Alive and well

Collingwood hit rock bottom this week. They'd had three losses on the trot (two of which they were expected to win), had just lost arguably their two best players for the season due to behavioural indiscretions, and with a loss to the Saints they could quite conceivably have been out of the eight and only percentage points ahead of 12th. Rock bottom. As they say though, once you hit bottom though the only place to go is up. Monday afternoon after a quality win and a favourable result season 2008 doesn't look quite so grim now. In fact the Pies are in a pretty good place. Sure top four seems all but out of reach, but so does 9th. Geelong-beating aside I really don't expect a great deal from this Collingwood team this year. Given the events of the season, the injuries, retirements and club-imposed suspensions a premiership is not entirely realistic. If this team manages to win a final I'll be pleased.

Looking at the remainder of Collingwood's draw - Port (away), Sydney (Telstra Dome) and Fremantle (away) - their is absolutely no reason why Collingwood can't win at least two of those three. It's pretty much impossible to predict how the bottom half is going to end up. Right now though the Kangaroos are in prime position for fourth, and by my predictions Sydney will finish 5th, St. Kilda 8th, and Adelaide and Collingwood will determine 6th and 7th by percentage (this is obviously vital as it will mean the difference between playing at the MCG or in Adelaide).

Either way it's highly improbable that the Pies will miss out on the eight. Carlton aren't likely to beat any of the Roos, Brisbane (away) or Hawthorn, let alone all of them. Considering the Bradshaw/Brown duo and the midfield of Black, Power, Johnstone and co it's foolish to write off Brisbane straight away. But considering their awful form and the fact that they'll almost certainly have to beat the Bulldogs and Sydney (SCG) to make the eight, their chances are slim.

Some thoughts on Saturday night's game and the weekend...

-It was difficult to find a Collingwood player that didn't contribute positively. Dane Swan was terrific all night. Tarkyn Lockeyer played his best game in a long while, recapturing his 07 form and kicking one of the goals of the season in the process. Josh Fraser was magnificent. I never thought I'd say this but Fraser dominated the ruck. He led the match in hitouts and picked up 20 disposals - his most since round 16 2007. It was Fraser's finest game since his four goal effort against the Kangaroos earlier this year, hopefully he's running into form just in time for the money season. Scott Burns was fantastic all night, his best performance in a while. Dale Thomas provided swagger and dash all night, Scott Pendlebury was classy as ever, and Leon Davis was terrific recapturing early season form. Harry O'Brien and Shane Wakelin were rock solid. Maxwell, Brown and Goldsack hustled all night, tackling magnificently. Medders didn't get much of the ball, but he made his touches count.

-The new kids looked good. Dawes was a presence all night taking contested marks and kicking a couple of goals. Unfortunately, such is the Collingwood curse, the kid doesn't look like he can kick. It's only one game and I'll reserve judgement for now, but really what gives? Sav, Tarrant, young Pebbles and Travis - all immensely talented tall forwards and none of them can kick. Hopefully Dawes won't fall into that group. Either way, he's a talent. He also presents a dilemma that isn't bad to have - too many tall forwards. Right now Collingwood have Travis Cloke, Anthony Rocca, Sean Rusling, Chris Dawes and Ben Reid on the list (you could add John Anthony in there too if you wanted). Obviously Travis will stay, and unlike most I still believe Anthony Rocca has something to offer. I think Rusling is too talented to go and Dawes will be here for a few years yet. I haven't been impressed by what I've seen from Ben Reid so far (not nearly strong enough, doesn't read the play) and the best option might be to package him with Didak and get a quality player in return.

-St. Kilda really did look terrible. Adam Schneider and Brendon Goddard aside (who by the way, was sensational. Along with Fraser it really was the night for failed #1 picks realising their potential), no player really stood out. Riewoldt hustled all night, taking some fantastic marks, but he missed important shots on goal. Dal Santo threatened to take over the match in the second half, but wasn't able to overcome his shocking first two terms. Hayes got a lot of the ball but used it terribly. Can't count the number of clanger kicks he had. The Saints disposal in general was awful.

-Great to see the Pies using the corridor for once. They look fantastic when they switch the play and run through the centre.

-Huge goal from Travis Cloke with about four minutes to go to seal the match. I'm not sure how intentional it was (the kick didn't look clean), but Travis came up big in a huge moment (as he seems to, his finals series last year was sensational).

-Two interesting non-calls. You couldn't really tell being at the game, but Nick Dal Santo's goal at the end of the third term was quite clearly touched by Scott Burns. That could have been a massive moment in the game, fortunately John Anthony (how good is this kid!) responded quickly with a terrific goal of his own. On other side of things, midway through the last term I swear Nick Riewoldt's set shot for goal from around the 50m arc crossed the goal line. Robert Harvey touched the ball after it had crossed the line. On TV no one picked this up, it didn't even enter the commentators minds. At the game though it was clear that the ball had crossed the line (although I did have perfect view, sitting directly behind the Saints goal). Everyone around me agreed.

On other results...

-61-0 is a score you may never see again. Melbourne's ineptitude was incredible.
-Saturday night reiterated a long standing belief I have had - Adam Goodes on his day is the best and most influential player in the AFL. Goodes on his day is better than Judd, Ablett, Bartel, Brown, Black or Pavlich. Buddy is the only real contender to displace him in my book.
-I don't think I'll ever understand the Kangaroos.

A big three weeks are ahead.