Magpies’ depth tested further despite dominant showing against West Coast
Ahead of their clash against West Coast, all eyes were on Collingwood’s injury list – and their forward line. No Brody Mihocek, out with a hamstring injury; no Jamie Elliott either, with a bad back. Beau McCreery was in concussion protocols. Lachie Schultz was suspended.

Perhaps more attention should have been paid to West Coast’s loss of Jake Waterman. In Oscar Allen’s absence, Waterman has been one of the form forwards of the competition, revealing himself as a serious player who’s been desperate to show his wares for too long.

Waterman, like McCreery, was in concussion protocols and without him, West Coast lacked a viable target. Collingwood, who haven’t had a dominant key forward since Travis Cloke in his prime, long ago learned to improvise and to spread the load.

They also have a much deeper list. Coach Craig McRae pulled some levers. Defender Jeremy Howe started forward; so too Will Hoskin-Elliott. With Darcy Cameron growing into a senior ruck position and getting better by the week, Mason Cox spent much of the game in attack, where his career began.

But, as Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Before the first quarter was out, Howe was on the bench with ice on his groin. Harvey Harrison, so clever at critical moments last week against Carlton, was nursing an ankle injury.

Enter Joe Richards. Richards, a special education teacher from Wangaratta, wouldn’t have made his debut against the Eagles if not for the Pies’ lengthy list of outs. But that didn’t mean Collingwood didn’t know he could play.

By the end of the first half, everyone else knew, too. Richards started as a high half-forward and was very quickly involved in the game. The biggest beneficiary of his work was Fin Macrae, whose three first-half goals all came from direct assists from Richards.

Richards kicked a ripper himself, missed two more difficult shots, and lit the Magpie army up. Macrae and Reef McInnes, two players who have been starved of opportunities, had games to boost their confidence.
It was in the middle, though, where Collingwood won the game. Centre clearances were a whopping 16 to six the Magpies’ way, and the Eagles were unable to stop them from converting that dominance directly on to the scoreboard.

The Pies had clearly done their homework on Harley Reid. It was a compliment to Reid to see him being swarmed by black and white at stoppages. The much smaller Lachie Sullivan, in his second game, was one who brought Reid to ground and was rewarded with a goal.

Reid also lined up at times on Nick Daicos in the centre, a match-up to make football purists drool. Daicos was again best-on-ground, his relentless running combined with sustained speed and visionary execution overwhelming the Eagles.

But Reid was up to the challenge, and he still provided two of the most compelling moments of the afternoon – soaring over teammate Jack Darling in the first quarter for a screamer, and creating a goal to Liam Ryan with a shrug of his hips that left Jack Crisp grasping at air.

With Reid – and against a weakened Collingwood – it’s easy to see why the Eagles went into this game sniffing a scalp. Instead, the Magpies finish the round inside the eight, after what might be their finest win of the season, irrespective of the opposition.

They haven’t lost in six weeks now, with a winning run punctuated by a draw against a significantly improved Essendon on Anzac Day. Senior players who started the year slowly, like Jack Crisp, Darcy Moore and Steele Sidebottom, were all much better.

Of the old firm, best of all was Scott Pendlebury. The ex-skipper’s 28 touches were of vintage quality, damaging as he set up entries inside 50 in the first half, drifting behind the ball at times in the second.

Craig McRae will have to shuffle the magnets again in the coming week. Ex-Saint Jack Bytel, the substitute today for his Magpies debut, was lost to concussion; Howe and Harrison face time on the sidelines. They’ll get Schultz back, at least, and maybe McCreery.

But whatever happens from here, McRae has shown his side has the versatility, the systems – no other side can switch gears to suit the occasion like this one – and the depth to ride out a temporary loss of personnel.

Back to back? Maybe not. But they’re still going to give themselves every chance.