The unheralded Western Bulldogs have backed their young guns and found some talent but the Collingwood Magpies leave too much to too few, such as Nick Daicos
Nick Daicos, Scott Pendlebury and Jordan De Goey amassed 100 possessions between them. All three were among the best players on the field at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night, and it still wasn’t enough for Collingwood to beat the Western Bulldogs, another team in the wild-card region.
Coach Craig McRae admitted the Magpies had become a “middle of the road” team. He has also repeatedly described his side as a “work in progress”.
Such assessments suit a team on the rise, but not a team that reached the preliminary final last year and regularly competes with the league’s oldest and most experienced under-23 players.
The Pies’ four-point loss, 14.13 (97) to 13.15 (93), leaves them on par at 10 and under, with five wins and one draw from 12 matches. They could only win 8 of the last 21 matches.
The aura of McRae’s men is slowly fading. They were once the kings of the close finish. “It was like they were playing competitively,” Dogs coach Luke Beveridge said. Not anymore.
The Pies have failed to win four of their last five matches by a goal or less; Their only win came against Carlton after youngster Talor Byrne failed to draw the game after the siren.
As close as they are to beating Sydney, Fremantle and Hawthorn, the reality is that the highest-ranked team the Pies have beaten so far this year is 11th-placed St Kilda.
The contrast with the Bulldogs could not have been more striking during a frenetic finish that had the crowd of 43,430 on the edge of their seats until the final siren.
Beveridge isn’t afraid to pick on inexperience. The 2016 premiership team was among the youngest in the 18-team era.
When it comes to the game, the Dogs have brought in Will Lewis, who was the last player selected on their list and played senior VAFA football last year, and Michael Sellwood, who was selected mid-season from last season.
“I’ve always had the attitude that you discover the promise,” Beveridge said. “If you don’t play them, you can’t see what it’s like. When kids show good signs, it’s so important that you feel pressure for spots.”
One of McRae’s challenges during the selection was that he relied on experience rather than youth. Their kids need senior players to get injured before they get the chance.
It is surprising that among the draft selections made since 2019, only Daicos and Beau McCreery have become regular first-team players. This is the generation that should have supported Daicos in its best years.
Against the Dogs, the team’s five least experienced players (Wil Parker, Roan Steele, Harvey Harrison, Angus Anderson and Ed Allan) were the five players who spent the least amount of minutes on the field.
There may be a good reason for McRae’s reluctance to play rookies, even if he is aware of the unhealthy addiction to Daicos. There is no pressure on the Magpies from below. The VFL team ranks 20th out of 22 teams with two wins in nine matches.
There are signs of progress. In his fourth season, Allan, the 19th pick in 2022, has held Marcus Bontempelli to just two disposals in the last term. Anderson, who was selected at mature age last year, scored two goals. Steele is a running back who looks at home on the wing.
“Role actors are maybe starting to do a little bit more of their roles because you know sometimes there can be overconfidence in some of them,” McRae said.
“Nick’s highs and lows aren’t too high and low, right? They’re always highs and Jordy’s in that zone too. So we’re working towards that.”
A move towards senior players earned the club the flag in 2023 and kept them in contention last year, but the end of the road is fast approaching for some. 35-year-old Steele Sidebottom’s decline is accelerating. It had little effect against dogs.
After a troublesome six-week block in April and May, the Dogs head into the winter months reinvigorated after holding on. They can thank Lewis and Sellwood for that.
Ed Richards was their most influential player and Bontempelli was excellent through three quarters in a game in which the Dogs dominated the distance, but heroics from Lewis and Sellwood secured victory as Beveridge’s men ground to a halt.
Lewis was in the right place at the right time and somehow alone, smashing the straight shot into the goal that made the difference. He’s come a long way in a short time from Old Brighton.
“If you don’t believe you can make an impact, I guess you won’t be able to stay at this level for very long,” Lewis said to this byline in the chambers.
“If I came here and thought they were all better than me or that I wasn’t at that level, then I wouldn’t have gotten very far.
“Being a little older helps, too. Just knowing and feeling like you’re better in some ways, [and] then use it to the best of your ability.
Sellwood’s goal with 50 seconds left on the clock and a four-point lead was Leo Barry-esque. Sellwood’s eyes were fixed on Sherrin from the moment Darcy Cameron’s quick shot left the basket just inside the court.
“I just saw the ball and realized I had to go here, if I went I had to mark it. [Patrick] Lipinski was probably on the cutting edge,” Sellwood told Kayo Sports.
“[I’m] I’m glad you stuck with it. The rest is history.”
Beveridge’s initial hope was that Sellwood would clear the ball out of the danger area and break it up “but you’re quite happy and pleased to see him come in with the ball in his hand”.
“After all, it’s very nice, it’s quite important, isn’t it?”
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