Click here to watch Heath Shaw in the rooms after the lossCollingwood’s preseason campaign ended by the narrowest of margins, going down to St Kilda by one-point at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.??
Facing a 43-point deficit early in the third quarter, the Magpies kicked the next six goals and eventually took the lead late in the fourth before a major by Adam Schneider sealed the match for the Saints.??
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Leading the way with disposals for his side with 30, utility Heath Shaw believed it took a restructure around the stoppages to lead to a gallant Magpie comeback.??
“We didn’t get our structures right and we let them (St Kilda) get a jump on us”, Shaw told CTV in the rooms after the match.
“There were too many guys putting their heads in the trough and not surrounding the contest. St Kilda had more numbers as soon as the ball was cleared and it was easy for them to get the ball inside 50.”
Shaw, who played 72% game time, credited his teammates ability to shutdown a potential St Kilda clearance.
Click here to watch Gavin Brown address the media after the match“We made it more of a fight in there in the second half. If we didn’t win the stoppage we just wanted to make sure we got a ball-up and to not let St Kilda have that run.”
The utility also applauded the efforts of the club’s three new recruits Darren Jolly, Luke Ball and Simon Buckley who all featured prominently throughout the night.
“They all did their job tonight. Jol snuck forward and kicked a couple of goals. Ball was good around the stoppages and Bucks did his job in the midfield tagging and sometimes (playing) off the wing.”
At 24, Shaw looks to be moving further up the ground utilising his endurance, a feature of his game the Magpie knows he needs to work on.
“I haven’t really played a full game through that midfield and it was good to do that tonight.
“I have definitely got a lot of improvement in me and hopefully I will learn that trade in there over the next couple of weeks so I can fine tune my skills.”
The team will now make the trek to Alice Springs to battle Adelaide on Friday 26 February in the NAB Challenge.
