As much as it pains me to say this, all that is needed to win matches is to watch the way Collingwood goes about its business. What do they do better than any other team?
1. Create pressure.
How is this done? The answer is simple - work harder, present harder, run harder. The mark of this team is not what they do when they have the ball, but what they do when they don't have the ball.
The Magpies are constantly in the faces of their opponents and forcing turnovers by committing to the contest and being prepared to work harder than their opposition.
Collingwood always appear to have an extra player at the contest.
They lock the ball inside their forward zone, not by the infamous forward press, but by a superior work ethic, an ethos based on working your backside off to ensure the ball doesn't leave the forward zone.
2. Execute skills.
When you have the ball in your hands, don't give it back. Again, this is made easier for Collingwood because their players work harder to create space and to provide an option.
As a Demons supporter, we constantly moan about our inability to get the ball out of our defensive half. I sympathise with our defenders when they look up and see a stagnant landscape ahead.
This is not about game plan or structure. It is about the want and desire to work harder than the opponent. Present hard to give an option and, when that option is ignored, present again.
Why did Melbourne lose by one point and draw the other game against the Magpies last year? Watch the tapes and the answer is evident. The Demons were harder at the contest and the only thing that let Melbourne down was its inability at crucial times to execute the skills.
The work ethic however, could not be faulted.
Any team wanting to beat Collingwood this year should remember two - and only two - important points. You can beat the feared Magpies by working harder than Collingwood and executing your skills. It's simple really.
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