Click here to watch Tuesday's press conference with Nathan Buckley and Mick Malthouse on CTVCOLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse will back his young side – and its game plan – to dethrone one of the AFL’s power teams this weekend.
The Magpies meet the Sydney Swans in an elimination final at the MCG on Saturday night and Malthouse knows some will doubt his younger side will have the experience to match a team that has played in the past two Grand Finals.
The Swans ruined Hawthorn’s top-four chances by belting them at the SCG on Sunday, the round 22 win an ominous warning to their fellow finalists ahead of the September campaign.
That victory prompted Swans midfielder Jude Bolton to declare that his side was in better form than at the same time last year, a statement that made Malthouse take note.
“It did catch my attention. Now that’s a scary thing if you’re anyone who’s played them in the past,” he said.
But the Magpies will be confident heading into the clash with the 2005 premiers.
They beat them twice during the regular rounds, the most recent time being just a fortnight ago – also under lights at the MCG.
Barry Hall, who missed the Swans’ big win last week, is set to resume for this week’s blockbuster and Malthouse says the Magpies will be ready for a full-strength Sydney outfit.
“Sydney have got the capacity to change it up,” he said.
“Now we’ve just got to be ready for any of those changes, and we’ve got to make sure that the side we pick does cater for those changes.
“So it might be a little bit of a different mix from us but we can’t be spooked by who comes in and who goes out of their side. We’ve got to still believe in our game plan.”
Malthouse said he spent more than two hours discussing the Magpies side for Saturday night’s clash but was no closer to finalising his thoughts.
Sean Rusling, who booted four goals against the Swans in round 21, may come back into the line-up after missing last week’s clash through injury, while the Magpies are also assessing their options for danger man Adam Goodes.
Malthouse said Paul Licuria and Ryan Lonie were among the options being considered for one of football’s toughest match-ups, although the Magpies will be careful not to become too focused on the dual Brownlow Medallist.
“One thing you can’t do in finals football is be all things to the team without the team performing … one of the greatest attributes they’ve (Sydney) had in the last few years is their evenness,” he said.
“So for us to be successful we can’t then get tied up into Goodes because he may or may not be the dominant party.
“There are other players who become crucial to them and we can’t, one, forget that and, two, is we’ve got to put some pressure back on Sydney. Rarely do you win a game of football with a nil-all draw these days.”
Collingwood’s younger players have been a key to the club’s success in 2007 and Malthouse admitted he has enjoyed watching the new breed of Magpie take flight.
“The joy of coaching this side has been the unpredictability and the spontaneity of joy from some of these young players,” he said.
“They present something different almost every week.”
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