Yamaji man stars on the MCG with five goalsCOLLINGWOOD’s Brad Dick certainly likes to celebrate a goal and the West Australian youngster from Geraldton had five extra reasons to jump for joy when the Magpies rolled Melbourne at the MCG yesterday.
Dick, in his third straight game, booted a career-best five goals -- more than a quarter of his team's -- as Collingwood piled more misery on the struggling Demons, defeating them by 66 points, 19.12 (126) to 8.12 (60).
Dick (pictured) made a memorable homecoming in Round 9 when he played his first game back from injury at Subiaco versus West Coast, where the 20-year-old Magpie collected 16 possessions and booted a goal.
At the MCG yesterday, Dick, Collingwood's third-round No.44 selection in the 2006 national draft, collected the same amount of disposals, although this time he was more lethal. As footballers do these days, however, he was more than happy to talk up the team rather than himself.
"All the boys stuck at it. It was a big game for Melbourne, one of its biggest of the year," Dick told CollingwoodTV in the rooms after the match. "The boys came out and played well. That was one of our focus points to start well. We dropped off in the second quarter but managed to play really well in the third and last (quarter)."
The win pushes Collingwood up to fifth place on the AFL ahead of this weekend's split round.
Dick, who underwent a knee reconstruction early in the 2008 pre-season, was playing his fifth game this year. And while he was talking up his team-mates, coach Mick Malthouse chipped in with some praise.
"He's just reaping the rewards of hard work and an appetite for football," Malthouse said. "He loves the game; it's not going to happen for him every week, but at least the effort is there."
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Last Modified on 09/06/2009 01:14