What makes the Collingwood backline tick<\/a><\/p>\nBilly Frampton is renowned for putting his body on the line in the Magpies backline, which has drawn the appreciation of his teammates. (Photo by Michael Willson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
It is why the small gesture from Elliott, a matchwinning star for the Magpies, mattered for a defender who took seven marks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels great, to be honest,\u201d he told foxsports.com.au when asked about Elliott\u2019s praise. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all I try to be, a real defensive post for us. And my game\u2019s not flashy. I don\u2019t do anything too flashy out there. I just want to beat my man and compete in the air all the time and bring my best. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I do that, I can really shut down players and set us up from deep. And, yeah, my teammates really appreciate that from me and they obviously get around me for it too. That\u2019s a good reward for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Light duties for Daicos ahead of Lions | 01:20<\/p>\n
DEFENDING FOR THEIR LIVES<\/p>\n
Collingwood prides itself on its defensive strength and, according to Fox Footy expert analyst Leigh Montagna, it is the key to the Magpies hopes of premiership glory in 2026.<\/p>\n
As Frampton noted last Friday, the Magpies played to their strengths in defence while also looking far more potent in attack in the most complete of their three matches this season.<\/p>\n
Collingwood has not kicked more than 100 points in a match since July 4 last season and are averaging 81.3 points for in matches so far against St Kilda, Adelaide and the Giants this season.<\/p>\n
But their defensive capabilities are strong. The inaccuracy of rivals so far this year has been a factor, with the Magpies forcing their opposition wide and into difficult scoring positions.<\/p>\n
Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall noted last Friday the Magpies were \u201cdefending for their lives\u201d against a barrage of forward 50 metre entries from the Giants, but the defence held strong when conceding just 54 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that is our strong suit. We are keeping teams to low scores and then our scoring is coming along naturally too,\u201d Frampton said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are defending really well as a team. It is our one wood. If we have a few inside defensive 50s, so be it. We will deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Magpie Billy Frampton soaring high to spoil a forward foray from the Giants last Friday. (Photo by James Wiltshire\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Montagna doubts the Collingwood attack led by Elliott, who kicked 60 goals last season, has the potency to blow opposition teams away. But he believes they can contend based on their defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if the Pies want to give themselves a chance to try to win one more flag, they\u2019re going to have to defend their way into contention,\u201d he said of Fox Footy\u2019s The First Crack. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what I mean by that is we\u2019ve seen now, not just this season, but going back to the second half of last year, that they don\u2019t have the firepower offensively in their forward half, or the artillery to kick big scores like we\u2019re seeing in the modern game. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut, I think, luckily for them they have the best defensive system in the competition. They did last season where they were number one for points against and number two for conceding scores inside their defensive 50. And they\u2019ve started that way again.\u201d<\/p>\n
McRae gives murky update on Moore | 10:13<\/p>\n
A MULTI-LAYERED STRENGTH<\/p>\n
The Magpies have a layered system of defence, pulling the levers with their movement rather than necessarily performing one-on-one roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t really play man on man. We sort of play as a back six, working our layers, setting up how we want to set up, regardless of what they do,\u201d Frampton said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo if (Jesse) Hogan holds really deep, or if (Jake) Stringer is up high, it doesn\u2019t matter. We play in our layers and then if we get pressure on the ball \u2026 it sort of forces them to either beat us really long out the back or to go wide. And we are really good at making those plays, getting their fingertip plays \u2026 so it\u2019s just about getting ourselves into good positions to defend and making them play to us, so we can sort of dictate.\u201d<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 27: Magpie officials look concerned as Darcy Moore makes his way to the Collingwood rooms last Friday after feeling pain in a hamstring that will force him to miss the Easter Thursday clash against the Lions. (Photo by Quinn Rooney\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Montagna, a former St Kilda star, used several pieces of footage to demonstrate Collingwood\u2019s determination to protect the corridor at all costs, luring rivals into using wings, and the way those layers work.<\/p>\n
This, he said, allows them to set up a rolling system that ensures the defensive six, which will be without the injured Moore against Brisbane, have support around contests.<\/p>\n
It also means teams are kicking for goal from wider, hence their increased inaccuracy. If they opt to gamble by going through the middle, the Pies are well placed to intercept the footy and drive it forward to their own attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey say go wide, because then we bring our system into play, where we come forward and we roll around and we can outnumber (our opponents) and we can support and just continually work for them,\u201d Montagna said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCollingwood almost use as much footy smarts as footy athleticism to get what they want. It\u2019s really impressive to watch and it is going to take them a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘The dodgiest fitness test I’ve seen’ | 01:09<\/p>\n
WHY THE MAGPIES LOVE THEIR EASTER THURSDAY OUTING<\/p>\n
The loss of Moore for a clash against the double-defending premiers Brisbane at the Gabba is clearly a blow.<\/p>\n
Frampton, who marshalled the defence in the absence of the skipper and Jeremy Howe in Collingwood\u2019s first two matches, said their presence \u201cmakes my life so much easier\u201d.<\/p>\n
But even without Moore, the Magpies will back their system against Brisbane, which overcame a halftime deficit in last year\u2019s preliminary final at the MCG to win by 29 points.<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 20: Collingwood star Jamie Elliott handballs away from Brisbane\u2019s Dayne Zorko during last year\u2019s Preliminary Final at the MCG clinched by the Lions. But the Magpies have won their past two outings at the Gabba, where they play tonight. (Photo by Michael Willson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The trip north for the Easter Thursday clash holds no fears for Collingwood, which have won their past two outings at the Gabba by 20 points in 2024 and 52 points last year.<\/p>\n
But the reigning premiers indicated with a dazzling finale against St Kilda last weekend that they are finding their form after a slow start to their premiership defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love getting on the road up there. We obviously don\u2019t do it too much, but we are really galvanised on those trips,\u201d Frampton said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve always had a good showing in Brissie, or since I\u2019ve been here anyway, in those games. We love travelling as a team, and we get a good look at it together, so we are really excited by that opportunity. We know how good Brissie is, so we will bring our best and hopefully get a good result.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lions down Saints to claim 1st win | 02:03<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Collingwood celebrations were in full swing last Friday when Jamie Elliott glided by to provide a classy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,284215,64,63,689,55,639,284216,3237,3567,80382,10143,10989,284213,36662,25313,284212,42141,284211,64906,284209,232375,2105,38387,11288,186715,134402,4517,40742,25303,33693,36878,12149,10132,12181,3465,284214,284208,7198,677,27704,6082,19095,52768,28959,284219,28008,284218,284210,19545,239715,1124,85,1122,26889,150844,5338,284217,53149,660,80384],"class_list":["post-579706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-attack-led","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-backline-tick","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-courtney-walsh","tag-craig-kelly","tag-craig-mcrae","tag-darcy-moore","tag-defensive-capabilities","tag-defensive-strength","tag-defensive-system","tag-dodgiest-fitness","tag-expert-analyst","tag-fingertip-plays","tag-flag-hopes","tag-footy-athleticism","tag-footy-clubs","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-goal-kicking","tag-grand-final","tag-hair-colour","tag-halftime-deficit","tag-hamstring-injury","tag-harris-andrews","tag-intercept-mark","tag-james-wiltshire","tag-jamie-elliott","tag-jason-dunstall","tag-jeremy-howe","tag-jesse-hogan","tag-leigh-montagna","tag-magpie-officials","tag-metre-entries","tag-michael-willson","tag-oceania","tag-oscar-steene","tag-port-adelaide","tag-preliminary-final","tag-premiership-defence","tag-premiership-glory","tag-prized-defence","tag-quinn-rooney","tag-reliable-cog","tag-rowdy-mates","tag-saints","tag-scoring-positions","tag-south-australia","tag-sports","tag-st-kilda","tag-st-kilda-saints","tag-staff-members","tag-the-gabba","tag-trainers-room","tag-training-session","tag-victoria","tag-young-ruckman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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