF: Dayne Beams, Travis Cloke, Jamie Elliott F: Ben Kennedy, Jarrod Witts, Dane Swan Foll: Brodie Grundy, Scott Pendlebury, Heritier Lumumba Int: Marty Clarke, Luke Ball, Clinton Young, Ben Sinclair Emg: Quinten Lynch, Lachlan Keeffe, Tony Armstrong New Taylor Adams (20, Greater Western Sydney), Tom Langdon (19, Sandringham U18) Fremantle B: Zac Dawson, Luke McPharlin, Lee Spurr HB: Danyle Pearce, Michael Johnson, Tendai Mzungu C: Cameron Sutcliffe, Ryan Crowley, David Mundy HF: Matt de Boer, Chris Mayne, Nat Fyfe F: Hayden Ballantyne, Matthew Pavlich, Michael Walters Foll: Aaron Sandilands, Michael Barlow, Lachie Neale Int: Paul Duffield, Stephen Hill, Tom Sheridan, Jack Hannath Emg: Colin Sylvia, Zac Clarke, Clance Pearce Last time we met: Fremantle 15.10.100 Collingwood 10.13.73 THE 3 KEYS: 1. Grundy/Witts Vs. Sandilands There is no bigger task in football than taking on arguably the best ruckman in the league. In what is the best move for the club, the young ruckmen will be eager to repay the faith shown by Bucks in letting them go into the match with no backup. It would be easy for Grundy to stand back and play as an extra mid whilst letting Sandilands go up uncontested… but I can assure you, that is not Brodie’s game. He will use his athleticism and endurance to work over the giant and hopefully help the mids out. Witts can go height for height and also expose Sandilands going forward. 2. Pendlebury Vs. Crowley There is no doubt Crowley is the best tagger in the game. Last outing he restricted the Copeland Trophy winner to 23 disposals. Pendlebury oozes class, and with the likes of Adams and Ball in the midfield, they will be providing bumps and blocks at every chance to put daylight between Crowley and Pendles. Crowley can be exposed due to his lack of height with the ball magnet drifting forward and using his skills inside 50. 3. Cloke Vs. McPharlain McPharlain did a number on Cloke the last time out, restricting the powerhouse to 4 behinds and 10 disposals, whilst racking up 22 of his own. Supported by Lynch in the corresponding game, he will have the resting ruck in front of him providing all the space for him to work his magic. The relaxed rules in marking contests are sure to benefit Cloke with him being the biggest forward in the game and not afraid to let the defenders know it. Accuracy has always been the problem but has a good record under the roof. Final Say: With a bitter taste in the mouth from the shock finals exit last year, there will be plenty of players wanting to start the season off on a high with the emphasis on two-way footy. The ruck duels will be tough, but there is enough quality in the midfield to go head to head with the grand finalists. The F50 entries must improve from last season. They were terrible. I’m hoping for a chip around approach until options are available. Sinclair, Clarke and Toovey have the task of taking on Fremantle’s lightning quick forward line. No easy feat as they got the chocolates last year, but there is renewed desire this year under Buckley’s Pies. Let’s hope to be on top of the ladder tomorrow night with a dominant display to get the haters talking. GO PIES!!
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 11:13:07 +0000
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