COLLINGWOOD’S Rhyce Shaw was one of thecatalysts for the team fighting its way back into the game against Adelaide with his hard running style breaking up the wallof the Adelaidedefence.
“I think tonight we went a bit overboardwith the possession game, a few risks needed to be taken. I suppose that’s partof my game, to run,” Shaw said after the game.
He said that there was no specific call atquarter time to adopt a different approach.
“We wanted to keep possession but had to doit in a quicker fashion. A couple of guys got going in the second quarter andit started to roll on a bit. But to Adelaide’scredit they really played their game to a tee and they are a very disciplinedside. They played a really good game of footy tonight and we couldn’t matchthem.”
Shaw offered an analysis of what makes the Adelaide game plan tick.
“They work really well together as a side.They have their zone set up in the backline when we are kicking in and itcontinues all the way down to the forward line. It’s a full ground zone.
“It really needs disciplined players and adisciplined team and they seem to do it really well because they work for eachother. When we put them under pressure in the second quarter we started tobreak it down, but they stuck to their guns and kept continuing with it.”
What hurt Collingwood most was theirwayward transfer of the ball.
“Mick (Malthouse) said they scored five orsix of their goals from direct turnovers. A couple of guys shanked kicks andthey got goals I don’t think I did, butthat’s the way it goes some times – you have a good night or you don’t.”
He said that the disposal situation couldbe rectified quickly.
“That’s one thing we can always improve on– skills. That’s the least of our worries at the moment.
Shaw said the game would have its benefitsfor the Magpies.
“It’s a good warm up to the finals. Wedidn’t want be in this position, but we are in it now. Well get a lot out oftonight both positive and negative, so hopefully we can just build on that fornext week and make sure we play a whole game like the second quarter.”
He said that the Crows maintainedscoreboard pressure throughout the evening.
“It seemed that Adelaide started every quarter with a goaland put us under the pump straight away. It’s hard to come back from that, butwe stuck to our guns.”
On a personal level, Shaw has not had theeasiest road.
“I played the first 10 games then did myhammy and missed seven weeks then came back for a couple. I got dropped last week and went back toWilliamstown. I’ve got a lot of stuff I’m working on, which the coaches arehelping me with. I’ve got to play a certain role and I’ve got to get my headaround that and hopefully I can get a game in the finals.”
As a player who relies on his hard running,Shaw said that he initially had the hamstring injury in the back of his mind.
“In the first three weeks when I came backI did feel hesitant. Now I’ve just got to let it all go like the skipper did. Idid that tonight and ran as hard as I could.
“We’ve got a lot of rotations so it’s easyto come on and off the ground . I was doing that in the first 10 rounds.Tonight was the night to get back to that and be the link man the team needs.”
Now he is determined to help the team makeamends for 2006’s instant exit from the finals.
“We don’t want another year like last yearwhen we made the finals and weren’t playing that well and we got beaten by theBulldogs in the first week and our season was over.
“We were hoping for the top four, butdidn’t reach that. Anything can happen in a final and if we put our heads downwe can go a long way. The first win in the finals is so important. It just makesyou feel like the whole team is going again.”
