Collingwood

Collingwood must return to scavenging best 

THE Magpies spent all season behaving like seagulls.

Throughout a dominant run, the game plan was simple: Get it inside 50, then scavenge and scrap as if life depended on a single greasy chip.

The frenzy would either force a stoppage or worry a besieged opponent into turning the ball over.

Either way, the Sherrin would be locked in. The game would be played in Collingwood's half.

Before the Round 24 clash against Geelong, the Pies had lost the "time in forward half" stat only once, in the Round 9 loss to the Cats.

In Collingwood games up to that point, the ball had spent on average 15 minutes longer in the Pies' forward half than in their opponent's forward half.

The Pies had made the stat their own.

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But something went horribly amiss against Geelong in Round 24 and the Magpies have not got their mojo back.

Collingwood has not won the "time in forward half" in its past three matches.

In the heavy loss to Geelong, seen as an aberration given its dead-rubber status, the Pies were minus 19min 57sec for time in the forward half.

And in their two finals wins, the Pies have been minus 2min 39sec against West Coast and minus 2min 32sec against Hawthorn on Friday night.

There is a remarkably strong correlation between "time in forward half" and winning games in the era of the press, so the Pies must turn it around.

You doubt the Pies could lose the stat three matches in a row and win all three games.

In the first 23 rounds, the Pies were so good at holding the ball in their forward half and exiting from the opposition's forward line, they created 216 more forward-half turnovers than the opposition, ranked No.1.

They also scored 432 points from that source - again No.1 in the competition.

In the past three games, the Pies are minus 25 for forward-half turnovers created and minus 35 points from this source.

It is a twist that nobody saw coming, the Pies' greatest competitive advantage has evaporated.

Finding reasons for the slide is not difficult.

The Pies have not been as systematic in creating chains from defence and their kicking efficiency has dropped.

In Rounds 1 to 23, the Magpies managed to turn defence into attack almost at will.

They managed to get the ball cleanly from defence to attack with an unbroken chain 30 per cent of the time.

In the past three games, that figure has dropped to 23.1 per cent.

On average through the year, the Pies had a kicking efficiency 2.1 per cent higher than their opponent.

In the past three matches, they have registered minus 11.2 per cent against Geelong, minus 5.9 per cent against West Coast and minus 3.9 per cent against Hawthorn.

Master coach Mick Malthouse has much to ponder.