AFL Round 3 – Collingwood vs Carlton match preview

The crowd are packed in tight for the 1910 VFL Grand Final

ONE HUNDRED AND TWO YEARS AGO, on October the 1^st, 1910, Collingwood and Carlton faced off for the first time in a VFL/AFL Grand Final, and to put it lightly, all hell broke loose. Early in the last quarter of the 1910 VFL Grand Final a fight broke out, with over 30 of the competing players involved. It was brutal, it was ugly, but the aftermath was where the rivalry really began to get heated. After the Grand Final (which Collingwood won by 14 points) the four players reported for starting the fight were given suspensions ranging from 12 to 18 months. But it was after this that the real ignition point of the rivalry occurred, Tom Baxter had been a star in Collingwood’s premiership season, yet he had been accused of being one of the four instigators and was suspended for 12 months, but fellow Magpies player Richard Daykin stepped forward, signing a declaration that he was the fourth instigator, and not Baxter, and the VFL accepted this version of events. Baxters suspension was quashed, and Daykin received the 12 months penalty instead. Days later, Daykin announced his retirement from the VFL, while Baxter continued on to represent Collingwood in it’s premiership defense. This infuriated Cartlon mainly due to the report from the officiating umpire that stated the fourth instigator had dark hair, when Daykin actually had red hair.

It was the beginning of a rivalry that to this day is considered by most to be the most ardent, passionate and fierce between two sporting clubs in Australia, and one of the most competitive in the world of sport for that matter.

The two clubs have faced off in 243 games in the VFA/VFL/AFL since 1892 (the year Collingwood began it’s life) of which Carlton have won 123 and Collingwood have won 116, with only the 4 draws. Included in those matchups have been 22 finals (Carlton lead 14-8) and most importantly 6 Grand Finals, with the only Collingwood victory in a Grand Final versus Carlton coming in that 1910 VFL Grand Final. There have been many fabled matches since, we all know the stories of the 1970 VFL Grand Final comeback in front of a record crowd, and the Wayne Harmes tap in, supposedly from out of bounds in the 1979 VFL Grand Final, and all of them have added extra spice and meaning to this intense rivalry that has endured the test of time.

This Friday Night, in front of an expected crowd of over 80,000 people, Round Three of the 2012 AFL Premiership Season begins with a clash between these two great rivals, and for the first time in many a year, both teams are genuine premiership contenders. Carlton has started the season on fire, easily winning it’s games against the lowly Tigers and Lions, while Collingwood has had to settle for one win and one loss, after a tough first up match against premiership favourites Hawthorn ended in a loss, followed by a gutsy, hard fought win over the Tigers in tough conditions.

Carlton last played on Thursday Night, while Collingwood had to wait until Saturday Night to get it’s round two game completed, and straight away this grants a favourable advantage to Carlton going into Friday Night’s clash. It was easy to see that the Collingwood coaching staff took the shorter break into consideration both in selection and in the way the team played on Saturday Night.

In the last quarter against the Tigers, with the Pies lead approaching the 50 point mark, the likes of Pendlebury, Thomas, Ball and Sidebottom were noticeably absent from the midfield, especially at the centre bounces. It was obvious new coach Nathan Buckley and his coaching staff were already planning for next week.

Chris Dawes takes a strong mark last week

But the coaching staff didn’t plan on one thing, that being star full back Chris Tarrant going down with a calf injury that will keep him out for the best part of a month, and with fellow tall defender Nathan Brown still a few weeks away from returning to the seniors, the Magpies will be weakened down back once again.

There are positives for Collingwood though, with the likely return of the suspended Sharrod Wellingham, inspirational captain Nick Maxwell and also the season debut of club stalwart Ben Johnson, the latter two from injuries and a lack of match practice respectively.

Nick Maxwell and Sharrod Wellingham return for the Magpies this week

One of the biggest selection questions for Nathan Buckley and the Collingwood match committee was what to do with the secondary ruck position. For most of the pre season and the first two regular season games Chris Dawes has been given the role, as a straight forward replacement for the retired Leigh Brown, but even Buckley himself has admitted that Dawes’ output has been less then what has been expected. With the selected teams now released, we can see that Collingwood has decided to go with genuine ruckman Cameron Wood, at the expense of young forward Jackson Paine. Also out for Collingwood is Paul Seedsman, who showed a bit inn his first two games, and the injured Chris Tarrant. The three inclusions are as expected, Wood, captain Nick Maxwell and small midfielder Sharrod Wellingham have returned.

Opposition Analysis.

Carlton got a dream start to the season thanks to the AFL fixture, with games against likely bottom six teams Richmond and Brisbane, and the Blues took full advantage of this with victories by 44 and 91 points, giving them their best start to a season in years. Carlton fans are rightly excited by the mix of players they now have, and for the first time in over a decade Carlton may actually be a genuine premiership contender.

Carlton’s much vaunted midfield is as strong as it has ever been, in fact it may even be stronger, led by 2 superstars in Judd and Murphy, and ably supported by the very under rated Caraazzo, the consistent Kade Simpson, the experienced Heath Scotland and their own personal tough nut, Mitch Robinson, it is indeed as deep as any other midfield in the leagus. Carlton will also look to rotate several more players through that midfield, with the likes of Gibbs, Armfield, Lucas, Tuohy and Curnow at times playing roles through that midfield.

Since the disastrous departure of Brendan Fevola the Carlton forward line has been disjointed and unproductive against the very best sides, yet it now seems that the Blues may finally be getting the mix right inside their offensive zone. In the first two rounds the Blues have used 3 main talls, Jarrad Waite, Shaun Hampson and the very fit Matthew Kreuzer, and they have been ably supported by experienced small forward Eddie Betts, the enigmatic Jeffrey Gartlett and more then able assistance from the above mentioned midfielders, with Judd leading the way with 3 goals last week. Carlton’s forward line does look more potent than ever, and with Collingwood’s problems down back due to injury, Carlton will see this area as one they can exploit.

If there has been a major problem for Carlton against the premiership contending teams over the past few seasons it has been their backline. For many a year, Michael Jamison has been the only top class tall defender at the club, and due to injury has missed plenty of games, and exposed the rest of the Carlton defenders as not up to elite standard. This season though, Carlton have tried Lachlan Henderson down back, and he has performed admirably against Jack Riewoldt and Daniel Merrett. Carlton’s backline does have an area of strength though, with Bryce Gibbs spending the majority of his time back there in recent times, and Chris Yarran one of the clear best running defenders in the game now, the offensive attack off Carlton’s backline is what they may use to hide their most obvious weakness. Carlton are likely to bring in both Jamison and also Nick Duigan for their first games this season, which will bolster that defense to no end.

While Collingwood may be having trouble figuring out it’s ruck setup, Carlton have a settled on theirs for the time being, with Matthew Kruezer and Shaun Hampson already forming a tough tandem that has destroyed it’s opposition in the first two rounds, more so around the ground then anywhere else.

Carlton look to be finally finding the correct mix to fight to finish in the vital top four, and this game is a massive occasion for the developing Carlton team to show the AFL world if they can match it with the best teams.

But for all the improvement and hype from the media, simply put, if Carlton can not beat their arch rival this week, they may well never reach the heights that the clubs history expects it to.

 

Teams;

 COLLINGWOOD

B: Harry O’Brien, Lachlan Keeffe, Heath Shaw
HB: Nick Maxwell, Ben Reid, Tyson Goldsack
C: Dane Swan, Luke Ball, Sharrod Wellingham
HF: Dale Thomas, Chris Dawes, Ben Sinclair
F: Dayne Beams, Travis Cloke, Alex Fasolo
Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom
Int: Martin Clarke, Jarryd Blair, Alan Toovey, Cameron Wood
Emg: Tom Young, Jackson Paine, Paul Seedsman

In: Nick Maxwell, Sharrod Wellingham, Cameron Wood
Out: Chris Tarrant (calf), Jackson Paine (omitted), Paul Seedsman (omitted)

CARLTON

B: J.Laidler L.Henderson C.Yarran
HB: N.Duigan P.Bower Z.Tuohy
C: H.Scotland C.Judd K.Simpson
HF: J.Garlett J.Waite M.Murphy
F: M.Jamison M.Kreuzer E.Betts
Foll: S.Hampson A.Carrazzo B.Gibbs
Int: D.Armfield, E.Curnow, K.Lucas, M.Robinson

Emg: B.McLean J.Russell B.Thornton

IN: N.Duigan, M.Jamison
OUT: B.Thornton, J.Russell

 

Tip.

The returning Sharrod Wellingham in action

While all of the hype around this game seems to be favouring Carlton, they are still yet to prove they can match it with the big two, Collingwood and Geelong, and until they do, I find it had to take tip them. The truth is this is Carlton’s first real test of the season, and while Collingwood may well be a few players short of their best team, it will be the best side the Magpies have put on the field in 2012, and that can not be under estimated. Many factors do favour Carlton though, the six day versus eight day break, the relative health of the lists, and the current form of both teams does lead you towards thinking Carlton are a real chance this week.

But the Pies are filled with stars, in their midfield it will be hard for Carlton to contain all of Pendlebury, Swan, Thomas, Ball, Wellingham, Beams, Sidebottom and Blair, while the Magpies will still have the highest quality ruckman on the ground, Darren Jolly, who is back in top form. The Pies forward line is also dangerous to any side, let alone against one with tall defender problems like Carlton. Travis Cloke is the best power forward in the game at the moment, and he looks as if he’s about to have his break out performance for 2012, which doesn’t bode well for the Blues.

Ultimately though, this will be a close game till the end, with both teams desperate to grab those four points to give them a better then expected start to the season. I favour Collingwood based on midfield depth, and a willingness to do the right things for longer then the lesser experienced Carlton side. Collingwood will outlast, outfight and basically outplay Carlton in a thriller.

PIES by 11 points.

VFL

This weekend the Collingwood VFL side ventures out to Preston to play Carlton’s VFL side, the Northern Blues. The game is on Saturday, and starts at 2pm, with Alan Didak and Nathan Brown likely to be the two most important players for Pie fans to keep an eye on.

WEEKLY COLLINGWOOD QUOTE

Each week from now on, I will add a famous quote from the greats who helped form this club, through to the modern day fans and players. This weeks quote (actually it’s a poem) comes from a fan after our first premiership win, in 1896.

“Hurrah for the lads of lusty legs….

Football they play the orthodox way

And kick t’others teeth out.

Hurray for the lads with biceps so strong,

With arms so brawny and bare.

May they trample and pound all their foes on the ground,

And make merry at their despair.”

(Source – “Kill for Collingwood” – R.Stremski –  1986)