CTV > Dubai Press Conference: Malthouse

CTV > Dubai Match Day Interview: Heath Shaw

A LACK of match practice and not fitness was to blame for Collingwood’s disappointing loss to Adelaide in Dubai on Saturday afternoon, according to veteran Magpie Shane O’Bree.

And while O’Bree was not making any excuses, there’s no doubt that the sickness that swept through the Collingwood camp directly after a serious high-altitude pre-season camp wasn’t the perfect build up for a match played anywhere, let alone an oasis in the desert.

A dominant second term set up the victory for Adelaide, but O’Bree said it was simply that the Crows were more battle-ready which enabled them to skip away in the match played on a converted polo ground at the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club just to the south west of.Dubai.

"Adelaide were a fair bit in front of us in where they’re at in their stage of training I suppose," the 28-year-old midfielder said after the loss.

"They definitely came to play, they really wanted to win, they played well, and we were a bit behind the eight ball and it probably showed in our performance.

"We thought we’d win the game, the blokes who played today… we’ve been up and firing for the couple of scratch matches we’ve played against each other.

"But from all reports Adelaide have played a fair few practice matches and that probably showed today, they’re a bit in front of us in where they’re at in their footy."

Collingwood has played a major part in the AFL's global push of late – one of three clubs to stage their Telstra AFL Community Camp in South Africa, as well as being a participant in the United Arab Emirates experiment.

Finding a suitable venue in the parched Gulf state was always going to be a challenge for the AFL, but O'Bree said he was suitably impressed with the set-up at the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club just outside the capital.

"The ground was in sensational nick – there was a bit of a breeze going one way, but what they did with the ground to get it up and running for an AFL match was sensational," he said.

"It was a bit of a privilege for the players to play outside Australia and expose the game a fair bit.

"By all reports, they sold about 3500 before the game – it wasn’t the same roar as a normal Collingwood game, but they were fairly vocal at times."

Collingwood’s next match is in Albany (south west WA) against the loser of Sunday’s clash between the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle.