COLLINGWOOD has injected raw pace to complement class while also asking others to play their role in the hope of moving the Magpies forward in 2018.
On Friday night all three aspects came together for an impressive win over the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
The household names – Steele Sidebottom and captain Scott Pendlebury – led from the front with high-possession games, but it was the lesser lights that got a pat on the back from Nathan Buckley.
ALL THE DETAILS AND STATS: Full match coverage from Crows v Pies
The Pies coach said many of the players brought into the side in recent times have added some much-needed speed.
“You need to have it in the right places and I suppose we’ve added Will (Hoskin-Elliott) in the last couple of years, but Sam (Murray) definitely takes the game on and we love that about him,” Buckley said.
“And Jaidyn (Stephenson) - he’s lightly built but there’s elements of the game that he’s suited to and that open field play …a lot of his pressure is chasing pressure because he just closes the distance so quickly.”
The side’s talls received plenty of praise for their performance too.
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Brodie Grundy won the battle with Sam Jacobs with 33 possessions, 40 hit-outs and a running goal.
“He’s in a rich vein of form Brodie. He’s worked really hard, not just this preseason but over a fair period of time,” Buckley said.
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“I thought our connection between our rucks and our mids was stronger this week than it’s been for the first three rounds and through the JLT.
“We’ve been winning hit-outs significantly but losing clearances, so we’ve done some work the last couple of weeks and that’s come together.”
Buckley said Mason Cox’s five-possession game was important too.
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“He competed really well, brought the ball to ground and played his role down the line as well as you could ask a bloke.”
Jordan De Goey finally got his season underway after a highly-publicised drink-driving offence in the pre-season.
“He played his role, he did some nice things, it was good to see the boys get around him after that goal, there was a bit of feeling in that.”
The Magpies next match is on Anzac Day and the 12-day break could give some players a chance to break into the side.
Collingwood’s medicos are giving Taylor Adams and Jamie Elliott some chance of returning from hamstring injuries, while Daniel Wells will look to impress in the VFL on Saturday.
