Fox Footy expert David King warned there was “too much Hollywood” from a number of Collingwood stars as players pushed for both senior and list spots in their intraclub match simulation.
The ‘Goldfields Cup’ promised two relatively even sides at selection. Yet Team Ballarat, in white and featuring some of the Magpies’ prime-aged stars including Darcy Moore, Bobby Hill, Jordan De Goey and Isaac Quaynor, jumped out to a whopping 10-goal lead midway through their clash with Team Bendigo, in black.
They led 86 to 33 after 75 minutes of play across three segments, before focusing on scenario training for the remainder of the contest.
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King, a keen track-watcher who has attended training for most Victorian clubs over the pre-season, predicted there would be a “harsh half time chat from Craig McRae” over some of the acts on display.
He notably pointed to one ‘Ballarat’ goal where four players touched the ball inside 50 including Ash Johnson, who stopped inside the goalsquare to hand the ball to Pat Lipinski, who goalled from a metre out.
“Too much Hollywood in this practice match. Lots to like ([Bobby] Hill, [Fin] Macrae, etc) but Ash [Johnson]….just kick the goal….Bobby just dish the handball……Nick [Daicos] biting off too much corridor……otherwise high quality,” King tweeted.
A number of train-on players, hoping to land a spot on the Magpies’ list via the pre-season supplemental selection period, were in action including ex-Saint Jack Bytel, ex-Power tall Brynn Teakle, Sam Sofronidis, Campbell Hustwaite and Lachie Sullivan.
Sullivan was the most impressive, playing a key role in an early goal which saw ‘Ballarat’ transition with pace down the wing, Sullivan both part of the link-up play and then the scorer at the end of it.
The deadline for a signing call is February 19 but it’s expected decisions will be made on Wednesday night. The Magpies currently have three open list spots and could open up another by placing Dan McStay on the long-term injury list.
Fin Macrae, the brother of Western Bulldogs star Jack who has impressed at VFL level since joining the Magpies, continued his strong pre-season playing for ‘Ballarat’.
Notably Macrae went head-to-head with Nick Daicos in the first three centre clearances, and won all three.
Ex-Fremantle forward Lachie Schultz did not play on Wednesday evening after copping boot studs to the back of his knee during training, but he is expected to be back for the match simulation and practice match to come later this month.
Nathan Murphy did not feature either as he remains on a modified training program on the way back from his concussion woes, while top draftee Harry DeMattia has been sidelined for up to three months with a finger injury.
Intriguingly new Hawk Jack Ginnivan was spotted watching on during the intraclub.
Collingwood faces North Melbourne in a televised match simulation – exclusively live on Kayo and Fox Footy – on Wednesday February 21 from 10am AEDT.
Fans can also attend for free at the AIA Centre.
Source Agencies
