Hird very good. Gee Tom Morris is a diick.
Itâs not that Collingwood is slow - they are.
The bigger issue, that made them even slower is the same issue as Sydney - lack of genuine inside mids that can win the first possession at a stoppage and distribute it to outside runners.
Collingwoodâs two best mid runners are N.Daicos and Sidebottom. Both are elite by hand and foot and cut you up if you give them time and space on the outside.
Today both seemed to play an inside mid role to win the ball which they did - but there were no class runners on the outside. In particular, Bedford wore N.Daicos like a glove and his pressure meant many of Daicosâs contested possessions were not clean and he was never given any room to burst into space and use the ball better. I think at half time, Daicos and Callaghan had had equal possessions but Callaghan had, I think, 365m gained and Daicos only 62m as I recall. That is the game right there.
Whatâs worse, the Giants were missing their best inside mid (Tom Green), best KP forward (Jesse Hogan) and star recruit in Stringer - and then lost their #1 ruckman early in Q1. And, by focusing on negating N.Daicosâs ball use and space to run, they took Collingwood to the cleaners.
Dan Houstan coming into the side doesnât help the Pies situation but at least he knows how to defend at HB, unlike J.Daicos who clearly had no idea. Playing J.Daicos there robbed the Pies of his speed in space on the wing which further exacerbated their slowness.
Sydney has the same midfield issues - no contested ball inside mid. With Grundy well beaten, Meek dominated the ruck. But Hawthornâs key was two inside mid tough nuts (Worpel and Newcombe) and one outstanding Finn Callaghan hybrid inside/outside 190 cm+ powerhouse in Will Day. All Sydney have are two talented, forward of the ball front runners in Heeney and WarnerâŚand of course, Taylor Adams got injured (about the only good inside mid they have).
How Sydney expected to win with a player as average Mellican as their #1 KP defender and a bigger hack in Paton as #1 small forward negater is beyond me. In fact, I think Paton cost them 2 of the first 2-3 goals from Hawthorn.
Like Collingwood, Sydneyâs list looks deadset ordinary - slow with average players who are too often liabilities.
Pies will at least will get better in the middle once De Goey returns (their best finals player in the premiership year two years ago). Sydney wonât unless Grundy plays 1,000 % better than he on Friday night.
We have a better balanced list than either Collingwood and Sydney and way better age demographics with Merrett the oldest at 29 for our best 25 players.
And, in Sam Durham, we have a hybrid inside/outside mid that, whilst not quite as tall as Callaghan and Day, is more dynamic in the air when he rests forward.
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Itâs age.
Look at GWS today. Thatâs where our group will be in a couple of years.
Thankfully just before Tassie comes in and raids the draft. Hopefully better than our competitors.
Great write up as per usual.
Just on Sydney, I seriously doubt they can afford the luxury of McCartin playing forward, as suitable as he is to the role.
Thereâs no way they hold up in defence with Mellican, Rampe and a rangy interceptor in Blakey.
Against taller forward lines than the one Hawthorn put out there, I guess Francis could come in as an additional tall.
It doesnât scream Premiership defence though !
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Losing Gulden, McDonald, Cunningham and Mills for the first month, month and a half of footy is going to hurt Sydney.
They have Brisbane, Freo(A), North(A), Collingwood(Neutral), Port(H).
Thats an ugly run to be without some of the best footballers , and theit list doesnt run deep.
Oh then they head to the Gold Coast graveyard.m, host gws and play us away.
Could be lucky to be 2-4 or 2-5 imho. Tough start
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Itâs not exactly a long injury list though is it ?
Gulden is huge, obviously.
Mills is a fine player, itâs also been a long time since we saw it.
McDonald has hardly taken the league by storm.
Still a developing tall.
Cunningham is a good honest foot soldier.
No but who are the fielding with those 4 out?
The swans are as deep as a puddle.
Theyâve obviously got 2 very tough games to come.
0 - 3 a very real possibility.
In spurts they look impressive to the point of scary.
Ultimately, Hawthorn were simply better for longer.
I think their biggest out is McLean.
Theyâve had to throw so much out of whack to cover his absence. Yes, Gulden and Mills are guns, but they can still keep structure in their absence. To cover McLean takes throwing McCartin and Amartey in and out of position with no real coverage.
But are we going to actually play him in the middle?
Did you watch the last game of 2024?
I donât understand your reply in regards to my post.
Interesting from Collingwood. Still think the players are/team should be better than a 50 point drubbing.
For mine their CEO is a massive problem and the club is all of the shop which reflects in performance.
Jakey boy would be pretty chuffed, especially coming from BWAS
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And there was no way Daicos was fully fit, why would you risk the best player in the comp (arguably) in a round zero game? I think they have probelms. They have gone all in on trades Im not 100% sure will be much good to be honest. They will need to go back to the draft from next year onwards . If we dont see some second half season major stability , so will we, We do have some good young players and some high draft KP picks like Reid that are like virtual forst year players so I think there is still a potential hope, but its very narrow if not realised this year
Sydney got hammered ? The grand final losing champions.
I enjoyed it but that was very unCollingwood like for a season opener when all their older players would be fresh.
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Sydney are hoping to be Premiers this year, hence my comment that a backline with talls of Mellican, Rampe & Francis doesnât scream Premiership defence.
Right when I see the words defence I gather there is something to defend.
Carry on - understand what you intend
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Dean Cox doesnât scream premiership coach