Collingwood has held off a fast finishing Geelong to record its third win of the season against the Cats at Victoria Park on Saturday afternoon as Luke Mason reports.
The Magpies set up the win with a six-goal to none opening term, but was then outscored by the Cats in the remaining three quarters (4.10 to 10.9), making for some tense moments late in the match.
Collingwood led by a goal at the last change, but late goals to Nathan Vardy, Steven Motlop and former Pie Jaxson Barham meant that they were forced onto the back foot in the final few minutes. The work of Scott Reed and Tom Young in defence helped steady the side late, with the Pies eventually running out four-point victors.
A Geelong victory was hard to conceive at quarter time, when they trailed by 39-points, and rarely looked like troubling the scorers. Tom Sundberg got off to a great start for the home side with two majors for the quarter, and Lachlan Keeffe nullified the more experienced Mark Blake in the ruck contests around the ground.
The Cats clawed their way back into the contest with five second quarter goals, cutting the margin to only five points, and setting up the pattern for a hotly contested second half as the conditions began to play a factor.
The two sides traded goals in the third stanza, leaving the Pies only one straight kick ahead leading into the last quarter. They eventually managed to hold on, despite Geelong doing all the attacking in the last five minutes.
The midfield battles were fascinating, as Geelong's Mark Corrigan and Jonathan Simpkin went head to head with Magpies' John McCarthy (40-possessions), Dayne Beams and Tom Sundberg. All five appeared to relish the heavy conditions at Victoria Park, and the work of Corrigan at the stoppages, in particular, was a highlight.
It was not a day for tall forwards, as Geelong prospect Mitchell Brown and Magpie draftee Jon Ceglar both failed to make an impact on the scoreboard. It was left to highly rated ruckman-cum-full forward Nathan Vardy to do the damage for Geelong, booting two goals and providing a presence in attack. His form in recent weeks will no doubt catapult him into contention for a senior call up.
Collingwood fans will be heartened by the weekly improvement of its top draft choice from 2010 (pick N.o 45 overall), Alex Fasolo. The midfielder is beginning to make long goals from 50m his trademark, nailing two from the arc at the Yarra Falls end.
Geelong will look to notch its first win of 2011 after the bye this week when it hosts the Bendigo Bombers at Skilled Stadium in round 9, while the Magpies have their third match at Victoria Park in as many weeks, and will tackle a Williamstown side smarting after its loss to Port Melbourne on the weekend on Saturday afternoon.
Last Modified on 18/05/2011 12:05