Pretty Black and White Wrap Up Giants V Magpies Round 3 Sunday 12 May 2019, Quay Centre

The Magpies goaled early while Harten (Giants) was penalised and missing her shots. Shimona Nelson struggled against her experienced defender and didn’t have her usual high level of accuracy. The Pies seemed a little on edge with some leads way too early and also players standing waiting. Collingwood created a lot of confusion for the Giants with strong defence in their goal third putting great pressure on the pass into the circle sending many passes that were intended for Bassett (Giants) over the goal line.  
Collingwood showed what a tight knit team they are and the real meaning of teamwork when Nat Medhurst took an intercept and almost went offside. Geva Mentor stepped up with supporting hands and a gentle push that stopped the offside penalty. The Pies led by a point at the first break and collected the bonus point.
The second quarter saw Nelson still a little nervy from the tight and aggressive defence causing a bit of backspin on her shots making them jump out of the goal post once shot. Price (Giants) was expensive early with her overcooked passes into the circle and her myopic feeds.
April Brandley took a great intercept with quick hands. The lead changed halfway through the quarter and the Giants were  up by 2 goals. By the quarters end The Giants led by 3 goals and scored the bonus point.
The start of the third quarter saw the Goal Shooters from both teams missing. Collingwood really stepped up their defence in the circle making the Giants shooters and feeders work hard for small gains. Ash Brazill was impressive with her athletic intercepts and Geva Mentor put the pressure on Bassett(Giants) in the circle. Mel Bragg came on to replace April Brandley and Gabi Sinclair replaced Nat Medhurst. At the final break The Pies trailed by 8 goals.
The fourth quarter saw Ash Brazill, April Brandley and Nat Medhurst on the Collingwood bench. Nelson was settling into her game and getting good results. The Magpies Coach relented and put the strength on the bench back into the game with 9 minutes to go. The final quarter became a goal for goal battle with both teams scoring 15 goals each. 
Final score Giants 58   Pies  50   Giants by 8 points
Player of the match Amy Parmenter, Giants
My Take
Collingwood seemed to be a little on edge at the start of the game, possibly due to the overwhelming Giants support in the stands. They suffered from early leads and missing too many goals early in the game. And whilst they managed to capitalise on some errors from the opposition, 5 turnovers to 2, they were unable to convert.
I was also questioning the coach’s decision to take some of his strongest players off half-way through the third quarter when the deficit was only three but quickly blew out to 8 and then only putting them back on with 9 minutes of game time left. I understand that these players need court time, but I don’t think this was the game to do it and that ultimately it was at the expense of the game.
The Umpires started well but they were not calling infringements just calling the position. For example, when the Goalkeeper obstructs instead of saying “obstruction Goalkeepter” they just say “Keeper”. This is great for those in the know but even those in the know are still befuddled by some calls especially when they are not explained. The fourth quarter saw one umpire in particular clock off and miss a shocking late shove out of court by Price (Giants) on a Pies midcourter and then reward Price with the throw in. One more beef; Bassett (Giants) had her elbow in the back of the defender for the entire game and not a single call. It’s not legal and it is never called but most consider if they can get away with it then why not. Just waiting for that one umpire to step up. All that said, it was a very physical and intense game and an hour is a long time to stay alert and focussed but like players umpires train for this.
Looking forward to Friday night against the Adelaide Thunderbirds. Go Pies!
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