COLLINGWOOD has bounced back from its Queen's Birthday lossto lowly Melbourne and again thumbed its nose atits critics with a stirring victory against Sydney by 19 points at Telstra Stadium onSaturday night.
The Magpies 10.16 (76) defeated the Swans 8.9 (57) in frontof 64,222 fans – the third biggest crowd at the venue – to notch up theireighth win of the season, which puts them back into the top four.
Much was made of Collingwood's depleted backline enteringthe match, with James Clement, Rhyce Shaw, Simon Prestigiacomo and HarryO'Brien missing. They joined skipper Nathan Buckley, Sean Rusling and ChrisEgan on the sidelines.
But some inspirational performances from Anthony Rocca, DaleThomas and Shane Wakelin were pivotal in the win.
After being held to just one kick and one handball against Melbourne's Ben Holland onthe Queen's Birthday, Rocca returned to the type of outstanding form he showed againstFremantle in round 10, when he bagged five goals.
Rocca booted three first-half goals and was instrumental inthe victory. He finished with nine marks, which included four contested grabs bythe main break.
He also laid a bone-jarring bump on Sydney's Sean Dempster during the third term,although this may come under scrutiny from the match review panel.
In the final quarter, when Sydney showed a glimmer of hope, Thomasjagged two crucial goals to finish with a bag of four. He set the tone for thenight with the first goal, before bobbing up with his match-winning majors.
Veteran defender Wakelin was an excellent leader in the backhalf, limiting the influence of Barry Hall. The Sydney co-skipper kicked just two goals –hissecond after the final siren – while Wakelin had the better of Hall and in theprocess put in his best match of the season.
Again, Heath Shaw, Scott Pendlebury and Tarkyn Lockyershone, continuing their outstanding seasons. Shane O'Bree won 25 touches – themost on the ground – while Irishman Martin Clarke accumulated 20 disposals inan impressive AFL debut.
Collingwood was prominent in front of goal early on butfailed to fully capitalise. The Magpies had five scoring shots on the board,including the opening two goals before Sydneyregistered its first score courtesy of a rushed behind.
Sydney's first major came via Luke Ablett at the 21-minutemark, due to a Brodie Holland infringement and subsequent 50-metre penalty, butwhen Pendlbury answered soon after, the Pies led by 16 points at quarter time.
The Magpies continued to dominant proceedings in the secondterm, booting three goals to one, giving them a 34-point advantage at the mainbreak. But again, the Pies could have been much further in front, having slammed17 scoring shots to just three.
Rocca was on fire during this period. He saw off initialopponent Leo Barry after booting three goals on the Sydney co-captain, while he also took aclassical hanger over the Swans defender.
Ryan O'Keefe provided Sydney'sonly highlights during this period with an excellent pack mark over TysonGoldsack and Nick Maxwell, followed up by a goal.
Didak put the Magpies up by 40 points – Collingwood'sgreatest lead for the match – and although it was a low-scoring term, the Piesmanaged to win the quarter 2.2 to 1.3. It drew some applause from coach MichaelMalthouse at the final change.
Sydney's offered a glimmer of hope in the final term, whenit landed the first two goals of the last quarter, but Thomas' efforts quelledany thought of a Swans' victory, even though the margin suggested the contestwas closer.
Collingwood now has the edge over Sydney at Telstra Stadium, having recordedthree wins from five outings.
COLLINGWOOD 3.5 6.11 8.13 10.16 (76)
SYDNEY SWANS 1.1 2.1 3.4 8.9 (57)
Goals: Collingwood: D Thomas 4 A Rocca 3 TCloke S Pendlebury A Didak. Sydney Swans: M O'Loughlin 2 B Hall 2 P Everitt L Ablett RO'Keefe A Goodes.
Best: Collingwood: S O'Bree S Pendlebury H ShawD Thomas A Rocca T Cloke S Burns P Licuria. Sydney Swans: R O'Keefe B Kirk A Goodes NFosdike.
Umpires: M Vozzo D Margetts SRyan.
Official crowd: 64,222 at TelstraStadium.
