Pretty Black and White Wrap Up Collingwood Magpies V Adelaide Thunderbirds Round 4 Friday 17 May 2019, Melbourne Arena

Collingwood started with a quick goal from Goal Attack, Nat Medhurst and Folau (Adel) responded with a goal of her own.  Ash Brazill was in fine form and took an intercept turning the ball over for the Magpies. The T Birds slowed the play down trying to force their own game. Brazill and Chelsea Pittman (Adel) were a great match up and provided viewers with some very athletic play. The Pies continued to score while the T Birds struggled for leads and had held balls leading to more goals for Collingwood. Fantastic Magpie defence saw an intercept by April Brandley and a long shot for goal sunk by Nat Medhurst. The T Birds racked up the passing errors and the Pies piled on the defence. The T Birds took a time out and on return the Magpies continued with their attack. Adelaide was plagued by slow passes and held balls and Medhurst continued her dynamic style of all net shooting. Collingwood led at quarter time by 6 goals and scored the bonus point.
The second quarter saw Adelaide up their defensive efforts and forced the Magpies to pass long cross court balls which were easy to pick off. Kelsey Browne was unable to get the attention of the umpires 3 times in a row from a huge shove in the back and eventually Guscot (Adel) sitting on her back with Browne sprawled out underneath her. This fired up the Magpies even more as they out played the T Birds and increased their lead to 8 goals. Mentor took an intercept that flew from one Magpie to another and finally to Nelson for a goal. April Brandley saw the opportunity for a bomb to Nelson from midcourt and took it resulting in a goal assist from the Goal Defence. Medhurst showed her experience doing a lot of work to set up goals for Nelson. Folau (Adel) was outstanding with her long shots at goal. Adelaide led the turnovers for the 2nd quarter (19-15) but were unable to convert. Collingwood led at half time by 9 points and took the bonus point.
The third quarter saw Shimona Nelson absolutely hit her straps and out play her opponent. April Brandley blocked Folau’s shot which is something we don’t see that often. Meanwhile Collingwood continued to apply pressure and capitalise on the disorganised T Birds and their lack of options. The Magpies led by 10 gaols at the final break and scored another bonus point.
In the final quarter the Magpies showed their experience and skill against the T Birds who struggled to maintain possession and find their groove. Nelson really shone against her defender regardless of the elbows and the shoving and only managed to get a few calls her way. Medhurst showed her wealth of experience with perfect pass placement into the circle. The T Birds attempted to apply pressure to the Magpies forcing them long and wide which worked periodically but ultimately the Magpies were too good and won the game by 18 points.
Final score Magpies  65   Thunderbirds 47  Magpies  by 18 points
Player of the match Shamera Stirling, Thunderbirds
My Take
I promised myself that this week I would let the umpires off the hook if it was average, but it was at times appalling. The complete lack of vision and positioning is definitely the problem. They were also either too slow on the whistle, 4 seconds or too quick, 2 seconds. Liz Ellis, Commentator called the “big shove in the back” and didn’t understand how it got missed so many times in a row. I hope Kelsey Browne didn’t come off too badly.
This week Shimona Nelson was outstanding. Sure, there were several times when she was beaten by an opponent with much greater experience, but she is obviously a fast learner. She used her body beautifully and mixed it up by using different holds and sometimes taking front position and even passes out to the side. I was thoroughly impressed with her game and thought she might actually get MVP.
I also want to talk about those huge cross court passes and how they were easy to pick off. The Magpies played well when they used their channels and there were at least two options for each pass. This broke down when the players lead too early or were standing. Something that is easily fixed but needs to be practised. Looking forward to next weeks game against West Coast Fever next Saturday. Go Pies!
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