Match Preview: Round 1: Collingwood vs. Port Adelaide | Thebigtip

I watched the Grand Final Replay last night before I went to bed. I figured I needed to watch it one more time before I turned all my focus onto the 2011 season. After watching the game, I fell asleep very satisfied with life and slept very soundly. However, I woke up this morning with my full attention on Round 1. I have taken my Collingwood cap off and switched back to full analysis mode. Apologies to opposition readers for the biased start to the year, however you have to forgive me a little as I haven’t seen my team win a flag in 20 years (and I was only 4 when they won the last one).

My first complete match preview for the year focuses on the Saturday afternoon game at Etihad stadium between Collingwood and Port Adelaide. Collingwood enters the game overwhelming favourites with Port paying around $9 for the win. This comes off the back of an undefeated pre-season which saw the Pies win their first night Premiership since 1979. However, from a Port Adelaide point of view, they would also be quite satisfied with their pre-season form having won their last 3 practice matches against Richmond, Geelong and GWS. They were all convincing victories as well.

It is also worth noting that Port Adelaide had a very quick start to the 2010 season so will be looking to replicate that in 2011. Further, the Power won 5 of their last 7 games last season under new coach Matthew Primus so will be looking to carry that momentum into the new year. They face the toughest of challenges first up and it will be a real test for the young Power side. We’ll have a pretty good indication by the end of the match as to how great a threat Port Adelaide are this year.

The Magpies will be boosted by the news breaking this morning that Dane Swan will re-sign with the club. Nonetheless, this will turn up the heat on Pendlebury and Thomas who will remain un-signed for most of the year or at least until the Collective Bargaining Agreement is signed mid-season.

Malthouse implored his players at the season launch to remain the ‘hunter’. This mentality was at the forefront of Collingwood’s success in 2010 as they entered the season with a game-plan specifically designed to break down the then reigning Premiers Geelong. In 2011, it will be all the other clubs designing a plan to unhinge the Magpies famed forward press. The Magpies ‘hunted’ their opponents all year, taking tackling and defensive pressure to an entirely new level. For Collingwood to be successful this year, they have to maintain that level of intensity and perhaps even improve upon it as the rest of the competition attempts to catch up.

Looking at Port Adelaide in 2010, one part of their game that did improve was their tackling pressure, especially through the midfield. Once known as a quick offensive team, the Power turned their focus to contested footy. They were unable to maintain the intensity consistently, but they have brought a harder edge to their style of play. This should leave them in a good position to continue to improve in 2011. Contested footy will be one of the hallmarks of this season as all teams look to get numbers around the ball. Therefore the teams who excel in this area will be successful.

No doubt Matthew Primus and his team have been focusing on this area. Captain Domenic Cassisi said on the Port Adelaide website this week: "we've always been a team that's good when we've got the ball in our hands, but I think we'll see a vast improvement when we haven't got it in our hands [through] causing the opposition to turn over the ball.

So I’m expecting a pretty fierce contest on Saturday afternoon and no doubt the Power will prove a challenge for the Magpies first up. So let’s get stuck into a bit of analysis.
 

Recent History

Collingwood have won the last 3 matches on the trot against Port Adelaide. However, they are yet to face a Power side coached by Matthew Primus.

The last time these 2 clubs met was in Round 15 last season at AAMI stadium which happened to be Mark Williams’ last game as head-coach and Primus took over the week after. The Magpies ran out 26 point winners but had an early fright when the Power kicked the opening 5 goals of the game. A 7 goal to 2 second quarter had scores level going into half-time, and it was all the Magpies from there.

Dane Swan has been the main destroyer against Port Adelaide in recent history, picking up 39 and 48 disposals in his last 2 matches. He picked up 2 Brownlow votes in the Round 15 clash last season. For Port Adelaide, David Rodan was the best performed last season polling the 3 votes with a 26 disposal, 3 goal and 8 tackle game.  Chris Dawes polled the 1 vote with a 3 goal game. Brett Ebert also generally plays well against Collingwood, having kicked 9 goals in his last 3 matches against the Magpies.
 

The (Pre-Season) Formline

Obviously Collingwood has hit the season running winning the NAB Cup premiership. However, I thought the Magpies looked quite rusty during the pre-season. They had blue-collar victories over Sydney and West Coast and realistically just did enough to get across the line without having to click into full gear. Essendon presented a greater threat to Collingwood and really pushed the Pies right through the match.

From a Collingwood point of view, Malthouse would be happy in the knowledge that when his side was pressed, they were able to lift a notch and swing momentum back into their favour. I think that the hard-fought win in the NAB Cup Grand Final was the perfect launching block for the Magpies as it forced them to play better and gel. It’s worth noting that a number of Magpies had managed pre-season’s after a longer than expected end to the 2010 season so it is not a huge concern that a few are still a bit rusty.

Nonetheless, a number of fringe players really impressed throughout the entire pre-season and will be pushing hard for selection from Round 1. In particular, Simon Buckley, Lachlan Keefe, Leon Davis and John McCarthy have shown that they are more than capable of playing senior footy in 2011.

As I said earlier, Port Adelaide would also be quite satisfied with their pre-season. They were very bad in the opening 20/20 style format in Round 1 of the NAB Cup and got bundled out of the competition immediately. However, they have used this as an advantage as they have been able to play in the NAB Challenge series which resembles the season-proper conditions more closely. They’ve had a greater capacity to trial new things and practice the interchange rules in particular. I think this would have provided much more value to Port Adelaide as compared to playing in the NAB Cup competition.

On the flip side, Port Adelaide had to play GWS in their last practice match. They named a side which was pretty close to full strength and absolutely smashed their opponents as expected. In some regards, this was a nice easy end to the pre-season. However, I’m sure that Primus would have preferred a tougher practice game with a greater intensity for the last warm up before the real matches begin. To be honest, intra-club scratch matches are played with greater intensity than matches against GWS, so the leap between that level to the challenge of Collingwood is going to be huge.

Some of the real standouts of the pre-season for me were Robbie Gray and Jackson Trengove. Trengove will be a key player this year as he will assist in the ruck, hold down Centre Half Back and is also in the leadership group. Robbie Gray is all class and is as dangerous as they come. If he is fully fit then he will make such a difference to the Port Adelaide side.