Magpies Now The Hunted, Says Malthouse
The Age
Tuesday June 10, 2008
COLLINGWOOD coach Michael Malthouse has questioned the number of blockbuster games the Magpies play, suggesting other clubs get more of a lift from them.
He also intimated after the Pies' 21-point win against Melbourne - 17.14 to 13.17 - that he might suggest to the powers at his club there was no value for Collingwood in playing the Queen's Birthday clash against Melbourne.In answering a post-match question on whether he felt the Magpies suffered from "blockbuster fatigue", Malthouse said he would be "putting my thoughts about the draw to the club"."Yes, there are occasions I suppose by playing at the MCG, it's the home of football, massive occasion for one side, should be the same for us, should be. But you can't keep telling players that," Malthouse said."There's got to be a respite somewhere where they can play football without the added pressure of 'we're playing Geelong, we're playing West Coast, we're playing Brisbane and we're playing North Melbourne' and it meant everything to the eight."We come here wanting to win the game of footy; it's simply Queen's Birthday weekend. And we're playing Melbourne who believe this is the be-all and end-all game of the universe. I think that's the thing our blokes put up with and fortunately come out the other side with four points."I'll certainly consider my thoughts about what I'll put to the club about this game. It's what's best for our football club and what's best for our team. Sometimes they are a little bit off skew. Not that we get anything out of this game. We get nothing (financially) out of this game."Malthouse went on to give a backhander to the Demons, questioning how they use the emotion of a big occasion to inspire them."Hassa Mann, (Ron) Barassi, the ghost of Norm Smith, if that's what has to get sides up then perhaps I'm running it differently or wrongly," he said."That is not a performance of a bottom side, that is not a performance of a side that's been beaten by 60, 70 and 80 points from time to time."I don't want to say we played poorly, because that does Melbourne an injustice. There's no way we played as well as what we had, but I still get bemused by sides that find more in one game of the year. I can understand if it happens 10 or 15 times a year, because perhaps that's the rationale. But once a year? Doesn't make a lot of logic to me."Demons coach Dean Bailey had a similar view, suggesting his side should be up every week and not just lifting for games such as this."Emotion and passion and those sorts of things should be there every week, every time you play for the club," he said."If there is impact today (from the 150th year celebrations on Saturday night) then I'm saying it should have an impact next week because you are playing for the same club and you're playing for the same reasons."It can't be a one-off. You've got to take what they experienced Saturday night and a bit of today into next week because you have got to drive the intensity and you have got to inspire each other by what you can do."But further to that, Bailey made the point that it was important for his side to be consistent and not succumb to lapses of concentration that cost it dearly yesterday when Collingwood kicked two easy goals early in the third term."That's the challenge for an inconsistent team that's playing last at the moment. Now, inconsistency has really cost us," he said."Today we showed some periods in the game where . . . our concentration dropped and all of a sudden I think the start of the third quarter they kicked two quick goals."That's a concentration issue, that's not an emotional, passionate situation. That's a situation where the game demands that you...have got to be in the game from the very start, every minute counts, every second counts."Bailey praised the efforts of young defenders Matthew Warnock and Colin Garland, saying he thought "they played what I thought was life-and-death footy where they were just prepared to put everything into every contest".With an injury list as long as your arm, the match dealt the Demons further blows with key players Jared Rivers straining a groin and midfielder Brent Moloney injuring his right shoulder.Both are unlikely to play against Richmond at Telstra Dome on Sunday.
© 2008 The Age
