Head to head: Brisbane Lions 17 wins, Collingwood 19 wins
Last time: Collingwood 12.23 (95) d Brisbane Lions 8.7 (55), round 18, 2009 at the MCG
Jonathan Brown threatened to rip the game to shreds with three early goals and, to make matters worse for the Pies, Simon Prestigiacomo was crunched and didn’t know where he was. But Mick Malthouse called on Leigh Brown to stop the Lions’ skipper, and the former North utility did the job. As the scoreboard suggested, it wasn’t a pretty night for the Pies but it was effective. Collingwood first worked its way back into the game, and then ran away with eight goals to one in the second half, with its array of contributors the key to an impressive team display.
MISSING IN ACTION
Brisbane Lions
Sean Yoshiura (knee) - TBC
Daniel Merrett (hamstring) - 2-3 weeks
Jamie Charman (ankle) - 4 weeks
Jared Brennan (ankle) - 4 weeks
Niall McKeever (knee) - 6 weeks
Jed Adcock (foot) - indefinite
Josh Drummond (knee) - indefinite
Xavier Clarke (knee) - indefinite
LAST WEEK
Adelaide 13.15 (93) d Brisbane Lions 11.15 (81) at AAMI Stadium
The Lions were right in it for much of the match and, had they had a full squad and a few fitter men, they almost certainly would have left Adelaide with the four points. Michael Voss’s men had more of the footy and plenty of chances but just couldn’t get the job done as the Crows skipped clear at the start of the last term. Ash McGrath was great all day for the Lions who booted the last couple, but it wasn’t enough for the visitors.
Leading goalkicker - Brendan Fevola (30)
Leading ballwinner - Michael Rischitelli (209)
DANGER MAN
While playing in the navy blue prior to this year, Brendan Fevola has enjoyed some success against the Pies. He did struggle in 2009 - booting just one major from two meetings last season - but his efforts prior to last season included bags of 8, 7 and 6 goals. If The Fev can rediscover his best against Collingwood, the home side will be a huge chance.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
A week after having their credentials as a legitimate premiership contender questioned, Collingwood will be eager to show the AFL community that last week was simply a case of running into a red-hot team.
For Brisbane, this week looms as a massive game in terms of their season aspirations. A loss would see the Lions slip to 4-6 - a disastrous result given their sublime start but also fraught with danger seeing as five of their next seven are away from the Gabba.
HOW’S STAT?
The Lions have led at quarter time in their past four games against Collingwood but only won two of those matches.
WHAT THE OPPOSITION SAYS
“We’ve actually got some genuine hope coming into this week. They’ve (the players) lost that little bit of faith, that little bit of trust, and they’ve slowly been able to build that up over the last couple of weeks.
“Those issues of confidence come to the fore in big games like this.” - Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss
WHAT THE PIES SAY
“Mick’s big on ground dimensions - he could give you the dimensions on every ground in the league, pretty much.
“You know with the Gabba, for example, that when you get the ball in the middle of the ground you’re very capable of kicking the ball deep and close to the goal square … that’s something that we’re conscious of, it only takes two quick kicks and you’re down the other end.
“I think that’s where Brisbane are good. They use the corridor pretty well and we’re pretty conscious of that. So in our planning we’ve got things that we’ve got to try and force them wide at times and be mindful of how they use the corridor.” - Collingwood opposition coach Paul Hudson
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
