SA Footy

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/84284/default.aspx

COLLINGWOOD midfielder Scott Pendlebury could still play in the finals despite confirmation that he broke his leg in Sunday’s loss to St Kilda.

Pendlebury underwent surgery on Monday morning to repair a cracked fibula but Collingwood Chief of Football Operations Geoff Walsh said he could be in line for a recall if Collingwood’s season extended beyond this week.

“We are hoping to get him back playing maybe within two weeks,” Walsh said on Monday morning.

To further compound the Magpies' injury concerns, veteran Anthony Rocca faces a race against time to play next Saturday night against Adelaide, after rolling his "bad" ankle late in Sunday's qualifying final at the MCG.

Pendlebury, 21, was tackled by St Kilda's Leigh Montagna in the opening minute of the loss to the Saints, with his leg buckling beneath him.

He was helped from the ground, but returned to the field later in the quarter. He gingerly ran out the first half before conceding at half time, and then watched the rest of the game from the interchange bench.

Coach Mick Malthouse the injuries were a concern.

"We'll lose Pendlebury (for this week) and Anthony would be under pressure given he's hurt the same ankle that's he's had operated on.

"How he comes back from that will depend on whether he plays."

Rocca was playing in his first senior game since round seven and just his fourth for the year after a season ruined by persistent problems with the ankle.

Malthouse said it was hard to evaluate his two-goal performance, given the Magpies' lack of midfield drive.

"He was limited with opportunities. We got the ball in there 30-odd times, and until the last quarter it was 21 or 22. It's very hard to be a marking forward if the ball doesn't go in there," he said.

In the rooms after the game, Rocca's left ankle was noticeably swollen.

Malthouse agreed the Magpies could look to the reserves for replacements given the strong performance of the VFL side in Saturday's elimination final win over the Casey Scorpions.

However, he said they wouldn't be making any knee-jerk reactions against players who failed to fire against the Saints if they had shown solid form in previous rounds.

Rocca I'm not too concerned about, but Pendlebury is a big out for the Pies.

Hopefully the Crows can shut down Davis and Didak in a similar fashion to the Saints.

Wood to come in for Rocca.

Possibly Dick for Pendlebury.

Either way reckon the crows would be super confident this week.

MatteeG wrote:Wood to come in for Rocca.

Possibly Dick for Pendlebury.

Either way reckon the crows would be super confident this week.

sounds about right for me matteeg. wood was close to BOG when we played the crows in round 19 (i think it was 19?), and fraser wasnt to crash hot yesterday, albeit against a much bigger and stronger saints ruck attack.

but yes, i'm not at all confident going into this saturday nights clash.

Dont get me wrong tbb, I reckon you boys are a good chance- its unlikely that all your forwards will play a stinker 2 weeks in a row.

Just reckon leaving Wood out for Rocca was a major risk which didnt work. Plus the fact that the ruck is one place the Crows can definitely be exploited. (As Essendon refused to acknowledge by not picking any ruckmen!)

MatteeG wrote:Dont get me wrong tbb, I reckon you boys are a good chance- its unlikely that all your forwards will play a stinker 2 weeks in a row.

Just reckon leaving Wood out for Rocca was a major risk which didnt work. Plus the fact that the ruck is one place the Crows can definitely be exploited. (As Essendon refused to acknowledge by not picking any ruckmen!)

I was thinking that.

Like I mentioned earlier, if we can shut Davis and Didak down and expose Prestigiacomo on Tippett or Hentschel, we're in with a shot, but closing out those marquee players in Davis and Didak is no mean feat.

Maybe Johncock on Davis and well, I have no idea who we can play on Didak.

silicone skyline wrote:

MatteeG wrote:Dont get me wrong tbb, I reckon you boys are a good chance- its unlikely that all your forwards will play a stinker 2 weeks in a row.

Just reckon leaving Wood out for Rocca was a major risk which didnt work. Plus the fact that the ruck is one place the Crows can definitely be exploited. (As Essendon refused to acknowledge by not picking any ruckmen!)

I was thinking that.

Like I mentioned earlier, if we can shut Davis and Didak down and expose Prestigiacomo on Tippett or Hentschel, we're in with a shot, but closing out those marquee players in Davis and Didak is no mean feat.

Maybe Johncock on Davis and well, I have no idea who we can play on Didak.

presti will struggle against tippett and hentschel, in exactly the same way he stuggled on riewoldt. tippet and hentschel probably dont have the engine that nick has, but could still exploit him with their pace and aerial skills. maxwell will be one of collingwoods most important players this week, dropping back into the space to hopefully stop the crows' 5924 gun forwards from taking the grabs on the lead. if he can do that, and Harry O and leigh brown can play smart footy and leave his man at the right time to help out, then we're a lot closer to a win. everywhere else around the ground i'm fairly conident my boys can at least break even if not win their positions.

silicone skyline wrote:

MatteeG wrote:Dont get me wrong tbb, I reckon you boys are a good chance- its unlikely that all your forwards will play a stinker 2 weeks in a row.

Just reckon leaving Wood out for Rocca was a major risk which didnt work. Plus the fact that the ruck is one place the Crows can definitely be exploited. (As Essendon refused to acknowledge by not picking any ruckmen!)

I was thinking that.

Like I mentioned earlier, if we can shut Davis and Didak down and expose Prestigiacomo on Tippett or Hentschel, we're in with a shot, but closing out those marquee players in Davis and Didak is no mean feat.

Maybe Johncock on Davis and well, I have no idea who we can play on Didak.

Shirley - Swan
Doughty - Didak
Johncock - davis

the_big_bang wrote:

silicone skyline wrote:

MatteeG wrote:Dont get me wrong tbb, I reckon you boys are a good chance- its unlikely that all your forwards will play a stinker 2 weeks in a row.

Just reckon leaving Wood out for Rocca was a major risk which didnt work. Plus the fact that the ruck is one place the Crows can definitely be exploited. (As Essendon refused to acknowledge by not picking any ruckmen!)

I was thinking that.

Like I mentioned earlier, if we can shut Davis and Didak down and expose Prestigiacomo on Tippett or Hentschel, we're in with a shot, but closing out those marquee players in Davis and Didak is no mean feat.

Maybe Johncock on Davis and well, I have no idea who we can play on Didak.

presti will struggle against tippett and hentschel, in exactly the same way he stuggled on riewoldt. tippet and hentschel probably dont have the engine that nick has, but could still exploit him with their pace and aerial skills. maxwell will be one of collingwoods most important players this week, dropping back into the space to hopefully stop the crows' 5924 gun forwards from taking the grabs on the lead. if he can do that, and Harry O and leigh brown can play smart footy and leave his man at the right time to help out, then we're a lot closer to a win. everywhere else around the ground i'm fairly conident my boys can at least break even if not win their positions.

Shane O'Bree is a liability in the midfield as is Ben Johnson.
I like Fraser over Wood by a stretch, but either of these two is better than Maric and Sellar, despite Maric stepping up lately.
I have never rated Travis Cloke, who continually devalues himself with poor kicking for goal.
John Anthony always troubles us, and I don't know why, coz he is the hack of all hacks as displayed on the weekend.
Same with Dawes, hack of hacks but always haunts us.
I rate Shaw's run, Swan's capacity to win it and kick long.
I also rate Didak and Davis' ability to turn a game and burn it off, along with Thomas.

there are five question marks, Davis, Didak, Thomas, Swan, Shaw, who the crows must at least beat 3 out of 5 to win IMO

Collingwood don't have a Premiership side.
Rocca, O'Bree & Fraser need to make way for some young talent.

i agree with most of your points there SS, but a couple i will argue.....

jack anthony is an un-conventional footballer, and i'll admit, he took a while to grow on me as a player. although of late his goal kicking isnt nearly as good as it was last year and earlier this year, he still can cause matchup problems for opposition coaches.

i like trav cloke, but as you said, his goal kicking is shocking at the best of times. has great hands, and i would love to see him playing further up the ground more often, like he did against the saints.

shane o'bree for me is a funny one. he's probably had one of his better seasons this year, but i still dont really rate him either. i'm not sure on his stats (and cant be bothered looking them up!), but as long as Swan, Pendlez and Didak are getting the job done, then i guess all O'B has to do is be servicable and not let his man have too much of an influence on the game.

SS, throw in Medhurst to that list of forwards, not in stellar form but could be dangerous. I'd like to see Dick in the side too. The forward line will be better without Rocca, works better with small quick forwards complimenting each other and who can be accountable for their direct opponent.