Collingwood play Fremantle today at the MCG

This first week, I will incorporate a very short preview of how I expect each team to go this season.

Both these teams are a little hard to read; Collingwood had a great season and were finalists last year, Freo had another disappointing season missing out on the finals but still have big potential. Collingwood have lost experience with one of the game’s greatest players Nathan Buckley retiring, as well as their general in the backline James Clement. For this match as well new skipper Scott Burns is out as well as midfielders Brodie Holland, Ben Johnson and Full-Back Prestigiacomo, so youngsters Brown, Goldsack and O’Brien will be asked to step up alongside the experienced Wakelin, Maxwell and Shaw in defence. How well this new defence gels will go a long way to determining the outcome of this match as Freo have a very potent forward line that can be hard to match up on.

Collingwood’s midfield isn’t full of stars but they get the job done (O’Bree, Lockyer, Swan, R.Shaw) and it is difficult to know how the wonder kids of last season; Scott Pendlebury, Dale Thomas and the Irishman Martin Clarke will handle the closer attention they will inevitably receive from the opposition. Equally hard to gauge is the performance of the potentially brilliant Leon Davis and Adam Didak, if these two take the next step in terms of consistency this year the Magpies will make the finals and possibly the top 4. For Collingwood fans I hope this is the case.

Collingwood’s forward line is strong (Rocca, Cloke, Rusling and cameos from Thomas, Davis, Didak and Medhurst) and will be hard to stop if they win the midfield battle and receive enough opportunities.

Fremantle should finish in the top 4 this year with the potential they have, however they have had that potential for the past 3 seasons and not realised it. Improved performances under new coach Mark Harvey in the second half of 2007 perhaps hint that this may be the year for the Dockers. However if there was one team that I could not pick last year it was Fremantle. Inconsistency is a major issue and their pre-season form has not been good, however they have a solid core group of players, and multiple match-winners so barring anymore major injuries I expect them to make the finals.

This match is in Melbourne at the MCG so it is a big interstate trip for Fremantle, however they are fresh and keen to put last season’s poor effort behind them and so I expect them to be very much fired up for this match. Last season’s round 1 saw 4 road teams win out of the 8 matches and I wouldn’t be surprised if Freo join Geelong as road teams to win in round 1 2008. The last match they played at the MCG last year, Collingwood won by 9 points off the back of some very straight kicking from their key forwards while Freo’s Pavlich kicked 4 goals and 7 behinds, not his best effort and not often he would miss so many opportunities. I think Freo’s line-up for this match is a little stronger than last years, while if anything Collingwood’s is a fraction weaker.

If the Dockers are going to make a real run towards the finals this year they need to beat teams around their same level such as Collingwood and with a fresh optimism that the first round of a season always brings, I expect them at their best. I’m anticipating another close encounter; though it is a hard match to pick I am willing to believe that Fremantle will have the motivation they at times seemed to lack last season and will therefore take them with the 9.5 head start offered at sportingbet.com playing it rather safe with my last seasons least favourite team to bet on.



Pick : Fremantle +9.5
Odds : 1.72
Stake : 8 / 10
Bookmaker : SportingBet
Date : 2008-03-22
Match Result : 111-85
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