1st quarter was sensational by Pies

[Mr Magic]

If there was some way of forming some kind of intense pressure about 60-70 out from their goal, you could really hurt them the other way.

i can think of someone who could do that.

That's our gameplan in a nutshell!

[#1GILL]

If there was some way of forming some kind of intense pressure about 60-70 out from their goal, you could really hurt them the other way.

i can think of someone who could do that.

I can think of 22.

[bigcarl]

If there was some way of forming some kind of intense pressure about 60-70 out from their goal, you could really hurt them the other way.

i can think of someone who could do that.

I can think of 22.

now you are talking

[saint3d]

Surely you are kidding yourself.......denial.

Ist half.........double midfield depth with real pace

Yep Collingwood have elevated their game beyond anything we've ever seen. Surely the premiership is a cakewalk.

Seriously pal, get a grip. Have you forgotten St Kilda's last game?

To my eye the two main differences between the Pies and Saints wins against Geelong are:

1. Collingwood took every available opportunity in the first half.

2. Rain didn't come in the second half.

If you honestly think you haven't seen pressure like that I can only guess you can't bring yourself to think about 2009 too much. I feel the same way. On top of that perhaps the freshness of Collingwood's win is distracting you from remembering how the Saints have performed this year.

[SainterK]

If there was some way of forming some kind of intense pressure about 60-70 out from their goal, you could really hurt them the other way.

i can think of someone who could do that.

That's our gameplan in a nutshell!

Well, yes it is...

However it's kind of our gameplan countering our gameplan, if that makes sense.

[St. Luke]

I'm hoping it was a taxing game for the Pies! Sadly though, it looks like they breezed through!

They did look like dynamite, but I thought the Cats looked tired. Such a hard game to read at times!

[Mr Magic]

If there was some way of forming some kind of intense pressure about 60-70 out from their goal, you could really hurt them the other way.

i can think of someone who could do that.

That's our gameplan in a nutshell!

Well, yes it is...

However it's kind of our gameplan countering our gameplan, if that makes sense.

You know what stoips their gameplan dead in its tracks?
Not turning the ball over in your forward line.

So if you have key forwards who can actually lead and mark or take contested marks (unlike Geelong in the first half tonight) guess what?

No amount of running around by Harry O, Heaf or hard kick Maxwell is going to stop us having shots at goal if we actually take marks.

And we've got a couple of really good marks playing in our forward half.

When was the last time Collingwood managed to stop a fit Roo/Kosi combination?

If we get through my guess is they'll seriously look at bringing in PrestidigiComo becasue they're fearful of what Roo/Kosi might do to Reid/Brown.
It hasn't worked in the past and if nothing else it will signify a lack of confidence in their current structure to do the job.

[SainterK]

If there was some way of forming some kind of intense pressure about 60-70 out from their goal, you could really hurt them the other way.

i can think of someone who could do that.

That's our gameplan in a nutshell!

Well, yes it is...

However it's kind of our gameplan countering our gameplan, if that makes sense.

You know what stoips their gameplan dead in its tracks?
Not turning the ball over in your forward line.

So if you have key forwards who can actually lead and mark or take contested marks (unlike Geelong in the first half tonight) guess what?

No amount of running around by Harry O, Heaf or hard kick Maxwell is going to stop us having shots at goal if we actually take marks.

And we've got a couple of really good marks playing in our forward half.

When was the last time Collingwood managed to stop a fit Roo/Kosi combination?

If we get through my guess is they'll seriously look at bringing in PrestidigiComo becasue they're fearful of what Roo/Kosi might do to Reid/Brown.
It hasn't worked in the past and if nothing else it will signify a lack of confidence in their current structure to do the job.

All very true and very wise MM

[Mr Magic]

Have I managed to convince you yet K?
Don't let the media and worry-warts tempt you into believing the Collingwood hype.

We had a better year last year than Collingwood had this year, and still managed to lose the big one to the second best team.

This season we're the second best team - we finished third but we beat #2 in a final so took over their position.

Should we make it through, I'm confident enough in our team and coaches to believe we are in with as good a chance as they are of winning it.

We have GF experience, they don't

They've got a gameplan that rides on Heaf, Hairy O and Hard Kick Maxwell running free.
Do you honestly believe we're going to allow that without trying to stop it?

And if they do run free on our half forward line, we'll have BJ, Gilbert and Fisher free at the other end.
I'll be really happy with Roo leading at BJ with the footy.

They can't tag all our guns and still free up their running half backs.
Something has to give, and then it becomes a contest between us and them, not a walk in the park.
They knew going into tonight's game that Mooney, Pods and Hawkins weren't going to give them much headache, so they played accordingly.

[SainterK]

Do really think I need convincing MM?

I have much to say about Collingwood, but I am doing my best to hold fire until tomorrow night at about 10pm

I just never seemed to notice our players stream forward of the ball to the extent that Collingwood do, perhaps I just never paid close enough attention.

[Mr Magic]

Do really think I need convincing MM?

I have much to say about Collingwood, but I am doing my best to hold fire until tomorrow night at about 10pm

I just never seemed to notice our players stream forward of the ball to the extent that Collingwood do, perhaps I just never paid close enough attention.

We did stream forward when the pressure on us was released.
think back to round 2 against NM, and the game against PA late in teh season.
ALso the way we played in the first 2 and a half quarters against Geelong 2 weeks ago.

If Fisher, BJ and Glibert are allowed to run freely off the half back line we will cause real trouble for whoever we play.
That's why teams started playing defensively on Fisher and Gilbert. But if you do that ou don't have the spare players to free up your own running defenders.
So teams have to decide what they want most - their own running defenders or clamping down on ours.
If they choose the latter option then you get those 'arm-wrestle' type matches played between teh half forwad lines - low scores and contest after contest. We have rarely lost those type of contests in the last 2 years.
If they choose the former option we have the potency of BJ's kicking to Roo/Kosi.
Geelong didn't have that tonight and got chopped off easily.

[Beej]

Pies don't play hard tags.

MM backs each of his 22 to win the 50/50s.

They just continue to rotate through and it seems to be a case of, "whoever is closest to you, make sure you beat them in the contest"

They don't put any emphasis on trying to stop one individual. It's very much a team-defence.

When they don't have the footy their pressure causes the turnover and then, the most impressive thing about them, they spread at such blistering pace that at times they seem to have an extra 10 men on the field.

[saint3d]

They don't put any emphasis on trying to stop one individual. It's very much a team-defence.

That is exploitable.

[wasaintsfan]

havent we been working on some secret game plan over the last 4 months or so???

swear i heard it meantioned and i dont think weve seen it come out yet

maybe a plan made exactly for teams like the pies???

regardless i think we should beat the pies WHEN we get to the grandfinal

[LaUrEnCe]

When they don't have the footy their pressure causes the turnover and then, the most impressive thing about them, they spread at such blistering pace that at times they seem to have an extra 10 men on the field.

Fook. This is one thing that i have probably noticed the most out of them.

[saint75]

Do really think I need convincing MM?

I have much to say about Collingwood, but I am doing my best to hold fire until tomorrow night at about 10pm

I just never seemed to notice our players stream forward of the ball to the extent that Collingwood do, perhaps I just never paid close enough attention.

We did stream forward when the pressure on us was released.
think back to round 2 against NM, and the game against PA late in teh season.
ALso the way we played in the first 2 and a half quarters against Geelong 2 weeks ago.

If Fisher, BJ and Glibert are allowed to run freely off the half back line we will cause real trouble for whoever we play.
That's why teams started playing defensively on Fisher and Gilbert. But if you do that ou don't have the spare players to free up your own running defenders.
So teams have to decide what they want most - their own running defenders or clamping down on ours.
If they choose the latter option then you get those 'arm-wrestle' type matches played between teh half forwad lines - low scores and contest after contest. We have rarely lost those type of contests in the last 2 years.
If they choose the former option we have the potency of BJ's kicking to Roo/Kosi.
Geelong didn't have that tonight and got chopped off easily.

Excellent summary. However, I am with SainterK on this one. I won't be talking much about our chances or how to beat them until we actually make the GF. We still have a game to go before I start worrying about a game that is almost a week away that we have not made yet. The Bulldogs may not be the walk in the park that many think. They still finished in the top 4 so not point getting too far ahead of ourselves.

[chook23]

Hope we beat doggies easily.......

Will then need to play at our absolute best

Last night I just had confirmation of how goods Collingwoods pressure is ..not bagging us in any way

Jusy my honest opinion

At quarter-time, it was 7.2 to 1.1 and an era was over.

The Cats had 44 kicks and 61 handballs compared to Collingwood's 64 and 29.

Every fourth or so possession from Collingwood was an inside-50. By game's end they'd had 56.

Turnovers created in the forward 50m were 26-12 Collingwood's way and they kicked 8.2 to 1.0 as a result.
Overall Collingwood had 33 more effective kicks with 79 fewer disposals.

The Cats had 50 more handballs than kicks and Collingwood 127 more kicks than handballs.

The numbers are spellbinding and they are built on a hard-working attack and a highly-acknowledged defence.

In fact, Collingwood's pressure is something we haven't seen in the game before. They have forged new territory from St Kilda's zone of 12 months ago. They press space and the man and the support network is like a cavalry charging a besieged fort.
It forced handballs, indecision and turnovers.


Hope we can combat it if we get there.

[Thinline]

The filth were good.


The cats were terrible.

Cats looked tired. Pies looked rested. Pies played really well and things went right. Cats were listless, really soft at it (so many examples of players baulking at the ball early) and entirely devoid of a plan to slow the game down.

Cats era ends.

They take some booty to the grave, but they've underachieved a bit given the talent they have.

[Cirra]

As a long time reader -seldom poster I'd like to give my 2 cents on last night...

Last night reminded me of the Semi last year between the Crows and Pies. Th Crows played close to the best footy I had seen all year for the first Quarter and half. They were all over the Pies - with both pressure and efficiency. I was in awe of the way they were going about it and thought "Crows how far...?"
But to the Pies credit they lifted and got themselves back into the game over the next Quarter and a half to make it an awesome contest in the last term.

My point its - as good as they were in the first half, and they were awesome - they didn't have an opposition willing to fight back. Even the Bulldogs had some heart and fought back last week.

Pretty much every contest was a no-contest. How many times did a tackle from Ling not stick?? How many times did an Ablett handball not hit it's mark?? They looked like they had given up. Even Bomber looked resigned to the smashing.

A win like that in the finals says a lot about the opposition. The Pies had no opposition. The Cats don't have a plan B. We learnt that in the 08 GF and we still know it now. Their Plan A is so good that they don't usually need one but...
They were unable to play tough tempo footy to get themselves back in it.
Remind you of anyone?

Also, the kick to handball ratio for me is a really good indication on a game. More handballs to kicks is never a good sign and if we are struggling we've generally handballed more times than kicked.

Last night Collingwood K - 228 H - 101
Cats K - 179 H - 229

I can't even remember that big a discrepancy between teams.
Simply, Pies kicked long and Cats f@*ked around with it.


Last point...another reason the Pies looked so good was it was Geelong they were beating. We are so used to Geelong not getting flogged - and if they are they always come back. We wouldn't have batted an eyelid if the Pie swere playing against West Coast last night. Geelong didn't fight....and it was a shock to all.

Thanks.

[chook23]

agree Cirra with your shock element (way they won) to the result.....
But they smashed Cats like they (cats) smashed Port ......at the start of their era

Hope Cats lack of response contributed to how good pies looked
as you pointed out as well.

[Dan Warna]

every one said we were thrashed by the pies but look again.

we played badly, and had I think few less shots at goal than them.

also they had their most accurate game of the season that day.

15.10 to 6.16...


we are a lot tighter than then, and they are still at the same level as then.

I say we can take a lot of that game.

Also watching the cats, they were arrogant in the first quarter/half. They just expected the pies to roll over and they didn't.

We wont (I hope) make the same mistake.

ANd we are the fittest side in the competition, Geelong were running harder in the 3rd and 4 th quarters.

We can hold the pies and counter strike.

Our biggest weakness, is similar to the pies, we don't shoot as accurately as we could.

[chook23]

every one said we were thrashed by the pies but look again.

we played badly, and had I think few less shots at goal than them.

also they had their most accurate game of the season that day.

15.10 to 6.16...


we are a lot tighter than then, and they are still at the same level as then.

I say we can take a lot of that game.

Also watching the cats, they were arrogant in the first quarter/half. They just expected the pies to roll over and they didn't.

We wont (I hope) make the same mistake.

ANd we are the fittest side in the competition, Geelong were running harder in the 3rd and 4 th quarters.

We can hold the pies and counter strike.

Our biggest weakness, is similar to the pies, we don't shoot as accurately as we could.

Think they played a fair bit better last night...in first half but take your point

[Dan Warna]

We are good enough.

[Schillaci]

The Pies were awesome. The Cats were bad.
There's no way we will be steamrolled like the Pussies were if we get through to the GF.

[St. Luke]

I guess that's what a week off gives you, fresh legs to drive the message home hard and straight off the line! Geelong looked spent! They had no answers! By rights, we should be able to replicate the same against the Dogs tonight!

Whilst I hate Collingwood with a passion, they got the job done comfortably and if (heaven forbid) I was a Pies supporter, I'd be feeling pretty cocky about it right now. Here's also to hoping they've peaked too early! I also thought they either ran out of steam after 3/4time or perhaps it was just junk time to them with the lead they'd gained?? I hope they're all sore today!

Hopefully, and realistically, the Pies will underestimate whoever they get in the GF! Whoever gets through to meet them will get my support! We cannot allow the Wobbles a flag! Worst thought ever!