Collingwood remains a game clear on top of the ladder after beating archrivals Carlton 57–85 in a fiery clash on Sunday at the MCG.
While the combatants entered the clash with opposing form lines, Collingwood would have known Carlton were set to throw everything they had at them after losing four of their last five games.
That intense start quickly came from the Blues with Michael Voss’ side coming out trying to assert themselves physically, but Collingwood immediately stood up to the test to get away to an early lead as they kicked five goals to one in a dominant opening term.
While the Magpies were uncharacteristically poor by foot for their standards, their pressure overwhelmed the Blues who seemingly couldn’t move the ball forward with any real threat.
Voss’ side began to rally somewhat in the second term but still couldn’t stop Collingwood from scoring, with the Blues kicking three in the third term to their opponents’ five.
The biggest difference in the first half when the game was up for grabs was without doubt the ball movement differences, with Collingwood looking like a team that was in sync, knowing where their teammates would run and having full trust in their system.
Conversely, the Blues went slow and constantly sent the ball high to forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay which simply didn’t work as the entire side took just three marks inside 50 across the opening two quarters.
With the game somewhat of a mini-final for the Blues, a response was imminent and that came in the third term as they held sway for the majority of the quarter but couldn’t turn it into scoreboard pressure kicking just one goal for the period.
With the margin still beyond five goals at the final break, the sting was taken out of it as the Magpies cruised to a 28-point win.
Carlton great Mark Maclure was impressed by how comfortably Collingwood won in a game that was so highly anticipated in the build-up.
“I think the Pies were comfortable in every moment they were out on the ground,” Maclure told AFL Nation.
“They moved the ball so well and they are so careful with each other, their movement of the ball up and down the ground is just superb.”
For Collingwood, their star of the day was Darcy Moore who took 11 intercept marks, six contested marks and had 25 disposals as the Blues constantly looked towards their tall threats inside 50.
Maclure was dumbfounded as to why Carlton kept kicking into Moore’s area as he tipped the Pies to go a long way in September.
“For me, the 12 times they kicked to Darcy Moore was just extraordinary for me,” Maclure said.
“He took 12 marks almost on his own almost, it was just some poor kicking by the Blues.
“They’ve got some issues, they need to figure out what their method is looking like, their method of moving the ball and of scoring because that’s the poor part.
“If you kick less than 60 points there’s no hope you can win the game.
“It’s not a good enough score, I think they need to work on that.
“But they’re really going places the Pies. I love what the Pies did, I love the way they work … they’re going to go a long way come finals.”
Collingwood’s wingmen again were a critical part of their win with Josh Daicos (one goal, 27 disposals), Steele Sidebottom (23 disposals) and Will Hoskin-Elliott (one goal, 16 disposals) dominating the open space.
Up forward, Brody Mihocek was again their go-to man with four goals while Indigenous duo Ash Johnson (two goals) and Bobby Hill (one goal) lighting up the MCG with some incredible individual moments in Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
AIR JOHNSON ✈️#AFLBluesPies | #AFLDeadly pic.twitter.com/AeX7hlWzHD
— AFL (@AFL) May 21, 2023
For Carlton, they were strong on ball to win the clearance count 39-29 with Adam Cerra (33 disposals), Sam Walsh (29 disposals) and Patrick Cripps (26 disposals) getting plenty of it, while Charlie Curnow (three goals) and Harry McKay (two goals) were solid without dominating up forward.
With no notable injuries to either side, Carlton next gear up for an interesting clash on Friday against a Sydney side that’s also struggling for form at the SCG while Collingwood will go in heavy favourites against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
The Magpies are now 9-1 on the season with 21 wins from their last 23 home and away games, with a record of 16-0 at the MCG in that period (excluding finals).
FULL SCORE
Carlton: 1.2, 4.6, 5.10, 7.15 (57)
Collingwood: 5.2, 10.5, 11.6, 13.7 (85)
GOALS
Carlton: C Curnow 3, McKay 2, Owies 2
Collingwood: Mihocek 4, Johnson 2, Cox, Elliott, Crisp, J Daicos, Hill, Hoskin-Elliott, McCreery
BEST
Carlton: Sam Docherty, Adam Cerra, Sam Walsh, Charlie Curnow
Collingwood: Darcy Moore, Brody Mihocek, Josh Daicos, John Noble, Jordan De Goey
INJURIES
Carlton: N/A
Collingwood: N/A
CROWD 80,354 at the MCG