Kicking the habit

The habit? Losing to Brisbane in big matches. Well, that's not true. Losing to Brisbane in general is probably more apt. Friday night Collingwood showed something that they haven't showed all year - sustained resilience. Coming from behind to beat Melbourne doesn't count. That they were down in the first place in that match is damning enough. But last night Collingwood were down - really down - and they had the heart and the composure to mount a comeback and ultimately finish it off. Medhurst was Mr. Ignition, singlehandedly turning the game for the Magpies in the early third quarter. Two fantastic goals to start the third quarter from Medhurst and the Pies were on their way.

We'll focus on the good for now. From the middle of the second quarter on the Pies played their best brand of football. Quick, accurate, hard football with few turnovers. Collingwood did a great job of winning one-on-ones and contested ball when it counted. Charman's injury was a massive boost for the Pies. With Charman off the ground Fraser started to gain some ascendancy in the ruck. 37 centre clearances for Collingwood, 28 to Brisbane was directly related to Fraser's work in the ruck.

The story of the game though was the ability of Prestigiacomo and O'Brien to curtail the influence of Brown and Bradshaw. The conditions helped, but the body work of Presti and O'Brien can not be understated. Both were significantly weaker than their direct opponents, but timing and intelligence allowed them both to break even in contests. They were the most significant reason for Collingwood's victory.

The midfield was dominated by one man. Scott Pendlebury was a star, as usual, with 35 disposals and an insane 10 centre clearances to go with 13 contested possessions. The contested possessions tells a story of Pendlebury's development from very good player to midfield star. In the past Pendlebury would drift around packs, waiting for the hands-off. Now Pendlebury is the main midfield at stoppages, standing stationary directly underneath the contest. This is the reason Pendlebury is winning so many first possessions at stoppages. Being in such proximity to the contest he is winning the ball, even if it is only a handball under extreme pressure. The rest of the midfield was overshadowed by Pendlebury. Tarkyn Lockeyer was solid with 29 touches and two important goals. O'Bree in his milestone game did his usual thing. Dane Swan didn't have much of an impact. Dayne Beams made every one of his limited touches count.

A quick something on Jaxson Barham. The media and Malthouse seemed stoked with Barham's outputs. On the surface, why shouldn't they be!? 28 disposals and 9 tackles (most in the team) in a harsh environment in your first game is an astounding achievement. Not when you look closer. Barham's effort can not be questioned. He ran hard and tackled fiercely all game. He played his heart out. It's a pity heart doesn't correlate to skill. His disposal is absolutely shocking. He can't kick. At all. 61% disposal efficiency is terrible. 9 clangers is even worse. Hopefully he'll develop skills in time, but it's safe to say he's not a natural.

Someone we thought was a natural continued their shocking start to the year. Travis Cloke played another shocker. With 7 disposals no one on the team got fewer touches of the ball than Travis. He was virtually nowhere to be seen for 90% of the match. To his credit he kicked a clutch goal after the half time siren which had a massive impact on the momentum of the match. Aside from that though he was completely useless. Remove the Melbourne game (which we should considering their quality, or lack of) and Travis is averaging 9 disposals 5 marks and 1 goal on the season. He desperately needs to lift. Anthony Rocca was much the same as Travis, but at least he commanded a presence. Rocca didn't do much but he did take one spectacular mark and made a great goal assist. Something to build on.

A quick note on the players that didn't play so well. Nathan Brown was thoroughly outclassed by Jonathan Brown in the first quarter. He needs to re-evaluate his game. Dale Thomas was quiet once again, he needs to step up. Alan Didak did absolutely nothing. Shannon Cox actually played pretty well, winning plenty of the ball (27 touches), but he needs to improve his decision making. He has a Pendlebury quality of having exceptional evasive skills, but he needs to perfect them. In a big way. Finally, Leigh Brown needs to be dropped. There's no two ways about it.

All in all this was a fantastic win for the Pies. The first sign of the young season that Collingwood means business. The Pies were challenged and they fought back tremendously. The second half was something special. Brisbane at the Gabba are no pushover, especially for this Collingwood team. But the Pies persisted and they came away with a crucial 4 points that will have Essendon worried. With good reason.

Votes

3. Simon Prestigiacomo. The decisive play of the game came in the latter half of the final quarter. Michael Rischitelli was attacking a loose ball hard on the left half forward flank for Brisbane. Simon Prestigiacomo attacked it harder. The two clashed and Presti came away with the ball. A dangerous Brisbane move was killed and the Pies went on to win the match. That and he kept the best forward in the league goalless for three quarters. Yeah. Three votes.

2. Scott Pendlebury. I feel like it kind of should be Medhurst, but I can't overlook Pendlebury. 35 brilliant disposals, 13 gutsy contested possessions and 10 crucial centre clearances are too tough to overlook. His vision and awareness, the ability to have a half-second longer than anyone else in the league make him the most aesthetically pleasing Collingwood player since Buckley. Now that's a wrap.

1. Paul Medhurst. Singlehandedly changed the outlook of the game. His burst of brilliance in the third quarter, and miraculous goal to begin the final term changed the match. Amazing. Hope he's fully recovered from his concussion. We need him.

Honourable mentions go to Josh Fraser, Harry O'Brien and Leon Davis. A fantastic team effort.

Leaderboard

Scott Pendlebury - 8
Simon Prestigiacomo - 4
Josh Fraser - 3
Alan Didak - 2
Leon Davis - 2
Marty Clarke - 2
Paul Medhurst - 1
Dayne Beams - 1