Collingwood v North Melbourne at the MCG
Saturday April 19 at 7.10 pm
FORECAST
Fine
Minimum 9, Maximum 24
BETTING
Collingwood $1.67, North Melbourne $2.22
LAST TIME THEY MET
Collingwood 12.10 (82) d Kangaroos 10.19 (79) at the MCG, round one, 2007
FORM GUIDE
The Magpies have recorded wins against Fremantle and Richmond, but slipped back to a 2-2 win-loss record after losing to Carlton last week.
The Roos are yet to record consecutive wins this season, but levelled the ledger at two wins and two losses when they comfortably accounted for Melbourne.
MEDICAL ROOM
The Magpies will be without skipper Scott Burns for at least another week, with the veteran midfielder listed as one to two weeks away from resuming from the calf injury that kept him from playing on Sunday. Youngster Jaxson Barham (shoulder) has been given the same expected return, while the length of lay-offs for Simon Prestigiacomo (foot) and Sean Rusling (shoulder) remain unknown. Brad Dick (knee) will miss the rest of the season.
Josh Gibson is the biggest addition to the Kangaroos’ injury list with the important defender set to miss two to three weeks after injuring his knee last weekend against the Demons. Ruckman David Hale missed that match with a quad strain, but will return this week. Leigh Adams and Nathan Grima will both miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee reconstructions.
RANDOM FACTS
The Kangaroos had Collingwood’s number in 2005 when they won both matches against the Pies, but that was only a blip on the radar. That season aside, the Magpies have enjoyed the ascendancy, winning all seven matches since round 22, 2001.
The all-time record between Collingwood and North Melbourne sees the Pies with 98 wins, 46 losses and two draws from 146 matches.
Heath Shaw was the Magpies’ best when these two sides last met in round one last year. The defender was awarded two Brownlow votes for his 27-disposal, 12-mark performance.
KEY MATCH-UPS
Shane Wakelin v Nathan Thompson
A veteran defender on a veteran forward – the Kangaroo has kicked 12 goals this season and Wakelin has played probably more games than the Pies thought he would towards the end of last season. A classic key position match-up looms.
Anthony Rocca v Drew Petrie
Size-wise, Petrie looms as the best option to face off with Rocca. The Pies forward kicked just the one goal last week and will be looking for a better outing this time around.
Rhyce Shaw/Brodie Holland v Brent Harvey
Shaw has become the resident run-with Magpie this year, but another tagger in Holland comes back into the side to help him out. With the latter coming in for his first senior game since round 13 last season, his fitness will be lagging. The pair could take turns on the Harvey, who has averaged 23 touches a game so far.
WHAT THE CLUBS SAY
Collingwood
“The Kangaroos have come off a very good win against the Demons, and they're a terrific footy club and a great team, and it's going to be a fantastic contest. Both sides pride themselves on being super competitive, and are also really well-organised groups.
“We know we have to be at our best to beat them, so we're really looking forward to that challenge.
“I think both the Kangaroos and us have high expectations for this year. It's a really important game; Mick (Malthouse) is always very big on making sure we always stay above even in terms of win-loss ratio, and while it's only early in the season, we don't want to slip behind there.” – Alan Richardson, assistant coach
North Melbourne
“All the boys are that excited [about the match]. We’ve just passed 32,000 members, we had Melbourne on the weekend and they put up a good fight, but this weekend is going to be a huge challenge for this footy club.
“It’s always a pretty big game … regardless of the positions on the ladder or whether they won or lost last week.” – Brent Harvey, North Melbourne player
