GEELONG CATS vs. COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES
Round 3 - Saturday, April 5, MCG @ 7:40pm
The Cats and Magpies kicked off the NAB Challenge with a fast paced, exciting encounter at Simonds Stadium. An equally enthralling contest is expected when the two side clash on saturday night at the MCG. Geelong will be without Corey Enright, who had 36 disposals in the preseason opener, after the champion defender suffered an ankle injury in the Cats’ four goal win over Brisbane. The Collingwood back line is also depleted with key defenders Ben Reid and Nathan Brown also sidelined with injuries. Their confidence if high following an upset win over the Swans however, and won’t be dampened by a few personnel changes. Geelong will have to overcome a motivated Magpie outfit if they are to continue their unbeaten start to the season.
LAST TIME THEY MET
Round 8 - Saturday, May 18, 2013
Geelong 14-12-96
Collingwood 15-12-102
It has been almost one year since Geelong last played the Magpies, a saturday night nail-biter at the MCG. Collingwood dominated the first half, applying the manic tackling pressure that defined their premiership season in 2010. The Cats came out a different side after the major break and kicked eight goals to two, turning a 26 point deficit into a 13 point lead at three quarter time. After conceding a flood of goals the Magpies were able to return to the defensive game style that was so successful in the opening two quarters, limiting Geelong to just one solitary goal, their final winning margin.
Mathew Stokes and Scott Pendlebury were the equal leading disposal winners with 31 possessions each. Three Magpies kicked three goals but Tom Hawkins was the top scorer with four goals for the Cats.
KEY MATCH UPS
Steve Johnson vs. Brent Macaffer
After an outstanding start to the season Johnson poses an enormous threat to the Magpies, ranking second in the AFL for disposals, averaging 34, as well as inside 50s, averaging eight per game. Macaffer played as a mid sized forward in Collingwood’s 2010 premiership side but has since re-established himself as Buckley’s number one defensive midfielder. In the a hard fought win over Sydney last week Macaffer restricted Swans captain Kieran Jack to just 14 disposals. He has successfully minimised the influence of Joel Selwood in previous encounters with Geelong, but Stevie J is a very different challenge and in comes into the contest in great form. It is not just Johnson’s mercurial skills that Macaffer will have to manage, it’s his undervalued endurance and work rate that will require an enormous effort to match.
Tom Hawkins vs. Jack Frost
Collingwood defender Jack Frost had a breakout game against the Swans, just his fourth in the AFL, and the timing could not have been better. The Magpies started the season without All Australian centre half back Ben Reid, who is still another two weeks away, and will play without key defender Nathan Brown who dislocated his shoulder last Saturday night. Frost has a long reach and good closing speed, attributes he used very effectively in marking contests with Lance Franklin. Contested marking is Hawkins’ strength and an advantage that Geelong will look to exploit against the Magpies’ undermanned and undersized defence. Hawkins was the Cats’ most prolific scorer in 2013 with 49 goals for the season despite being hampered by a chronic back complaint. Collingwood defenders will try to provide aerial support for young Frost, a promising long term prospect, but if Geelong can use the wide expanses of the MCG to isolate Hawkins he will be very difficult to stop.
DID YOU KNOW?
Chris Scott and Nathan Buckley have gone head to head in Grand Finals as both coaches and players. Scott played with the Brisbane Lions when they won the second of their three consecutive premierships, defeating Buckley’s Magpies by nine points in 2002. Now the senior coach, Buckley was an assistant at Collingwood when he again suffered defeat at the hands of Chris Scott, who lead the Cats to their third flag in five years in his debut season as coach.
