The Eagles flew over to Marvel Stadium (of all places) to take on a seemingly impossible challenge against the Magpies. The short of it is: The top team beat the bottom team fairly comfortably, oh and I better not forget the obligatory mention about Nick Daicos’ “running ability,” whatever that means. But there’s a lot more to this story, and the truth of the matter is most of the story belongs to the Eagles.
Why?
Because just maybe West Coast thought it wasn’t so impossible: The Pies were a little undermanned, with Shultz, Frampton and, McCreery all missing, and Hill a last minute exclusion. The Eagles also had the knowledge they had managed to beat the Magpies back in 2022, one of their two wins for that season. So maybe it wasn’t all that impossible for them, and they definitely took this story a lot further than I thought they would.
What did each team ask of their opposition?
Much of my match analysis happens in the first half of any game, because that’s where most of the questions are asked and answered, before the game either teeters to an expected result or there is a continuation of the same. The questions Collingwood asked the Eagles in the first half were, “Are you up for the challenge?” and “Can you handle our pressure?” and the Eagles simply said, “No idea, but we’ll give it a go.” And give it a go is what they did.
The Eagles elected to handball their way through the Pies’ defence, and it largely worked. Sure, sometimes they got themselves into trouble but more often then not, they found a way through, and gave themselves every opportunity to score. Going in to quarter time with a 2.6 to 1.3 lead was incredibly flattering; had the Eagles kicked straighter… well, we’re not going to play that sliding doors game, but managing eight scoring shots and being able to trap the ball inside 50 for most of the first quarter was definitely not on my West Coast bingo card.
Meanwhile, the Eagles were asking the Pies, “Are you going to take us seriously?” And I’m not sure the Magpies were fully expecting they would need to. They looked composed in that first quarter, but almost a little bit too composed. I kept expecting them to put their foot down, which they did, eventually, but it took a very long time to find that gear.
A game of cat and mouse
This was somewhat like a game of cat and mouse. It felt as though Collingwood was toying with the Eagles in the first quarter, and would eventually become bored, pull their claws out and kill them. It was about half way through the second quarter when I put this in my notes, because that’s about when they the claws came out. After the first quarter shock to their system, it was Scott Pendlebury who decided that it was time to start doing things properly. He immediately won the clearance to set up Mihocek for the goal, and then had another clearance that sent them deep again inside 50. Not as direct this time, but Charlie West was able to pop up for his first goal and join the illustrious ‘first kick, first goal’ club. Elliott and Lipinksi scored shortly after, and yes, ‘here’s the cat killing the mouse’, I thought. I might have even heard the sounds of the fat lady singer warming up her voice.
But the Eagles just refused to die. They sprung back into action, kicking the next four goals of the game. This was largely because Tim Kelly decided that if he wasn’t going to be any good (having not touched the ball for 45 minutes), he might as well go forward where he at least can’t do his own team too much damage. It was there that he remembered that he’s actually a pretty decent footballer, and with some quality defensive work, a goal, and some clever distribution, not only was the game back on, but Collingwood fully retracted their claws; they just seemed to stop and watch, almost in awe, as the Eagles found space that just didn’t exist ten minutes earlier. To the surprise of the entire nation, Collingwood walked off at half time very much at risk of losing this game.
It was about midway through the third quarter when a running goal from Nick Daicos that probably killed the Eagles. The game slowed right down after half time, which didn’t help West Coast at all. When you’re the less-skilled side, the last thing you want to do is to try having to rely on those skills to get you through. The first bit of run, of real fast footy, was an ambitious kick from the boundary to half forward, a couple of quick handballs and release to Daicos running past. It was like a switch had been flipped for the Pies. They upped the ante and challenged the Eagles to recapture their first quarter momentum as quickly as they could. West Coast didn’t quite just roll over and die, but they just couldn’t change from slow to fast footy as quickly, and once Collingwood decided the game was over – it was over.
Trusting the instincts:
How did the Eagles challenge them for so long?
The Pies’ pressure, true to form, was immense, and the Eagles didn’t necessarily match it at the same level – but they also didn’t panic. They just played on pure instinct: see ball, get ball, give it to the best option. Conversely, the Magpies brought out all their experience, all their game plan, and were able to think their way through situations, but sometimes they tried to be a little bit too cute, or put a little too much thinking in. The Eagles are still learning their plan, the Magpies know plans A, B, C, and D like the back of their hand.
There were times early where I thought they were able to anticipate and set up for the exact spot the ball would land from a smother. Their trust in their system was mesmerizing, which is why they sometimes simply turned the ball over. I’ll try to explain what I mean. Sometimes, Collingwood go exactly to where they were supposed to go as per their own game plan. However, given the Eagles were attacking them a little differently, it was often the wrong spot they were not necessarily going to spots the Eagles didn’t want them to go. The Pies instinctively followed their plan, which works against teams wanting to attack them the other way, but the Eagles were erratic and instinctive. They were, at times, making it up on the fly, and that seemed to break down the Pies’ structure.
In the end, Collingwood needed to worker harder to slow the Eagles down, confuse them, and then beat them with something unexpected. If there’s one disadvantage of being a top side it’s that they become a lot more predictable compared to bottom sides that are still working things out. And for the Eagles, that almost worked. It just isn’t sustainable.
What makes the best sides the best sides is because what they do works. They can trust their game plan to work – if not immediately, then eventually. They came in at half time and reset to slow the game down in the third quarter, get it back on their terms and finish strongly. Which is what they did. No amount of instinct, flair and enthusiasm can beat that level of professionalism and ability.
Debutants:
He got subbed out in the end, but I thought Charlie West showed a little bit without setting the world on fire. Not at all the most impressive debut, but he was getting into some good areas and his goal showed some quick thinking and clean hands – so he’s clearly got the talent, just needs to build into the pace of the game.
I liked Jobe Shanahan’s game a bit better from West Coast. A similarly sized key forward, he tried a lot harder to be involved, made some solid leads up into the wing, and gave himself a good chance to succeed. I think West Coast have found themselves another gem of a key forward. They have some real talent up there – Jack Williams is now clunking marks more regularly, but still seems very raw. Also, his 1.3 return hurt a bit.
Daicos V Hough
I’m going to be controversial with this one and say that I wasn’t overly impressed with Daicos’ performance. Maybe I was a bit miffed that the broadcasters chose to show how good he was during the quarter time break, by analysing their only goal – which was largely the result of his teammates’ work after he dropped a mark, or maybe he’s just held to a higher standard because of the coverage he gets, so if he’s not spectacular, he’s not doing well (and that’s hardly his fault).
Don’t get me wrong: he played well. One does not get the ball 28 times and nor do they have four shots on goal (1.3) if they’re playing poorly. But of that, four of his nine score involvements, and two of his shots on goal came in the last quarter when the game was won. He found a goal when they needed him to, and yes he did some very good things with ball in hand, but a lot of the time he dished it out to either no one in particular, to someone who had to give it right back to him, or to whoever was available. His usual flair and creativity were not present.
But I think I was simply more impressed with his opponent, Brady Hough, a guy who never wasted a disposal. Yes, he only got it 24 times and certainly less when the Pies got on top at the end, but every time Hough got the ball, he used it with purpose. He’d find the best available option for his team, not just the first. And I think that’s something we often don’t value enough – probably because it’s not something that’s easy to measure.
These 2 went head to head, and while Daicos might have the stats (and the win) to support him winning the battle, I think Hough had the better game of the two. But then, it’s about results and you can’t say Daicos doesn’t stand up when his team needs him to – and where was Hough at the end? A star on the rise, I think he is, but he was knackered – like the rest of his team.
I Also liked the games of:
- Liam Baker – fought hard all game. I particularly liked a passage where he fought and fought and fought a defender to try win the ball on the wing. He soccered it forward, almost out of the hands of his opponent then lost the foot race to get there; he was never going to gain possession, but just harried and annoyed, and it created the opportunity for the ball came his way. He somehow caught it and got free, then used it well. This is a passage that will not ever be shown as a highlight, but it is exactly the kind of thing a coach uses to set he standard of how you should play: selfless, and relentless. This is exactly why the Eagles went out and got him.
- Tom McCarthy was brilliant off half back for West Coast. Yes, Collingwood were missing their half forwards, which did make life a bit easier for him, but to his credit, he played like a man possessed: where the Eagles are usually 18th from scores from defensive 50, McCarthy was instrumental in rectifying that. He got 25 disposals, used it well and took calculated risks which his team was rewarded for.
- It’s easy to be forgotten about when you’re lining up with Daicos, Pendlebury, Sidebottom and co. but Jack Crisp rarely is and tonight was no exception. He just does what he does and does it well.
What I didn’t like:
- Jack Williams hacking the ball out of defence, right on three quarter time. What were you thinking? He could’ve handballed it to McCarthy, he could’ve launched it to the boundary 70-80m from Collingwood’s goal. He could’ve done literally anything except kick the ball to Dan Houston, standing all by himself 60m out from goal with no one in front of him. A bit of panic from the young fella with the pressure on.
- Hoskin-Elliott: He’s a weidly forgettable footballer, in that whenever he kicks a goal, I am reminded that he hadn’t retired a few years ago. Again, he kicked a goal tonight, laid a tackle shortly after that, and apparently collected eight disposals. Just didn’t see him do much at all.
- Darcy Moore: Far from his best game. Playing on Wiliams for most of the night, he probably should have dominated him. Instead, Williams out-played him quite a few times. If he hadn’t been so inaccurate, that 1.3 could’ve looked a lot worse for the Collingwood captain.
And that just about wraps it up for me. If you liked this article and anything else I write, feel free to shout me a coffee. If you really didn’t like it, feel free to send enough to fund my retirement:
