Preliminary Final v Collingwood at the MCG

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From our perfect seats, front row, top deck of the Ponsford, we could see that Dusty wasn’t right, even before the first bounce. He was lining up in the goal-square, which wasn’t a great sign, but could have been an interesting tactical move. If only he could move, which he clearly couldn’t. He was thinking about each step. And this was when he was walking. That he went on to have the worst game anyone could remember him having was not surprising.

Later Dimma would say, if it hadn’t been a final he wouldn’t have played. “But he would have killed me if I’d said he couldn’t play.” Well Dimma, that’s the coach’s job, breaking the bad news. And in what sort of shape would Dusty have been in for the GF if we’d won on Friday night?
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Playing injured players in finals is the sort of mistake our opponents made last year and paid a great price. I can’t believe we fell into the same trap.
But there it was. The game started well enough, with Riewoldt – can we still identify him as “Jack” now that we have three of them? – marking in a gettable spot. But with the Collingwood jeer-squad booing him he missed. I think we had another shot and missed that too. Soon enough Collingwood had a goal and then another and maybe another before we had our first. At quarter time it was 5.2 to 1.3 and we’d been killed around the ground. Not just on the ground, around the ground. The haunting chant of “Coll-ing….woooood” completely drowned out the Richmond chants.

Luckily our marketing heroes took care of this at the break and drowned out everyone with their loud and noxious tripe. I took the time to send an SMS to Patrick Keane at the AFL. He once told me that the loud music at the breaks and before the games “makes no difference at all.” How about now Patrick? I asked him. But he didn’t reply.

In the second quarter the world ended. I had said several times over the year that if Mason Cox ever played really well he’d be unstoppable. He did and he was. Three times he soared into the air, grabbed the mark, slotted the goal. Three times in about ten minutes. The Magpies behind the goals went nuts. So did the 60 thousand other Magpie supporters. And their “Coll-ing…wood” chant could get going and no loud music drowned it out.
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I think at one stage we were nine goals down and it wasn’t even half time. I thought we were going to lose the match by 100 points. But there was a faint rally and we went in at the break only 44 points down, the same margin Collingwood led by in the 1970 Grand Final.

What had gone wrong? The short answer was everything. Martin had been kryptonited. Astbury, who had destroyed Cox in round 19, appeared not to be playing. Later I heard he’d been really crook. Cox was too tall and was playing too well. Our defence was rattled, our forward line ineffective and our midfield battling but in retreat. I drew solace from the fact that we had come back a bit. But I’d have preferred a margin a bit less than 44 points.

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The third term was better and we trailed by 33 at the last break. Collingwood had certainly smashed us but much of this smashing was simply straight kicking – it was 12.7 to 6.10 at this stage. And the umpires, god love them, were not being kind. Dusty had taken a perfectly decent mark in the goal square and had the ball taken off him. For nobody-knew-what. Had that mark been rewarded and had it only been 27 points at three quarter time…
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The opening of the last term was our best stretch. We got two goals and the margin was down to 21 and another one or two and the ‘Woods might have panicked. But the next three goals were Magpies and the night was over and the “Coll-ing…wooooood” chant was unstoppable.
Our boys kept trying, which is more than I can say for our supporters. Well before the final siren at least three quarters of them had left. I could not believe this. These players won us a flag last year! They finished on top of the ladder! And you won’t even stay to the end of a Prelim Final?

When Cats fans left the qualifying final ten minutes from the end last year I was disgusted. Is this what a few flags does for your commitment? Well we’re just as bad after winning one.

Now I don’t think you should always, always stay. If you’re sitting in the rain and 90 points down at half time, maybe you could go home in good conscience. But what are we teaching our kids about dealing with grief and loss, about commitment, when we leave before the end of a final just so we can get out the carpark a bit quicker or catch that early train? Honestly.

So, a dreadful night for the Tigers. I didn’t quite see it coming but I was never as confident as all the media experts. When we beat Collingwood twice during the year they didn’t have Goldsack, Treloar or De Goey and Cox was tall, but quiet. Bring those three back in and let Cox actually play a bit and it’s a different game.

But as a Club when can learn from this game. We simply have to let our supporters sing! No more corporate crap at the breaks and before the game. Let’s get singing and chanting at least as well as Collingwood. We’ve got 100,000 members and only a dumb-as-dogshit club would try to shut them up.

Oh, I feel better now.
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Benny Votes (double for finals)
10 Jack Riewoldt
8 Jack Higgins
6 Bachar Houli
4 Trent Cotchin
2 Dylan Grimes

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