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A big thankyou to Twodogs for this opportunity. Having not seen a heck of a lot of football in the last month or two I'm relying on a lot of second hand info for this preview.
That having been said...
Last Time Out
Round 8, 2007
Western Bulldogs 5.3 8.8 15.12 20.15 135
Collingwood Magpies 5.3 11.7 13.13 14.18 102
Attendance: 46,990 at TD.
Leading Goalkickers: A. Cooney, S. Higgins 4; A. Rocca 3.
Brownlow Votes: 3: A Cooney, 2: S West, 1: S Higgins
After an even first quarter Collingwood started to assert their dominance to take a 17 point lead to the long break. From there, the Bulldogs ran riot, kicking 12 goals to 3 in the second half to win by 33 points. Led by a rejuvenated Jason Akermanis, the second half was all Bulldogs, with Brian Harris (Lake) proving too fast and agile on the rebound for Anthony Rocca, and Daniel Cross and Scott West having their usual quiet day with 28 disposals apiece. For the vanquished, Harry O'Brien worked hard all day on Brad Johnson, While Lockyer and Burns were busy through the middle.
Form
Western Bulldogs: What was supposed to be a hard-fought and close contest between the 3rd and 7th teams on the ladder, turned into a very easy victory for the Bulldogs, who were too fast, strong and skillful for the hapless Brisbane Lions. This on the back of convincing wins over StKilda and joint ladder leader Hawthorn, the Dogs go into this important match full of momentum.
Collingwood: I don't know how to describe Collingwood's form, other than that to say they are more hot and cold than a microwaved pie. A 100 point thumping against West Coast had many believeing they were on track to push for the top 4, but a less than convincing effort against cellar dwellar Melbourne last round was followed up on Sunday by a capitulation to a Brendan Fevola-led Carlton. They've now lost to the Blues twice this season, a feat not to be bragged about.
Notable absentees
The only major concern from Sunday was Ryan Griffen's corked thigh at the hands (or knees, more accurately) of Tim Notting, however with an 8 day break he looks likely to play. Apparently there's some midfielder out for the Bulldogs, might have won a B & F or seven, not sure... Some kid named Shaun is also sidelined.
The Magpies forward line will have a scheissen-load of work to do this week with the absence of Anthony Rocca through injury and Travis Cloke through stupidity. Brodie Holland is still MIA with an achilles, while several others including Simon Prestigiacomo may face fitness tests.
Up forward
Our forward line promises to be a rather difficult one to match up on for the Pies. You would think that Shane Wakelin would take Will Minson, which would leave Lockyer, O'Brien and Brown to divide Johnson, Welsh and Akermanis between themselves. O'Brien will likely go to Johnson given his efforts last year, which would likely leave Brown on Welsh and Lockyer on Akermanis. Heath Shaw will probably also go back, in which case I'd expect Giansiracusa to make sure he's accountable.
In the Midfield
The ruck duel here will be quite interesting. Where Hudson and Minson will have the edge at stoppages, Fraser and Bryan are more than capable of sneaking up forward and snagging a goal or two. Can't wait to see how it pans out. With Cloke out expect Fraser to spend a heck of a lot of time up forward.
On the ground, expect Matthew Boyd to make sure Dane Swan has a hard time of it, and Collingwood would be hard-pressed to stop Adam Cooney, who is having a wow of a season.
Down Back
The now confirmed abscence of Travis Cloke is very very good news for the Dogs. It leaves Collingwood relying more on Nick Maxwell and young Ben Reid as tall targets. I would be ambitious here and give Tom Williams the job on Maxwell, leaving Lake to make Ben Reid's life miserable. As for the smaller men in Didak and Medhurst, this is where the danger may lie. Expect Dale Morris to go to the dangerous Didak, with Lindsay Gilbee to get the Medhurst job.
The X-Factor
Leon Davis. Though he is inconsistent, his best is pretty damn good, and he has a habit of producing it against us. Mick Malthouse has been giving him runs through the midfield during this year, adding another string to his bow.
He'll need to be watched very very carefully and his influence needs to be negated. DFA, your club needs you.
The verdict
When Collingwood get up and running, they're very very hard to beat. Only problem with that is, we've got the weapons to make sure it doesn't happen this week.
Twodogs mentioned to me during the week that he'd never seen us muscle (or was it mongrel?) a team the way we did last week. Add to that the fact that Rocket described it as our best 4 quarter effort of the year. These were the two elements of our game that were AWOL for most of last year. Not only that, but we still play fast, attacking, skillful football, and we are the highest scoring team in the competition. Our backline has firmed up, and is ranked 5th in the league for least points scored by opponents. We're running beautifully at the moment, and I can't see us losing this game.
Collingwood will give us a run, but won't be able to keep up.
Dogs by 28.
That having been said...
Last Time Out
Round 8, 2007
Western Bulldogs 5.3 8.8 15.12 20.15 135
Collingwood Magpies 5.3 11.7 13.13 14.18 102
Attendance: 46,990 at TD.
Leading Goalkickers: A. Cooney, S. Higgins 4; A. Rocca 3.
Brownlow Votes: 3: A Cooney, 2: S West, 1: S Higgins
After an even first quarter Collingwood started to assert their dominance to take a 17 point lead to the long break. From there, the Bulldogs ran riot, kicking 12 goals to 3 in the second half to win by 33 points. Led by a rejuvenated Jason Akermanis, the second half was all Bulldogs, with Brian Harris (Lake) proving too fast and agile on the rebound for Anthony Rocca, and Daniel Cross and Scott West having their usual quiet day with 28 disposals apiece. For the vanquished, Harry O'Brien worked hard all day on Brad Johnson, While Lockyer and Burns were busy through the middle.
Form
Western Bulldogs: What was supposed to be a hard-fought and close contest between the 3rd and 7th teams on the ladder, turned into a very easy victory for the Bulldogs, who were too fast, strong and skillful for the hapless Brisbane Lions. This on the back of convincing wins over StKilda and joint ladder leader Hawthorn, the Dogs go into this important match full of momentum.
Collingwood: I don't know how to describe Collingwood's form, other than that to say they are more hot and cold than a microwaved pie. A 100 point thumping against West Coast had many believeing they were on track to push for the top 4, but a less than convincing effort against cellar dwellar Melbourne last round was followed up on Sunday by a capitulation to a Brendan Fevola-led Carlton. They've now lost to the Blues twice this season, a feat not to be bragged about.
Notable absentees
The only major concern from Sunday was Ryan Griffen's corked thigh at the hands (or knees, more accurately) of Tim Notting, however with an 8 day break he looks likely to play. Apparently there's some midfielder out for the Bulldogs, might have won a B & F or seven, not sure... Some kid named Shaun is also sidelined.
The Magpies forward line will have a scheissen-load of work to do this week with the absence of Anthony Rocca through injury and Travis Cloke through stupidity. Brodie Holland is still MIA with an achilles, while several others including Simon Prestigiacomo may face fitness tests.
Up forward
Our forward line promises to be a rather difficult one to match up on for the Pies. You would think that Shane Wakelin would take Will Minson, which would leave Lockyer, O'Brien and Brown to divide Johnson, Welsh and Akermanis between themselves. O'Brien will likely go to Johnson given his efforts last year, which would likely leave Brown on Welsh and Lockyer on Akermanis. Heath Shaw will probably also go back, in which case I'd expect Giansiracusa to make sure he's accountable.
In the Midfield
The ruck duel here will be quite interesting. Where Hudson and Minson will have the edge at stoppages, Fraser and Bryan are more than capable of sneaking up forward and snagging a goal or two. Can't wait to see how it pans out. With Cloke out expect Fraser to spend a heck of a lot of time up forward.
On the ground, expect Matthew Boyd to make sure Dane Swan has a hard time of it, and Collingwood would be hard-pressed to stop Adam Cooney, who is having a wow of a season.
Down Back
The now confirmed abscence of Travis Cloke is very very good news for the Dogs. It leaves Collingwood relying more on Nick Maxwell and young Ben Reid as tall targets. I would be ambitious here and give Tom Williams the job on Maxwell, leaving Lake to make Ben Reid's life miserable. As for the smaller men in Didak and Medhurst, this is where the danger may lie. Expect Dale Morris to go to the dangerous Didak, with Lindsay Gilbee to get the Medhurst job.
The X-Factor
Leon Davis. Though he is inconsistent, his best is pretty damn good, and he has a habit of producing it against us. Mick Malthouse has been giving him runs through the midfield during this year, adding another string to his bow.
He'll need to be watched very very carefully and his influence needs to be negated. DFA, your club needs you.
The verdict
When Collingwood get up and running, they're very very hard to beat. Only problem with that is, we've got the weapons to make sure it doesn't happen this week.
Twodogs mentioned to me during the week that he'd never seen us muscle (or was it mongrel?) a team the way we did last week. Add to that the fact that Rocket described it as our best 4 quarter effort of the year. These were the two elements of our game that were AWOL for most of last year. Not only that, but we still play fast, attacking, skillful football, and we are the highest scoring team in the competition. Our backline has firmed up, and is ranked 5th in the league for least points scored by opponents. We're running beautifully at the moment, and I can't see us losing this game.
Collingwood will give us a run, but won't be able to keep up.
Dogs by 28.
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