Legitimate questions

The only stupid question is one that isn’t asked

 

Mick Malthouse was impressed.  Forty minutes earlier Collingwood had defeated Essendon by five goals in the ANZAC Day game.  The contest had been fierce.  Early in the final quarter, Collingwood led by two points.  The final margin was flattering.  Malthouse said he’d prepared his team to withstand the expected onslaught.  He said his team had done that.

Collingwood remain undefeated.  They’re winning big, an average margin through five wins of 58 points.  Last season their average winning margin was 46 points.  On ANZAC Day, they flirted with defeat and finished bigger, better, stronger and in front.

Malthouse paid tribute to his team’s resolve when Essendon rallied through the second half, kicking consecutive goals.  Held to three goals at half time, the Bombers outscored Collingwood in the third term, reducing the margin to 14 points.

‘It’s a challenge just to get them back,’ Malthouse said, of the goals his defenders conceded.  ‘But then we ground out passages of eight to ten minutes basically in their front half.’

The press, once again, has worked.  St Kilda developed it in 2009.  Last year Collingwood redesigned it to perfection, and the improvement continues.  Essendon, resurgent under James Hird, were as good as they possibly could be, threatening at times to take control. 

‘And that’s a great lesson for us,’ Malthouse said.  ‘That’s a great opportunity for us to be stretched and extended and find out a bit more about our playing group.  They’re the sort of tests that we need.’

On Tuesday, in possibly the best match for the season, Geelong defeated Hawthorn by 19 points.  After conceding the first four goals, the Cats fought back, seven goals in the third and outscoring the Hawks in the last.

The match was scintillating, worthy of a final.  Both teams used glittering set plays, rapid ball movement from defence, short kicks and handpasses, players running from contest to contest, handball giveaway, handball receive, beating the press.  Geelong’s Travis Varcoe was excellent.  In the third quarter he gathered the ball in defence, kicked clear to the middle and ran forward.  Seconds later Varcoe grabbed the ball inside 50 and snapped a goal.

Geelong is supposed to be too old and too slow.  Following the game, Cats coach Chris Scott was relieved but cautious.  While he didn’t engage with journalists, he constantly offered media analysis.

‘If we had have lost the game today, there would’ve been question marks and that’s fair enough, that’s the way the media works,’ he said.  Scott wasn’t being dismissive, merely hoping to tone down any possible speculation. 

‘And I’m sure one of the next questions is going to be, we’ve put our hand up to be the contender, and it’s just not true,’ he said.  ‘I understand you’ve got to write the story tomorrow and you’ve got to get it in the news as soon as possible.’

Scott has ample reason for the caution.  It’s round five of a long season.  Besides, if Geelong lost, he still would’ve been pleased with the improvement.  He wasn’t interested in conjecture, that Geelong was one of just three or four teams capable of playing such a high quality brand of football, and the only club capable of beating Collingwood.

‘We’re showing we can stand up but it doesn’t guarantee anything,’ he said.  ‘I think Collingwood can say with some justification that they’re ahead of everyone else and I’m prepared to accept that at the moment.’

Geelong and Collingwood are undefeated.  They meet in round eight.  The Cats have the bye this week while the Magpies start favourites over a weakened Western Bulldogs.  In round seven Geelong plays North Melbourne while the Magpies have the bye.

Both clubs should be undefeated by round eight, a Friday night match at the MCG.  The stadium might be sold out.  As the press conference went on, Scott finally agreed with the suggestion his club had earned his status as the team most likely.

‘The questions that are being put to Geelong, not just the playing group but the club are legitimate questions.’

Regardless of what happens in the following fortnight, the match between Collingwood and Geelong is much anticipated.  The two clubs will clash for the first time since last year’s preliminary final, an embarrassing defeat for the Cats. 

Scott is aware of the too old too slow cliché that his club can’t hang on for two long, but the Cats have defeated St Kilda, Sydney, Fremantle and Hawthorn, four finalists from last year.  By far they’ve had the toughest draw of the year, and they’re undefeated.  Collingwood has played one finalist from 2010 – Carlton, though they do play the Bulldogs this weekend.

Geelong has been up, in great form.  Scott became prickly when asked about the veterans enjoying the bye.

‘See there’s a question about the age of the list,’ he said.  ‘Just because we’re a year older doesn’t mean we’re tired now.  We’re still playing pretty good footy.’

Collingwood will start favourites against Geelong, but it’ll be marginal.  Both coaches will have to be forgiving if journalists focus on round eight.  Malthouse talked about his group needing tests.  At the moment, Geelong is Collingwood’s toughest test. 

Scott has his men playing great football.  The veterans aren’t tired.  But questions will still be asked late in the season, when those aged legs get heavy and players lose a yard of pace. 

I understand you’ve got to write the story, Scott said following the victory over Hawthorn.  In admitting that Collingwood is the team to beat, and Geelong deserved to be favoured over all others to do that, Scott contributed to the story in a calm, reasonable way.

The story, thus, has been written.  The round eight clash will be the season’s most important to date.  If a week is a long time in football, two weeks is an eternity.

West Coast 1.48 v Melbourne 2.60

Sydney 1.70 v Carlton 2.15

North Melbourne 1.50 v Port Adelaide 2.60

Richmond 1.42 v Brisbane 2.85

Adelaide 1.75 v St Kilda 2.07

Essendon 1.03 v Gold Coast 11.00

Collingwood 1.15 v Western Bulldogs 5.35

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