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With a point in it and half a minute to go in the King’s birthday clash, Scott Pendlebury stood at centre half forward, pointing like Babe Ruth. He had no intention of taking the shot of course. He dinked it sideways, and bought a little bit more time. A few precious seconds later, Max Gawn completely shanked his kick and Melbourne’s final chance had been extinguished.
The final moments, and indeed the entire game, was an example of quality over quantity. The Pies managed their moments, they kept their heads, and they deserved their 11.6 (72) to 10.11 (71) win. Melbourne tried their hearts out but will rue several moments in the final term. Kozzie Pickett plonked the ball on the ground, handing a needless 50-metre penalty to Nick Daicos, not the sort of man you want to give an inch, let alone 50 metres. Bayley Fritsch ran into an open goal but sprayed it. Clayton Oliver sent a 9-iron sailing out on the full. There were countless other moments throughout the game, moments where they failed to lower their eyes, moments where they bombed on the heads of their forwards, moments where they failed to man the mark properly.
Collingwood just scraped in, and they were miles from their best, but it was a good example of why they keep winning and why they’re premiership favourites. There’s nothing cookie cutter about them. They come in all different shapes, different roles, different heights, different skillsets, different countries, even different generations. And no team is better at adapting its modes according to the patterns of the game and the needs of the moment. Whatever the game calls for – to stem a tide, to release the shackles, to slow the game down, to turn it into a slog, or to make it a shootout – the bench staff will raise their placards, Pendlebury will start pointing more than usual and the team will adjust accordingly. In the crazy final seconds on Monday, as the ball pinged around the MCC wing, they were the more mature and smarter team.
Nick Daicos had a torrid afternoon. Ed Langdon has spent the best part of his career in acres of space as a roaming wingman but played a very different role on Monday. As their best endurance runner, he had the legs to go with Daicos and he completely blanketed him. The Dees collectively targeted him any way they could, even a sly little bump when he was tying a shoelace. The problem is that once you put that much focus into one opposition player, other problems will invariably bob up, even other members of the Daicos family. Josh Daicos played a slashing game, weaving in and out of trouble, while Nick himself snuck away for some telling touches in the final term.
The older Daicos had some stiff competition for best afield honours. Jeremy Howe is 34 years old and surely on track for his first All Australian blazer. His judgement, closing speed and ability to impact and often completely destroy a contest makes him one of the most valuable defenders in the game. He’s so good at reading the ball off the boot. He’s not the athlete he was but he’s still athletic enough. And there’s so much more to his game now than taking hangers.
No one would question Melbourne’s application and intensity. But it was the same problem we’ve seen for years with the Dees – that inability to nail the final connecting kick into the forward line. There are still too many blasters in their line-up – players who don’t lower their eyes and eschew the spot-up option. Time and time again they defended stoutly and unleashed a promising possession chain, but stuffed it up with a missed handball or a tardy kick.
Gawn’s error at the death is probably the one that will be best remembered. He was furious at himself and his teammates. But he played a colossal game. Sometimes he’d swat it 30 metres forward. Sometimes he’d grab it out of the ruck and hoik it. And more often than not it was a deft little tap to put his midfielders into space. It’s not as though he was up against a mug – Darcy Cameron has been outstanding for the Pies in recent times. But the Melbourne skipper took the honours on Monday.
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The football being played right now is a far cry from the ping-ponging, wildly fluctuating games of early March. The average scores of the three Saturday games was the lowest since 1989, a year where the MCG was ankle deep in mud. It’s football that suits big bodies, deep lists, clean hands and wise heads. That was Collingwood when it mattered most.
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