\u201cAn old man\u2019s dream ended, a young man\u2019s vision of the future opened wide,\u201d the American sportswriter Red Smith wrote when 37-year-old Joe Louis was knocked out by Rocky Marciano. \u201cYoung men have visions, old men have dreams. But the place for old men to dream is beside the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s tempting to analogise this current Collingwood side, to pension them off, to declare them too old and too slow. When they lost to GWS in the opening game, the Age\u2019s Jake Niall said they were shuffling around like Joe Biden. It\u2019s tempting, when they field 11 players who are 30 or older, when a 35-year-old is knocked senseless in the opening seconds and when they\u2019re run ragged by a comparatively young and superbly conditioned team, to say that the team is out of time.<\/p>\n
Certainly that was the impression in the immediate aftermath of last Thursday night\u2019s game. Craig McRae\u2019s folksiness can sometimes seem a bit put on, a bit of comms strategy. But he\u2019s always good value, especially after bad losses. He doesn\u2019t deflect, doesn\u2019t pick fights with journalists, doesn\u2019t reel off well thumbed lines designed to buy time. It\u2019s something that Simon Goodwin always struggled with \u2013 to speak a language the fans can relate to.<\/p>\n
Craig McRae\u2019s Pies face a significant test against Adelaide this weekend. Photograph: James Ross\/AAP<\/p>\n
McRae\u2019s optimism is constitutional, and is reflected in his team, who for the entirety of his tenure have believed they can win from any position. But Thursday night was different. We all saw what happened, and he didn\u2019t shy away from it. This wasn\u2019t about age. The Pies are a system-based team, and the system broke down. He used the word glue several times. This was a team that had come unglued.<\/p>\n
From the moment he arrived, the key to this Collingwood system has been the way they defend. At their very best, their defenders would swallow space. They had excellent footwork, anticipation and synergy. They were so good at playing to their individual and collective strengths and mitigating their weaknesses. They\u2019d give the opposition just enough temptation to attack, and they\u2019d cover it in twos and threes. They had a great sense of risk and reward \u2013 of when to apply a vice like grip and when to launch one of their cavalry attacks off half back.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s almost entirely absent now. So much of it was disrupted when Nathan Murphy retired. He did all the unglamorous defending \u2013 the blocks, the dragging of players to dead space. Scott Pendlebury told Niall how important he was to their system, how he \u201cpicks up the pieces\u201d, allowing Darcy Moore and Jeremy Howe to roam.<\/p>\n
Darcy Moore has not looked comfortable of late. Photograph: Scott Barbour\/AAP<\/p>\n
But looking at this season in isolation, and the last month in particular, the backline has been scrambling and unmoored. There\u2019s no doubt that the injury to Howe rattled them emotionally and unglued them structurally. I was unglued just watching it. And with a key cog in the system having his brain scanned, his fellow defenders stood revealed.<\/p>\n
Moore has been a magnificent footballer for Collingwood. But in recent weeks he\u2019s been taken to places he\u2019s not entirely comfortable with. Patrick Voss is one of many examples of opponents having a specific plan for him, of dragging him deep, of making him defend one on one.<\/p>\n
Billy Frampton is the ultimate system-based magnet. His role in the 2023 grand final was pivotal. But they need a hell of lot more from him than dragging a gun key defender out of the game. Opposition coaches are targeting him, and as honest as he is, he\u2019s being exposed. Isaac Quaynor has been better this year, but he\u2019s heavily reliant on Howe, and seems a bit loose and lost without him.<\/p>\n
Collingwood players see off Jeremy Howe after he sustained an injury Photograph: James Ross\/AAP<\/p>\n
Dan Houston is another concern. From the moment he ironed out Izak Rankine, he\u2019s been a tentative footballer. He and his new teammates seem unsure of his role in the system. He gave away too many free kicks against Brisbane and butchered the ball against Hawthorn. At Port Adelaide he was one of the best kicks in the country. But his kicking at Collingwood has been poky and increasingly costly.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, they play the top team Adelaide in hostile territory. If they lose, it won\u2019t be because of their age profile. It won\u2019t be because of Pendlebury, who was actually one of their better players on Thursday. It will be because of their defence, the majority of whom are in the career sweet spot in terms of age. Collingwood are good travellers, they play at the Adelaide Oval exceptionally well and their system has often held up when all have written them off. But when the defence is exposed, the system collapses. And there\u2019s no bigger test than the Adelaide forward six \u2013 a mix of the brutish, the canny, the flashy, the freakish, the unobtrusive and the selfless \u2013 a mix that the Collingwood system no longer seems equipped to handle.<\/p>\n
Crunching the numbers Illustration: Guardian Design<\/p>\n
The Magpies\u2019 undefeated streak against the Crows started with a draw in 2017 and has since been followed by 10 consecutive victories.<\/p>\n
From the archivesJohn Anthony kicked the match-winner for Collingwood in the 2009 semi-final against Adelaide. Photograph: Morn\u00e9 de Klerk\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Collingwood\u2019s 2009 season was chronicled in a fantastic book by journalist Peter Ryan. He captured a team on the verge of greatness, as encapsulated by a typically restrained Eddie McGuire: \u201cWe are single-minded in our approach. Make no mistake, single-minded. We will do everything possible to win a fucking premiership.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
That all seemed like windy rhetoric when the Goodwin-led Adelaide skipped out to a six-goal lead in the first semi-final. But as Collingwood launched their comeback, the coach\u2019s box, Ryan writes, \u201cwas like a fizzed-up glass of lemonade.\u201d In the dying seconds, with McGuire in an apoplectic state in the stands, the ball was in the hands of Jack Anthony. He hadn\u2019t had much of a night, with just three touches, and two of those were points. The free kick was dubious, and many Crows fans still haven\u2019t come to terms with it. But the set shot was perfect. In a sight that\u2019d become familiar for a decade and a half to come, a very young Patrick Dangerfield exploded out of the centre, but the siren beat him.<\/p>\n
The Pies were dismantled by a Geelong side at the peak of its powers the next week. But within a year, they had matured, bolstered their list and were the best team in the country.<\/p>\n
They said what? Illustration: Guardian Design<\/p>\n
The Blues\u2019 incoming chief executive has dismissed suggestions that the club might consider trading Patrick Cripps, Charlie Curnow, Jacob Weitering, Sam Walsh or Harry McKay. \u201cWe\u2019re like every team,\u201d Wright added. \u201cWe want more good players, I suppose, or elite players, and those guys are in that category.\u201d<\/p>\n
skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to From the Pocket: AFL Weekly<\/p>\n Jonathan Horn brings expert analysis on the week’s biggest AFL stories<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n View from the stands (or the couch)Andrew Leoncelli leaps over Matthew Rogers as Victoria host South Australia in a State of Origin clash in 1999. Photograph: Stuart Milligan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really keen to see our best players on the ground at the same time. The [Indigenous] All-Stars game at the start of the year showed that there\u2019s a real appetite for seeing that. Hopefully there will be an announcement soon.\u201d<\/p>\n The AFL<\/a> chief executive, Andrew Dillon, hints that State of Origin could return to the football calendar in 2026. Victoria defeated South Australia in the last State of Origin game played at the MCG in 1999.<\/p>\n Any thoughts you want to share? Reply to this email or send your views to fromthepocket@theguardian.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Patrick Voss celebrates after booting a goal as Fremantle defeat Hawthorn. Photograph: Richard Wainwright\/AAP<\/p>\n Which club has finished with the most wins \u2013 and draws \u2013 in a season but missed the top eight? Bonus point if you know which year.<\/p>\n a) Carlton Answers in next week\u2019s newsletter, but if you think you know it, hit reply and let me know.<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s answer: Which club has lost the fewest games this season against sides currently sitting in the top half of the ladder? Fremantle has lost twice in eight matches against top-half teams.<\/p>\n Congratulations to Greg McClurg, who was first to reply with the right answer.<\/p>\n Want more?Nat Fyfe will retire at the end of the 2025 season as a dual Brownlow medallist and Fremantle great. Photograph: Richard Wainwright\/AAP<\/p>\n Nat Fyfe is in \u201ca really peaceful place\u201d<\/a> as he announces his retirement, while Brendan Foster remembers that the Fremantle great was simply unstoppable during his prime<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cD-O-double G\u201d is coming to the MCG with Snoop Dogg to perform at this year\u2019s AFL grand final<\/a>.<\/p>\n Individual brilliance gets Western Bulldogs over line against Melbourne<\/a> in a typical Luke Beveridge-era clash. Jayden Nguyen\u2019s Bombers debut could herald a new era<\/a>, Jack Snape reports, as the AFL tackles cultural diversity.<\/p>\n The AFLW season kicks off this week as inaugural No 1 pick Nicola Barr writes that the league is not a side project for players who thrive on consistency<\/a>, and Sarah Guiney adds that older clubs still benefit from being able to adapt to change better<\/a>.<\/p>\n Got a story tip?<\/p>\n Reply to this email and drop me a line, or email fromthepocket@theguardian.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Enjoying this newsletter?<\/p>\n
b) Collingwood
c) Richmond
d) Western Bulldogs<\/p>\n