To the victor will go the spoils while the loser will find themselves back in the pack. This is the scenario that looms large as Collingwood and Casey Scorpions clash at Victoria Park on Saturday, as Steve O’Brien previews this clash.
Both sides have been amongst the upper echelon of the competition for the entire season and have given new coaches Collingwood’s Dale Tapping and Casey’s Rohan Welsh terrific starts to their stints in the VFL.
Going into this round Casey sits 2nd on the ladder with 9 wins and a healthy percentage of 127, meanwhile the pies are a game adrift in 7th position with a percentage of only 106%. In one of the tightest seasons on record the fact that only a game separates 2nd and 7th really does bring into play the clichéd 8 point game.
The Pies, who claimed at the start of the season that winning matches would be more important to them this year than in previous seasons, have been one of the more consistent sides in the competition. With their AFL side suffering a number of injuries, the VFL team has fielded sides with many unheralded players that are slowly making a name for themselves at VFL level.
Casey on the other hand had been flying but consecutive losses to Werribee away and then falling 11 points short against Essendon at home last week has put the club in jeopardy of missing the double chance.
At selection the Pies have lost ruckman Brodie Grundy to the AFL side whilst Ben Richmond and Jordan Russell miss through injury. Inclusions include Andrew Krakouer and Caolan Mooney. Mooney along with Kyle Martin and Ben Kennedy have been named as emergencies for the AFL side and given the fact the seniors are playing in Sydney one would expect that at least one will travel with the senior team.
Casey has lost Dan Nicholson named as an emergency for the AFL side and not named in the VFL and former Geelong premiership player Tom Gillies misses through injury. Michael Risely has earned himself a recall.
Collingwood with the loss of Grundy has named Quentin Lynch in in the ruck and he will have his hands full with Casey giant Jake Spencer. It will come down to who can have 1st use of the ball with both sides having strong and experienced midfielders. At the Pies Alan Didak , Marty Clarke and Jack Hellier supported by Jordan Collopy and Ben Moloney take on the likes of Casey’s Jordie McKenzie , James Magner and former pie Daniel Nichols.
It is hard to see who the Pies will play on teenage sensation Jesse Hogan , but Adam Oxley likely to have the first go. Hogan has been quiet in the last couple of weeks and maybe a gruelling season is taking its toll on the youngster.
In a match difficult to pick the result, I think the Pies will confound all and win against the odds once more by 11 points.
Last Modified on 26/07/2013 14:43