The game: Collingwood 12.23 (95) d Brisbane Lions 8.7 (55) at the MCG, Rd 18, 2009 Toyota AFL Premiership Season
The stats: 10 kicks, 13 handballs, five tackles, four marks and three inside 50s.
How was your preparation for what was a fairly big match?
I just try and sleep in as much as possible, so you don’t have to wait around for too much of the day. We stayed across from one of the schools, so I stopped over and watched a bit of footy there with our assistant coach Wayne Brittain. Then I had a kick with Brittain and Josh Drummond - trying to keep my mind as occupied as possible to save up my energy before the game.
What did you do when you arrived at the ground?
I like to get changed as late as possible and then I don’t mind playing a bit of oddball.
Oddball?
It’s a ball that bounces in all different directions. We chuck it against the wall for a while to hone our reflexes and play a bit of a game at the same time. If you drop it, you have to go to the back of the queue. But if you catch them all you end up as king.
Celebrating Simon Black’s 250th game, was anything done differently in the build-up?
We had a video of Simon before the game. He is a great player. He means a lot to me because he is someone who came to the club the same time as me 12 years ago. We have been very close throughout those years. We’ve gone through a lot together, some great times and not-so great times. It’s people like him that reinforce the culture of the club. One thing Vossy (coach Michael Voss) said about Simon Black that makes him so great is that he doesn’t look back, he always looks forward. For him to reach the milestone as quickly as he has, it’s a testament to his character.
You must have felt confident seeing Jonathan Brown start the game on fire with three first-quarter goals.
He is a great focal point and target for us. I thought he was holding us up early and then later on we probably became too one-dimensional. It helps when Daniel Bradshaw plays, but he still kicked five in a losing side and that’s why he is one of the great players of modern era. He can kick goals against the tide and carry his mates.
In the second quarter, you rushed a behind with Leon Davis bearing down. Did you think you may get pinged for rushing a behind?
No. It was a goal-line situation. I didn’t handball it through so I thought it was all clear. If I didn’t knock it through then Leon Davis would have got his foot to it. I wasn’t too concerned about it.
Can you describe the role you were designated?
My role was down back to try and provide a bit of run and rebound out of defence. I thought my kicking was way off early and that didn’t help. That’s something I have to work on at training during the week – put myself under pressure with my skills and get it right.
What was running through your mind when a free kick was awarded against you after a tussle with Leon Davis?
I thought it was a bit of a soft free kick. There are probably billions of them that don’t get called during a game of footy. I wasn’t grabbing him by the jumper but obviously the umpire deemed I had my arms around him. I just thought it was play-on.
What surprised you about the way the game unfolded?
I don’t think anything surprises you about the way a game unfolds, but we didn’t handle ourselves well in the second half. We didn’t apply enough pressure or win the contested ball. The stats will show that Collingwood beat us in those two areas that are so important in modern-day footy. We couldn’t get control of the ball and slow the play down. It was pretty disappointing the way we came out after half time.
What was it like to be back playing at the MCG?
It does hold great memories. But it was good for our younger players too. We have about eight or nine players who have never played here so it’s a great experience. If you’re going to play and win big finals you have to win them at the MCG.
How did you rate your game from a personal perspective?
It was a little disappointing. I butchered the ball early in the game. But the great thing about footy is that you get another opportunity to bounce back next week against the Bombers. I’ll have a hard week on the training track and bounce back.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
