COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley finally had his midfield band back together in his team's 27-point win over Adelaide on Friday night, and what a sweet sound it made.
With Dayne Beams making his comeback from a long-term quad injury, the Magpies had stars Scott Pendlebury, Beams, Dane Swan and Luke Ball on the field at the same time for the first time since round three, 2012, when Ball suffered a season-ending right anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The impact was immediate, with the quartet amassing a combined 128 disposals, helping their team dominate clearances (37-26), contested possession (152-132) and forward 50 entries (62-50).
Buckley saved his most glowing remarks for vice-captain Pendlebury, who booted two crucial goals in the final quarter to go with his career-best 42 disposals.
"He was pretty good," was Buckley’s understatement after the match.
"You sit back in the box, and the eyebrows go up.
"There's no doubt that he would be satisfied with that performance, as we are.
"He's been able to withstand the tag basically week in and week out, and contribute really well.
"His contested ball numbers suggest that it's pretty hard to stop him, because he really dictates the contest.
"To be able to finish with a couple of goals, one on the left from 50 and one on the right from 50, it almost looks too easy."
Buckley was also pleased with the return of Beams, whose clean hands added an immediate injection of class.
The 2012 Copeland Trophy winner finished with 25 disposals and four tackles in an ideal first hitout of the season.
"He was good for us," Buckley said.
"He's the type of player that just grinds the game out.
"He covers the ground pretty well, and to see that in his first four quarters for the season … I think he looked stronger and got better as the game wore on.
"His touch is excellent; he comes to hand pretty quickly.
"The body work, and the aggression required in the one-on-one contests, he got a handle on those towards the end of the game, and he'll be better for it."
The Magpies will be aiming for a sixth win in seven matches when they face Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium next week and, with their formidable midfield finally back together, appear to be building for a strong run in September.
Slow starts continue to be a problem for the Pies, however, and Buckley pointed to Friday night's 25-point quarter-time deficit, as well as last week's similarly flat first quarter against Carlton, as evidence that improvement was still needed.
"The message to the players after the game was that we need to start better than we have the last couple of weeks," he said.
"If you give the opposition a sniff, it just makes it harder yards to get the game back on your terms and to control it from that point on.
"That's clearly going to be the focus going into next week."
