Watch coach Mick Malthouse in his press conference at Gosch's Paddock on WednesdayCOLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse won’t be pressured into selecting key forward Anthony Rocca for Thursday night’s blockbuster clash with Geelong.
Speaking after his team trained at Gosch’s Paddock on Wednesday morning, Malthouse said no opposition was more important than any other and he had to be careful of doing what was best not only for his team but also by his ageing veteran.
Rocca played three quarters for Collingwood’s VFL team last week against Geelong after booting six goals against amateur team Old Scotch the previous week.
“He trained okay,” Malthouse said after training.
“He’s getting there; he’s getting close.”
Dale Thomas missed last week’s win over Melbourne through illness but did train on Wednesday.
Malthouse said the livewire forward “trained okay” and was in contention for a recall.
“We’ll have to get a medical clearance one way or the other,” he said.
Speculation has been mounting over when Rocca, who will turn 32 later this season, will make his return to AFL football.
Asked whether he was fit for the rigours of AFL football after two matches for the Pies’ VFL team, the coach replied: “That’s something we have to weigh up.
“Anthony Rocca is one of those blokes … this won’t be through public reaction [or] media pressure but we know that Anthony attracts a lot of attention,” he said.
“If he doesn’t play well, he gets a lot more attention for one reason or another because he’s Anthony Rocca.
“If he does play well, we’ve won because of Anthony Rocca.”
Last year Rocca was crucial in his role of helping nullify Geelong’s attacking backline, which is spearheaded by All-Australian full-back Matthew Scarlett.
His ability to drag Scarlett further afield enabled Travis Cloke to isolate youngster Harry Taylor, something other AFL clubs have tried to do in matches since last year’s round nine encounter when the Pies thumped the Cats by 86 points.
But Malthouse said who Collingwood was playing this week had nothing to do with whether Rocca would play.
“There’s no one week more important than the next – every week’s important because it’s still four points,” he said.
“[If] you get five points then you might be tempted but you get four points each week, so no game is more important than the one you’re currently playing … we don’t get caught up in who we’re playing.”
Malthouse said his team hadn’t dwelled on its NAB Cup loss to the Cats but realised it needed to lift to beat Mark Thompson’s men.
“You can’t ignore it, the fact is we got thumped … we just have to be better,” he said.
“We believe that we under-performed [that night]. The primary reason why they won is because they’re so good.”
