Collingwood beats Sydney by 31 points in Gather Round in Gather Round blockbuster at Adelaide Oval
Collingwood has made itself at home at Adelaide Oval, out-pressuring Sydney for a 31-point win in the AFL’s Gather Round.
Cheekily declaring “We are the Pies of South Australia” on their banner, Collingwood broke clear in the second term and were in control for much of the game, winning 16.13 (109) to 12.6 (78) in front of 47,649 fans.
With Dan Houston suspended and Jordan De Goey and Lachie Schultz injured, the Magpies could have been vulnerable.
But Jamie Elliott and Beau McCreery stepped up superbly in attack, while veteran Steele Sidebottom and fellow midfielder Ned Long were prolific as Collingwood stormed to their fourth straight win.
It sets up a massive clash at the Gabba next Thursday night, when Collingwood take on reigning premiers Brisbane.
Captain Darcy Moore led an ironclad Collingwood defence that shut down the Swans, who had impressed in last week’s emphatic win over North Melbourne.
Joel Amartey limped off with a hamstring injury before half-time. (Getty Images: Michael Willson)
Adding to Sydney’s issues, they lost key forward Joel Amartey in the second quarter to a hamstring injury.
As expected, Swans tagger James Jordon kept Collingwood star Nick Daicos company for much of the night and went some way to quelling his influence in the first half.
But the younger Daicos worked his way into the match and racked up a game-high 34 disposals.
Collingwood’s Darcy Cameron won his ruck duel against Brodie Grundy, who had been influential early.
Collingwood broke out to a game-high lead of 32 points in the third quarter before Sydney brought it back to 25 at the last change.
Swans star Isaac Heeney played something of a lone hand, with 28 possessions and two goals.
Elliott and Mihocek kicked three goals apiece and McCreery added another two, while Sidebottom had 28 possessions.
Look back at how the action unfolded in our live blog.
Key Events
Live: Collingwood v Sydney at Adelaide Oval
Goodnight
Thank you for joining us tonight for Gather Round’s big Friday night clash.
Sleep well Collingwood fans. And Sydney fans, you’ll get ’em next week (maybe).
We’ll see you all tomorrow for a huge day of footy across the grounds in Adelaide.
Good night!
‘It’s been nice’: Sidebottom enjoys Adelaide
No wonder Steele Sidebottom likes playing in Adelaide. That was Collingwood’s 10th win in a row on Adelaide Oval.
And despite being one of the older players in the side, Sidebottom’s impact continues to be huge.
“It’s been nice, a little bit more time inside, which has been good. But, yeah, just trying to contribute as best as I can at the moment inside,” Sidebottom told Fox following the win.
He added everyone should try and get to Adelaide if they can – although few might have as good as time as Magpies players.
“We love coming to Adelaide Oval. I think I’ve seen before coming in that our last five or six wins here have been by under a goal. So, to win by six tonight has been nice.”
FT: Collingwood 16.12 (108) defeat Sydney 12.6 (78)
That was some night out from Collingwood. They won by a massive 31 points against Sydney.
There were tactically impressive, structurally sound, well-paced and high-pressured. Craig McRae you’d think would be very happy with the team effort from his side tonight.
The Magpies have now enjoyed 10 wins in a row on Adelaide Oval.
It was a tight first quarter but Collingwood took control and kicked away from the second onwards.
Sydney are injury-depleted and are in desperate need of some stars back, but really lacked forward pressure.
Collingwood 16.13 (109) defeat Sydney 12.6 (78)
Just a bit more Bobby
Bobby Hill isn’t done yet. He’s now up to his third goal.
Collingwood are just enjoying these final minutes now.
Magpies by 36
Good turn out
The office crowd: 46,649. That’s a pretty good turn out at Adelaide Oval, with a lot of pleased Magpie fans in attendance.
Swans get another to no celebration
It’s a subdued reaction from Corey Warner after he kicked a tricky goal from the boundary.
He was awarded a free after a high tackle from Isaac Quaynor.
The Swans playing group just walked straight back to their spots without a high-five in sight.
There are some tired bodies out there, but it seems more disappointment than anything inhabiting the Swans’ ones.
Magpies by 32
Magpies activate their sub
It’s Jamie Elliott who’s taken a backseat on the bench, with Ed Allan about to come on with some fresh legs.
It’s a tactical sub, with Elliott taking a well-deserved rest after his three-goal haul.
Magpies by 38
The Magpies are just having fun now
Brody Mihocek has just dominated in the air tonight, as has his team, and it’s another strong contested grab that sets up another goal.
Collingwood are starting to pull away here.
Magpies by 38
Elliott gets the first of the final term
And that makes things very hard for Sydney to come back from. Jamie Elliott kicks another to give the Magpies a 32-point lead.
It’s not just that Collingwood have a big margin, it’s that they’ve got all the composure and confidence as they try and round out this game.
Magpies by 32
Final quarter underway
Things are looking pretty good for Collingwood here, but a lot can happen in a quarter of footy.
Let’s see what either can do in this final term.
Magpies by 25
3QT: Collingwood 13.11 (89) leads Sydney 10.4 (64)
Braeden Campbell had the chance to kick another Sydney goal right after the three-quarter time siren, but it didn’t even go close.
The Magpies take a strong margin into the final break (25 points) of the evening after leading at every change this game.
After a see-sawing first quarter with plenty of goals from both sides, the Magpies put their foot down for the second and third terms. This was despite a few good patches from Sydney here and there, which have kept them in the night.
Magpies by 25 at 3QT
McLean gets his third
Hayden McLean keeps Sydney in this game with his third major of the night. He’s a clean kick, who is proving a strong target inside 50.
Magpies by 26
McCreey answers quickly for the Magpies
Beau McCreery collected the ball from Josh Daicos and looked left and right as he ran through the centre of the ground, then decided to back himself.
He’s a player who doesn’t get a lot of the ball but is a big impact one, who works very, very hard. That’s some good reward for effort.
Magpies by 32
Heeney provides a spark
Isaac Heeney kicks the Swans’ first goal this third quarter, a much-needed major.
Sydney squared the ball up the Heeney running towards goal, who has been a crucial cog for the Swans this game.
Magpies by 25
Magpies keep pace up, Swans start to struggle
All throughout the week, whenever Craig McRae was asked about James Jordan potentially tagging Nick Daicos, the Magpies coach would respond: “Hope he has his runners on because Nick will”.
That theory, it seems, could be applied to the whole Collingwood and Sydney cohorts.
The Swans are just falling a step or two behind the Magpies here. Collingwood are keeping their pressure and pace ramped right up, while Sydney seem to be getting more lost out there.
Magpies by 25
Elliott capitalises on costly Swans’ mistake
Sydney passed it back and forth, trying to find a way out of their defensive 50, which resulted in a turnover.
Collingwood, the dominant force tonight, capitalised.
The ball went from Bobby Hill to Jamie Elliott, who slotted through the set shot.
Collingwood with some buffer room now.
Magpies by 30
Membrey gets his 300th career goal
Good thing Tim Membrey decided to keep his career kicking for a little while more; he has now kicked his 300th goal. And an important goal for the Magpies.
Meanwhile, the Swans just appear to be missing some confidence. Chad Warner was running inside 50 and instead of going himself, kicked it across the ground, which led it in Collingwood’s hands.
The Magpies now have 20 scoring shots to the Swans’ 7.
Magpies by 24
Couple of behinds to start this third quarter
That was some uncharacteristic misses to start this second half.
First Will Hayward, who is now on 1.2, with a snap on the run.
Then Jamie Elliott down the other end with set shot. Usually two very trusty kicks.
Elliott’s kick all started with a great mark up the ground by Jack Crisp. Then, it was Steele Sidebottom with the set up, who grinned with ear-to-ear after Elliott took the grab.
Magpies by 17
Second half underway
Here we go for the second half. Magpies with the lead.
The appreciation for Ned Long is pouring thick and fast across social media. Let’s see if he can continue that dominate performance this second half.
Magpies by 17
