MATCH SUMMARY
Although Collingwood and Geelong finished first and second, they did it with very different styles. Collingwood is a kicking team and plays conservatively, using width out of defence and playing along the boundary to limit the damage of turnovers if they occur.

Geelong is more a handball team which will keep the ball alive. The Cats will look to get into the corridor at any chance, and while it has huge rewards in terms of scoring it can also hurt you, as turnovers in that area of the ground are often indefensible.

Much of Collingwood's success has been based around its pressure, and in particular the pressure in its forward half. It leads the competition in tackles inside its forward 50, and this pressure allows it to lock the ball in its half of the ground and restrict opposition entries.

This is how it played out last time these teams met in round 19, with the Pies restricting the Cats to just 37 inside 50s while they had a whopping 66. The other remarkable stat from that game was the contested ball wins went 144-104 in the Pies' favour. That type of number is often seen in 10-goal losses, and had Collingwood kicked straight that night (14.23) it could well have been that margin.

It appears that Mark Thompson has tinkered with things slightly in the latter part of the season to try to play a more kicking style of game, giving the Cats that option when required. That time is now. With Collingwood's pressure, teams that over possess with handball invariably come unstuck. In its round-nine victory over Collingwood, Geelong had 40 more kicks than handballs, which is significant because it generally operates on a 1:1 kick to handball ratio.

Precision kicking is the most effective tool against a zone defence, and with Geelong having numerous elite kickers within its ranks, it will be looking to use this to provide enough opportunities for its forwards to kick a winning score.

However, as different as the styles of these two teams are, they still require you to win your share of contested ball.

BACKLINE v BACKLINE
Geelong's defenders are very good one-on-one players, so not only do they defend well, but they win their share of the ball and send it forward. Geelong generates more score launches from defence than any other team, which was on show against Freo last week with some devastating rebounding from Wojcinski in particular.

Harry Taylor will go to Cloke, leaving Scarlett and Lonergan to share Dawes and Leigh Brown.

Collingwood also generates enormous run from defence but relies heavily on Shaw and O'Brien to provide that attack. Late in the year, teams have targeted O'Brien in particular using a defensive forward with some success, so expect Collingwood to have a plan in place should this occur. He may follow up one of Geelong's half-forwards, taking his man with him and creating a loose defender.

That preference would be skipper Nick Maxwell, who fills space and organises the defence as well as anyone - his influence against the Bulldogs was substantial. Prestigiacomo's availability may be tempting as he looks a perfect match for Podsiadly.

MIDFIELD v MIDFIELD
If Collingwood wins the midfield stoppages, it means that Geelong has to come back through the defensive press that the Pies have become so good at setting, meaning they will be in for a difficult night. The Cats, on the other hand, are the competition leaders in scores from midfield stoppages, so you can see the importance. In their previous two encounters, the team that won the midfield clearances won the game.

Match-ups will be interesting. Ling is likely to go to Pendlebury - I see him as the architect of Collingwood's midfield - while Swan has proved almost impossible to tag, so it is a team responsibility to keep him at speedto limit the effectiveness and penetration of his possessions. Selwood will match his hardness around the stoppages and can also give you some offensive power that puts the pressure back onto the opposition.

The wildcard in all this is Didak. His ability to have an impact when pushing into the midfield can be devastating, breaking open games and impacting on the scoreboard.

FORWARDS v FORWARDS
There are many similarities between the forward structures, as both leading goalkickers are opportunist forwards (Steve Johnson and Didak) rather than key-position talls. Both teams have a wide spread of goalkickers (nine players with 20 plus) and both teams have a key forward with accuracy issues (Mooney and Cloke).

The key to Collingwood is the pressure it applies in its forward line. It is the league leader in forward-half turnovers, which deliver it an average of seven goals per game.

Geelong wants to move the ball with speed through the midfield, allowing space and isolation for its forwards, and it knows any inefficiency will slow them and allow Collingwood to get extra numbers back.

Numerous finals in recent times have been impacted by poor conversion. Collingwood's scoring accuracy is the worst in the league and Geelong is also not immune to being wasteful in front of goal. Will this be a factor on Friday night?

COACH v COACH
No advantage either way here as both coaches have exceptional records and enormous finals experience. Mark Thompson has great trust in his players and will give them time to work their way out of a hole if one appears. Mick Malthouse doesn't sit on his hands; he has a great feel for momentum shifts in games and reacts swiftly. He has also built great versatility into his team and has many options to go to.

Both coaches will have tough calls at the selection table. Geelong has Mackie, Blake and perhaps Rooke available, whilst Collingwood has the fitness of Prestigiacomo and Wellingham to consider.

UNDER THE RADAR
Dayne Beams has kicked bags of four and three goals in their two meetings. His average for the year is just over one per match - he's kicked either zero goals or just one in 16 games - so he must like playing against the Cats.

Joel Corey has looked a little flat since returning from injury over a month ago, but returned to some good form last week. His experience and no-fuss style suits finals football, so expect more of the same this week.

HOW THE GAME WILL BE WON
I think Collingwood's pressure will create enough scoring opportunities for it to win. Its work rate will stretch the defending champ and the week's break will have it finishing just a little stronger.

PREDICTION
Collingwood by 17 points

Mark Bickley returned to Adelaide as an assistant coach at the end of 2008 after roles in the media and as an All Australian selector.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.

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