Watch "The winners' circle" in the rooms after the win Watch debutant Dayne Beams speak to CTV after his 18 disposal performanceCOLLINGWOOD coach Michael Malthouse says Josh Fraser’s brilliant game against Melbourne as virtually a solo ruckman doesn’t mean he’ll go it alone against the Cats on Thursday night.
Fraser was clearly best afield and remained on the ground for 87 minutes of the 116-minute game, receiving only minimal help from Leigh Brown.
He has thrived before in similar situations, but Malthouse plans to revisit the claims of Cameron Wood and Chris Bryan who played VFL on Saturday.
“I thought Josh was pretty good all day,” Malthouse said. “Ruckmen are ruckmen.
“If you’re not a ruckman yourself then sometimes it is a little bit difficult to understand ruckmen.
“Some people crave ‘go for it’ and come off and ‘go for it again’ and come off.
“But I think there are others that like a little bit of extra time to establish what they want to do.”
Malthouse said the five-day break before Thursday night’s clash with Geelong might force his hand.
“We need to review that,” he said.
“It might mean bringing one of those young players in.”
The short break could also affect the chances of Dale Thomas returning from a gastro illness that kept him out of yesterday’s match.
However, the Magpies were elated with the debut performance of his replacement Dayne Beams, who picked up 18 possessions and kicked a goal.
Malthouse said Beams was ready for the level because he had already played against men in Queensland.
“He is a very mature kid for his age,” Malthouse said.
“Like we’ve seen with a number of other Queenslanders, they are thrown at 15 or 16 into the senior group.
“They are going to get a lot of physical pressure so he is able to handle that.
“It didn’t surprise us the way he went because he has got that maturity about him.”
