With Matthew Leuenberger’s fate still to be determined by specialists, his knee injury is expected to give Jamie Charman another shot in the seniors after getting valuable game time in the reserves at the weekend.
After Saturday night’s drought breaking win against the Sydney Swans put them into the top eight, the other likely change appears to be the return of Jared Brennan from a quad injury.
Meanwhile the Magpies are likely to face a number of selection headaches after their round three loss to Geelong last Thursday.
Ben Johnson (broken leg), Heath Shaw (reported for contact with an umpire) and Nick Maxwell (reported for rough conduct) are potential exclusions.
Shane O’Bree will make a return to the Gabba, while 2008 Lion Anthony Corrie could make his first Magpies appearance with the above players in doubt.
The club: Collingwood Magpies
2009 to date: After two seasons with strong finals campaigns, the Magpies have made a patchy start to 2009. They gave up a big lead before eventually running down Melbourne in round two, were defeated by a defiant Adelaide in round one and showed glimpses of their best in jumping to a first quarter lead against Geelong before succumbing last week. A loss to the Lions would leave them in an early season hole.
The coach: Mick Malthouse has always found a way of getting the best from his team. The post-Buckley era is in full swing with the Magpies boasting the classic mix of youth and experience. Malthouse’s teams will always be hard-at-it and with Leigh Matthews’ recent coaching departure, Malthouse is now the longest serving coach in the league.
In doubt: Shaw was the latest player to find himself in trouble for making contact with an umpire in round three. After the furore surrounding Brett Kirk and others in round two, Shaw went straight into the book for touching umpire Michael Vozzo in the loss to Geelong. The running half-back has a nervous wait to find out his fate. Collingwood can ill-afford to lose such a player on top of the already absent Johnson (broken leg).
The gun: Dane Swan. His stature has risen over the past few years and with good reason. Swan is now the primary ball-getter for the Magpies and is ranked in the top-five in the league in both possessions (91) and centre clearances (19) and is a tough customer around the stoppages. Swan starred in last season’s narrow loss to the Lions, polling a Brownlow vote, and with fellow midfield ball winner Scott Pendlebury will provide the majority of Collingwood’s midfield grunt.
The bolter: Dayne Beams. The Southport recruit has already shown he is the real deal at AFL level. Still has a reasonably light frame but the 19-year-old has plenty of confidence and knows how to find the ball. Gave up a spot on Gold Coast’s list to back himself in last year’s national draft and was taken at No.29 by the Magpies. Has shown he is also a good finisher with two classy goals in his two appearances this season.
Strengths: At their best the Pies’ pressure is hard to beat but it’s their skilful smaller players that could give the Lions the most headaches. Paul Medhurst, Leon Davis, Dale Thomas, Pendlebury and Alan Didak can all hurt you in the middle or up forward. They can all kick multiple goals and at their best are a damaging group of ball winners.
Weaknesses: Like most teams early in the season the Magpies are struggling with consistency, both between and within games. With Johnson out and Shaw and Maxwell in doubt they may struggle to generate run from the back half. The Lions have a number of small forwards in Rhan Hooper (ankle injury cloud), Justin Sherman and Michael Rischitelli who love pressuring slower backmen and will try to stifle Collingwood’s ball movement.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
