Matchday Thread: Adelaide Vs. Collingwood @ AAMI Stadium (Saturday May 26, 7:10pm)

[Vermilion]

Time for another preview of what promises to be a positively corking game. About time I stayed home (and sober) on a Friday night to be able to finish one of these things...

This week the Crows look to continue to defy the pre-season naysayers and send a big “fuck you” to Demetriou and the rest of the AFL. Expect repercussions. Anyway, time for some theme music and this one is a fitting one.



“It’s better to live one day as a lion than one day as a sheep.”

Adelaide vs Collingwood


Oh wait…

Round 9, 2012 Premiership Season
Saturday 26th May 2012, 7:10pm
AAMI Stadium, West Lakes



Weather forecast: showers easing, 16 degrees max

Ladder:
Adelaide: 2nd with 7 wins, 1 loss @ 134%
Collingwood: 5th with 6 wins, 2 losses @ 108%

Head to Head: Adelaide 11; Collingwood 23

Odds: Adelaide $1.47; Collingwood $2.70

Previous encounters:

Round 9, 2011 @ Etihad Stadium: Collingwood 20.15 (135) def Adelaide 14.8 (92)
Round 21, 2010 @ MCG: Collingwood 6.18 (54) def Adelaide 7.9 (51)
SF, 2009 @ MCG: Collingwood 12.11 (83) def Adelaide 11.12 (78)
Round 19, 2009 @ AAMI Stadium: Collingwood 13.11 (89) def Adelaide 9.14 (68)
Round 18, 2002 @ MCG: Adelaide 13.2 (90) def Collingwood 13.8 (86)

The story so far:



3 and 1 – oh they’ve only beaten three bottom four sides

4 and 1 – oh they’ve only beaten lowly sides

5 and 1 – they wouldn’t have won if Goodes didn’t get injured

6 and 1 – Geelong were missing Scarlett and Bartel

7 and 1 – oh shit the Crows are going to win the flag this year

That’s the media response to our winning streak in a nutshell. The most impressive thing is that the tougher the game, the better we have played (the Hawthorn game excepted). Sanderson is the toast of the town ATM as he has grabbed hold of a team that quite frankly had become disinterested and disoriented under Craig and turned them into a horde of “barbarians.”

Meanwhile, Collingwood have adjusted quite well to their own new coach. Despite a heavy loss to Carlton in round 3 and a swag of injuries, they are still 6 and 2, and 5th on the ladder, and still a very real chance of a top 4 finish. Even with Ball and Swan out, their midfield still contains Pendlebury, Beams, Sidebottom and Thomas, which is still a good midfield by AFL standards. Their run from half back has been a feature with Shaw and O’Brien hitting some form.

Team lineups:

Adelaide:

Just the one (unforced) change with Lynch, who was the sub last week, making way for Douglas who made a successful comeback from a hamstring injury last Friday night.

B: Doughty, Rutten, Johncock
HB: Jaensch, Talia, Reilly
C: Mackay, Dangerfield, Vince
HF: Petrenko, Jenkins, Sloane
F: Callinan, Tippett, Porplyzia
R: Jacobs, Thompson, van Berlo
I/C: Douglas, Henderson, Wright, Smith

Collingwood:

A couple of forced changes for the Pies with Swan and Reid missing due to injury. Jamie Elliot and Marley Williams have both been named to make their debuts.

B: O’Brien, Maxwell, Shaw
HB: Buckley, Toovey, Goldsack
C: Elliot, Wellingham, Blair
HF: Fasolo, Dawes, Sinclair
F: Beams, Cloke, Didak
R: Jolly, Pendlebury, Sidebottom
I/C: Thomas, Clarke, Keeffe, Williams

Key players/matchups:

Patrick Dangerfield



With Neil Craig safely fucked off and happily destroying Melbourne, Danger has at long last decided to unveil ‘God mode’ to the footy world. He is ranked second in the competition for inside 50’s, eight in kicks per game and is contributing 113 SC points to my SC team.

He has scored 30+ disposals in three of his past four games and has been dubbed the next Judd by Leigh Matthews. His brute strength combined with his elite pace has been ripping sides to shreds this year, and he and Thompson have created a formidable partnership in the middle.

Graeme Johncock



The bloke they call ‘Stiffy’ has had a strange season so far. He looked good in the NAB cup but appeared unfit and out of sorts when the season got underway. After a very poor game vs Hawthorn, he missed the following game with a slight injury and his spot was quickly taken by Jaensch, leaving his role in the side in a bit of limbo, at least for the short term. In recent weeks, Sando has decided not to wait until the final quarter to swing him up forward, instead choosing to start him in the forward 50. He’s been playing almost as a third tall forward, due to his strong presence in the air for a little man. He’s a tough player to match up on and is definitely a bit of an x-factor in this game.

Steele Sidebottom



I steele have nightmares about this little ball magnet’s effort against us in the 2009 semi final. His iron will in that third quarter sent me into meltdown on the night. Since Ball went down with a warped knee, Sidebottom has become a real girder in the Collingwood midfield. For all the talk about Dangerfield’s emergence, Sidebottom has been just as solid, ranking ninth in kicks and eight in disposals and like Dangerfield, has been one of the few success stories in my SC this year, absolutely thrashing it. He needs to produce another stainless performance if Collingwood are to have a chance of overcoming Adelaide’s current platinum form.

Reps for whoever counts the most amount of steel/metal references.

Alan Didak


Due to an injury-affected pre-season, Dids has only just returned to the Collingwood side in the last two games. He looked the goods straight away against Brisbane but was a little off his game against the better side in Geelong. He is getting on a little bit but is still a critical player for Collingwood with his creativeness and his accurate left foot. He is a fair chance to be picked up by Matty Jaensch, who is a similarly mouthy (and occasionally soft) prick. Battle of the FIGJAM’s but in all seriousness, it should be a good battle with both players possessing exceptional skill and smarts.

Van Berlo vs Pendlebury

Captain vs vice captain; gut runner vs gut runner; one of the best taggers vs one of the best players in the competition – this match up promises to be an absolute beauty. Pendlebury perhaps hasn’t hurt Adelaide as much as other sides in the competition, averaging 23 disposals and with no particularly memorable games against the Crows, but with Swan out, he becomes Collingwood’s no. 1 midfielder (if he wasn’t already). With no backup ruck of quality to help out Jacobs, he will need to be prepared to read the taps of the in-form Sammy Jacobs, particularly in the second half as Jolly tires.

VB has gone a little unnoticed this season, but that’s more down to the emergence of Dangerfield and Sloane as genuine A-grade midfielders than any poor form on his behalf. He has been playing a more defensive role in the midfield this year, which shows with his disposal count down (21 per game) and his tackle count up (6.6 per game). Like Pendlebury, he can sneak forward and become a threat in the forward line. His set shot kicking has been exceptional in recent times. I’m really looking forward to this matchup.

Talia vs Cloke



This round should see Talia come up against Cloke for the second time this year - the first being the NAB cup when Rutten was injured. I thought Talia struggled that night, getting outbodied by the stronger Cloke and giving a few too many free kicks away. Despite that, Cloke only managed three marks and two goals so Talia wasn’t disgraced by any means against the competition’s best contested mark. Since then, he’s been very solid down back with the showdown being the only game where he was clearly beaten. His last three weeks in particular have been vastly underrated, conceding only a single goal against Podsiadly and Hampson, and keeping Sam Reid goalless.
Cloke has been a little quieter than last year (lost me a fucktonne of money in SC) but is still leading the goal kicking for Collingwood with 19 goals from eight games at an accuracy rate of nearly 68%. With Dawes doing his best to imitate a potato, Collingwood need a big game from Travis if they want to kick a winning score.

DT/SC Watch:

Dale Thomas



He’s had the season from hell so far with form and fitness issues plaguing him. He has averaged just 18 disposals per game in his four matches this season. As a result his stocks have plummeted but have they bottomed out yet? He could be a risk worth taking, particularly if he repeats his efforts against the Crows from their encounter last year.

Josh Jenkins



I hope you’ve all gotten on board before his price skyrockets. The 23 year old is averaging an impressive 88 SC and 73 DT points after two games. LEEEROOOYYY has made an impact with fans and fantasy football coaches alike. With Reid, Brown and Tarrant all set to miss, Collingwood are dreadfully undersized down back.

Rising star watch:

Daniel Talia



After a solid and dour, but almost statless past three weeks, Daniel Talia has been dubbed ‘Presti’ by his team mates. At this stage of his career, limiting his opponent should be his main priority and he’s done an excellent job so far this year, culminating in Sam Reid going goalless against him and Podsiadly and Henderson only managed a solitary goal as the Crows crushed the Cats and the Blues.

Fun fact:

Michael Doughty only needs 34 more DT points to clock up 15,000 for his career. True story.

Why Adelaide will win:



It all comes down to having a settled side, filled with the best personnel available (fuck you MRP). We have had a golden run with injuries and with a competent coach at the helm, the players are finally starting to hit their straps. Collingwood on the other hand are missing seven or eight of their best 22, which has severely tested their depth. I think this will be the decider as the Crows should have too much class across the park.

Why Collingwood will win:



Collingwood’s minimal travel requirements are often the talking point at the time the fixture is released and some accuse the AFL of rigging the draw, but the reality is that they do play very well when they have to travel interstate. In fact they have won nine out of their last ten games interstate which is a remarkable feat. This ground holds no fear for them: we haven’t beaten them here since 2006.

My Prediction:



I’m pretty pumped for this game. Night game, a big rival and both sides on a five game winning streak make this absolutely the best game of the round. You can never write off Collingwood in these kind of games – they have a terrific record against the Crows and at Footy Park, however I feel that they are missing too much quality around the ground and the fired up Crows should get over them. Sorry Eddie.

Crows by 27 points in front of 42k fired up, mostly drunken Adelaidians.

[CumDusty]

If Joffa and the army get half of the Adelaide team in the parking lot...
Pies by 6 points.

[Deebz]

Can't remember being this excited for a home game in a long, long time.

[stevebull]

Can't remember being this excited for a home game in a long, long time.

Im more nervous for this than the showdown

[dead|ine]

come on crows, i need a win under 39.5

[Butchered]

Rofl my mate just posted on facebook saying that he just almost ran over Taylor Walker

[Rumblah]

Rofl my mate just posted on facebook saying that he just almost ran over Taylor Walker

Still be a better forward than Schultz.

[TakingthePapiss]

Elliot and Douglas the subs.

[Butchered]

Still be a better forward than Schultz.

I'd like too see him try and kick with 2 broken legs

[Rumblah]

> "Schultz never misses"
> kicks 1.5
> still better than Walker, who is leading the Coleman despite missing this week and missing the last.

Just accept it.

[TakingthePapiss]

> "Schultz never misses"
> kicks 1.5
> still better than Walker, who is leading the Coleman despite missing this week and missing the last.

Just accept it.

Hawkins overtook him

[Rumblah]

Has played two more matches.

[stevebull]

I'd like too see him try and kick with 2 broken legs

Considering your avatar and username are based on an average overated forward your opinion on this topic is invalid.

[Butchered]

> "Schultz never misses"
> kicks 1.5
> still better than Walker, who is leading the Coleman despite missing this week and missing the last.

Just accept it.

so West Coast are ladder leaders that means they are gonna win the premiership?

[Butchered]

Considering your avatar and username are based on an average overated forward your opinion on this topic is invalid.

lol a Crows fan saying a Port player is overated, ohhh the irony