Post Match. Pies sink Saints. All comments.

[Pies4shaw]

Grundy didn't have his best night ever but his tap work was noticeably more aggressive especially at centre bounces. It showed in five goals to one from centre clearances. Work in progress but some good signs there re getting some value from his ruck dominance.

It was curious in the live game thread to see people suggesting he was playing drunk, even as he was dragging them back into dominance in the last quarter and Collingwood was piling on quick goals to kill the game. Collingwood won the centre clearance scoring 32 points to 8 but won the game by less than that difference. I accept that people watch the game for different things - but it did seem obvious live that the centre contest was deciding - and decided - the match.

[rad]

Buckley said pregame that his strategy was to pass back and then look for different lines.
Mcrae’s strategy is for the team to handball forward and move it fast.
After the game Pendles and Sidey commented on how much they love the new strategy, Sidey stated he’s enjoying his footy again. Basically sounds like the players disliked Buck’s back and side ways strategy as much as many of our supporters did.
Ang Postecoglou’s and Klopp’s philosophy is always play forward and pressure up the ground for the turnover near goals. Love it!
Please don’t reply as say soccer has nothing to do with footy, footy is played like soccer more and more with formations and defending space.

[RudeBoy]

I tipped us to win by 18 pts, so am a bit disappointed it was only 17.

Seriously, the more aggressively forward pressure game is great to watch and I'm guessing is more enjoyable to play. Having big bodied midfielders in Lipinski, Crisp and De Goey makes us far stronger.

Watching it on my computer, from my apartment here in Paris, I was disappointed again in Tyler Brown's game. I guess Madgen is only filling in while Roughead is out. Cox was OK, but I suspect he'll lose his spot to Krueger next week.

I love our spread of mid sized forwards. They provide plenty of movement and are all natural goal sneaks. While the goals to Ginnivan, Henry, Mihocek, De Goey and Elliott were great, I was mightily impressed by the goal opportunities provided by McCreery's fierce tackling.

Oh, and let's not forget some kid called Nick Daicos collected an easy 27 possessions in his first game.....eclipsing his old man by one!

The whole team and coaching group deserves credit for a great game. Let's hope it continues.

[Cam]

thankyou Doggies for Lipiinski

Not only did they give us Lipinski but they took Treloar off our hands. That was a changeover about as good as getting rid of Beams and getting Crisp. Great decision-making by the Collingwood football department. No wonder Beveridge is feeling the heat.

I heartily concur.

[Pies2016]

It’s also amazing what a difference centre clearances make when you put clearance players in there instead of wingers or makeshift forwards.
You only have to replace Sidey and J Daicos with big bodies and quick hands like Lipinski, DeGoey and Crisp and we already look a far better clearance team. When N Daicos settles in and goes back to where he dominated as a junior, we will improve again in that area.
Playing players in their correct positions is always a good starting point for improvement.

[i hate carlton]

This is how you start a season. Well done all round boys!

[Piesnchess]

Ginnivan seems like a bit of a character I like him. Kicked some nice goals tonight.

He's a gem. I love him.

Me too! Lovin Beau and Patrick too! What a night, just got hone, was in no hurry, just soaking it up! Freedom, Collingwood, what more doi need!

**** the negative nellies, so Much to like! Cohesion is starting, no more grinding boundary hugging and kicking backwards sideways anyway but forward!

Congrat Billy on your 200th goal!

TP you being Nicks Official photosnoop did you take any pics last night, id love to see them we all would.

[Piesnchess]

Oh and thankyou Bevo and Doggies for Lipinski, thanks fellas, oh and hows Teloar going lads ?

[inxs88]

Casual observations:

* Lipinski B.O.G and shrewd recruiting
* Mihocek 3, Ginnivan 2 and Henry 2 goals = 7 goals represents progress
* DeGoey professional... keep it up
* McCreery no talent whatsoever but tackling machine
* Madgen still flawed, shaky and a liability
* Cox represents us playing with 21 players only
* Crisp disappointing in new midfield role
* Nick Daicos solid beginning
* Howe: welcome back
* T Brown and Bianco disappointing

Next week:

In:

Krueger
F Macrae
WHE


Out:

Cox
Bianco
T Brown

[the fuzz]

Lipinski Daicos x2 Sidey Howe JDG Noble Adams
All so good!
I loved the passion that the players showed when young Daicos got roughed up in the 1st after making a mistake. They backed him up aggressively.
That speaks volumes. It’s what you want to see and that’s where going to build this young team.
Those that bagged Sidey, hang your heads in shame.
A true Pies champion. Solid game don’t you think.
N Daicos looks at home in his first game. Crazy!
Lipinski is just what we needed. Level headed, great kick and relishing his new club. Cracking first game for the club Pat. I give him BOG.

Go Pies

[pietillidie]

Now that was a far better watch. Nice start.

[Magpiefan3]

Great last quarter by the team to hold their nerve when been challenged.

St Kilda supporters booing De Goey was priceless!

[Jezza]

McRae's post match presser:

Congratulations, how do you describe your feelings after your first win as coach particularly after being challenged at certain stages of the match?

"Thanks Tom. We're excited in the rooms. We just reflected on the momentum swings of the early games and being able to capitalise when you have the momentum and clearly tonight was an example of that. I just love our fight and spirit. We're trying to form a new DNA if you like. Our fans come and watch us play and we want to show them we have a little bit of fight in us. It's not always going to go our way but we want to make sure that we show that"

What is the "DNA"?

"It's making sure we have good fight. Our pressure was something that we take great pride in. The game got away from us a little bit in the third quarter and the uncontested brand was there which makes it hard to put pressure on which is what teams do. In the last quarter, our pressure was really high and we got the game back on our terms so there's some good signs there".

What was the message at 3QT?

"I said to the boys let's get back and be predictable in the way we were playing early in the [third] quarter. I moved away the last 10 minutes of the third quarter and I didn't want to talk about it because I wanted to reflect on what we did at the start of the third quarter to get all that momentum and to get the scoreboard on our terms. We reflected on that and the things we did really well and one of the parts of that was the pressure and we wanted to get that back up and again we brought that pretty strongly in the last quarter"

There was a lot of pressure on Nick Daicos and he delivered on the big stage. How impressed were you that dekivered

"I said this many times, Nick is an elite decision maker and kick. It was nice to do it in an AFL game. You can do it in the AAMI series and the practice games but to do it in front of a crowd and with the opposition trying to take things away from you is really pleasing for him. He's one of many young players we were really happy with tonight. You've got Ollie Henry who I thought took a massive step forward. He fumbled a ball in the last quarter and then ran over it and I thought 'oh no what's he going to do, is he going to drop his head' and then he ends up kicking two last quarter goals which we really critical. Those moments for us as a young group we're going to really revel in and make sure we highlight".

How impressed were you that Nick [Daicos] was able to keep his composure despite St Kilda's attempts to rough him up a bit?

"I think that was always going to come. I know that if I was coaching against him I would have done the same thing. He's a pretty cool, calm young man so his character is there for everyone to see".

What did you make of De Goey tonight?

"I thought Jordy impacted the game and he kicked a couple of goals. Everyone loves him and every time I have a press conference there's always a couple of questions about Jordy. I thought he played his role well".

Another fresh face in Patrick Lipinski. How did you see his performance tonight?

"Paddy's been a great acquisition for us early. We noticed when we played against GWS and he went off the ground with an ankle injury and what it did to our team. He's an elite runner and great around the contest so he's become a pretty important cog in our game already".

Is it a clean bill of health on the injury front?

"We're okay at the minute. I think Tay [Adams] was winded and I'm not sure about Mason [Cox] so I think at the moment we're okay".

What happened with Darcy Moore. He spent the first 10-12 minutes off in the second quarter

"I got pretty angry when I couldn't get him back on the ground. He was in a contest and hurt his neck a little bit and we couldn't get him back on, but we'll get that right".

You must be rapt with Jordan De Goey despite all the talk about him over the pre-season. He didn't come back until January and he played one practice game and to come in tonight and have 30 touches and 2 goals was impressive.

"He's an elite talent isn't he. We want him to play his role and bring what he does. He plays to his strengths really well. He's a class finisher. Get the ball in his hand, he has great skill and good things come from that. I keep saying it, he's just one player in our team and there's a real fascination for Jordy which I suppose is something that will be happening all year".

How have you assessed him [De Goey] over the past 2-3 months in terms of the off field issues.

"I think with Jordy, everyone judges him on what he's done in the past. I don't have scar tissue with Jordy. I judge him on the things I know of him. I see him within our four walls as being a great teammate. He does a lot of stuff for the community that people don't recognise. I'm not here to judge his past. All I can judge is all I see and I think he's a great human within our four walls".

Jeremy Howe back out there and seeing him take a few hangers. How pleasing was it to see him out there after a big injury run?

"There was another one, Brody Mihocek was the same who didn't play against GWS. It's only early days for me but I've seen how important these guys are to our system. It allows Darcy Moore to play a different role as well. We've got Jordan Roughead close to being back in a couple of weeks time and Charlie Dean's gone down so it's forced our backline to reshuffle but how he's such an integral part of that".

Pendles down back. Were you happy with that?

"Yeah, I was happy with it. I think he's going to really find his feet down there. His leadership around some of the other guys is stuff you probably don't see. It also allows Jack Crisp to go through the middle and I thought he was really important throughout the night as well".

What about the way you moved the ball. It's an area Collingwood has struggled in. It looked like you played with more risk, dare and an appetite to go up the middle. You would have been happy with that especially with 102 points registered on the scoreboard.

"I've said it before. We're going to go forward more and we want to kick to more contests. Hayden Skipworth is our ball movement coach. He's done an enormous job and we're really happy to have him in our environment. He's got the guys going and moving the ball fast. You have to assess the game right now. You need to know when to go fast and when to go to slow otherwise you can't defend behind it. We got some of it right at times and then there were other times where you think jeez that's not the way we wanted to play but it's round 1 so we've got a lot of improvement in that part of the game. It is really pleasing to impact the scoreboard like that".

In light of what happened at Carlton, will you adjust any Covid protocols at the club with training and etc?

"Yeah, I shook that many hands, so I better make sure to wash them [laughs*]. I don't think so. It's just the nature of what's happening around Australia at the moment so we just have to be ready and adjust to what's coming. This week we lost Will Hoskin-Elliott. He will be back next week. A couple of our staff members were close contacts so I think that's going to be the nature of what the season will be.

What was it like being in the box for the first time as a senior coach?

"I was quite calm for a while. I lost my way a couple of times. I just wanted to revel in it and I sort of lost myself after the siren for a moment, but I just wanted to make sure that I enjoyed every minute of this role. I'm going to cherish being the coach of Collingwood".

https://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/video/ ... 7608306001

[swoop42]

Warnie came and went from this world without ever witnessing a St Kilda Premiership so it was only appropriate that they honoured his memory by winning stuff all tonight.

[Jezza]

Fun night at the footy. Great to be back attending games.

The style of play was very encouraging. Wasn't always executed well, but the intent was great. Pressure the ball carrier and be fast and direct with our ball movement, especially using the corridor. A stark contrast to what we were accustomed to in the last few years with sideways chip kicking football.

The new recruits in Daicos and Lipinski really freshened us up and bolstered the midfield depth that was lacking last year. Both look like being good contributors instantly, so that's very pleasing.

The experienced guys were ever reliable. Pendles, Sidebottom, Adams, Moore and Howe were all meaningful contributors to the team and will be important leaders guiding the next generation of talent coming through the ranks.

The resilience of the young players was impressive. Henry, Ginnivan and McCreery all provided great moments throughout the game. That was one of the most pleasing aspects of the match.

Thought we were going to capitulate and be overrun by the Saints, so to be able to shift the momentum back in favour in the final quarter was brilliant. A victory that the players and coaches should be proud of.

After tonight, I'm anticipating an enjoyable season ahead. It will have its ups and downs but watching the players grow and mature together will be fun.