Pretty Black and White AFLW Wrap Up Collingwood V Brisbane Victoria Park, Sunday 17 March 2019

​Collingwood
The Pies were off to a cracking start with the ball in their 50 within the first few minutes of the game. Jaimee Lambert looked dangerous very early with a couple of snaps at goal and Bonnici proved to be problematic for the Lions in their 50 and highly effective for the Pies as she moved forward. Tidy play gave Sarah D’Arcy the first goal for the Pies and the game. For a short period, mid-term, the Pies were off their players giving Wuetschner from Brisbane her first goal. Sharni Layton showed further improvement with 2nd and 3rd efforts on the ball as the defensive efforts of the Pies kicked into high gear. Ash Brazill showed great speed and footwork, winning the ball over Wuetschner. Collingwood led at the break and Brisbane were on the back foot.
The second term saw the Pies as formidable as ever with Sarah D’Arcy quickly scoring the second goal for the Pies. Emma Grant was great in defence whilst Mikala Cann had her first shot at an AFLW goal after a couple of good feeds from Chiocci and Bonnici. Jordyn Allen used fancy footwork to escape looming Lions and Lambert had a couple of further shots at goal eventually landing one. The Pies found plenty of space with Rowe and safe hands in Layton and Brazill. At the main break the Pies led by 17 points and the Lions were under siege with all the main stats going the way of Collingwood.
The Pies looked a little fatigued early in the third quarter and at times lacked communication with several players clashing over the ball, but it didn’t take long for their second wind to kick in and swarm the Lions. Whilst the Pies were confined to a point for the quarter, the Lions managed a goal through effective use of the middle corridor but failed to convert any further even though the ball was in their 50 for most of the third term. This demonstrated the relentless defence that the Pies continued to dish up to the surprised Lions.
The final term saw the Pies put in a solid defensive effort in order to maintain the lead. The Pies nabbed another point and kept the finals hungry Lions to just 3 points. Jaimee Lambert, a major ball winner for Collingwood, went down with a hit to the head. This further rallied the Pies and saw them lift giving them their first and well-deserved win of the season.
Brisbane
The Lions were caught off guard by the enthusiastic Pies and continued to under estimate just what Collingwood could and did bring for the entire game. And whilst they dished out a fair bit of hip and shoulder, Collingwood kept coming. Sabrina Frederick Traub didn’t fire until late in the final quarter and failed to impact the score board. Wuetschner was easily beaten by the athleticism of Ash Brazill  and Zielke looked dangerous at times and managed to score a goal. For the most part the Lions had good pace and found space well but were unprepared for the relentless attack from Collingwood. The loss of this game sees the Lions knocked out of the finals. The moral to this story is never under estimate the bottom team, they are always hungry to get off the bottom of the leader board.
Injuries and Umpires
Jaimee Lambert left the field in the final quarter with a blow to the head which left her slightly dazed. She was later cleared of any real injury but did not go back on the field.
The umpires missed a fair bit this week for both sides but still it was consistent which made for an even contest.
Final Score  Pies 3 7  25    Lions 2 7  19   Pies  by  6 Points
My Take
This win was no surprise to me. We have been seeing this team develop over their very short season and they are the team to watch in 2020 as they will only get better. There has been a lot of pressure on the Coach with onlookers demanding a change due to a lack of wins but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Collingwood have a history of standing behind their embattled coaches as they are confident of just what is being achieved and how things are developing behind the scenes. So far there is some good evidence that Coach, Wayne Siekman is getting results, albeit at the end of the season.
Hopefully, not much goes on in the way of trades to other teams as this current team shows some real promise and should chalk up multiple wins next season.
The team farewell their oldest team mate, Cecilia McIntosh, who was a good leader and contributor in this team’s development.
2020 is looking good. Go Pies!
#Collingwood #Forever #AFLWMagpies