TOUGH ASSIGNMENT FOR MAGPIES AGAINST TIGERS
Collingwood will be going into the first AFL preliminary against premiership favourites Richmond on Friday night as decided underdogs.
That will not stop around 95,000 packing into the Melbourne Cricket Ground to witness the first finals clash between the suburban clubs in 38 years.
The Magpies are on two six day turn arounds while the Tigers have had the chance to recover from aches and ailments with a week’s rest, which will not help Collingwood’s cause.
Besides the Mapgies will have serious trouble trying to cope with Dustin Martin, who has the rare ability to lift his game several notches when the pressure is on.
Defender Alex Rance has uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time while up forward Jack Riewoldt is making an all-round contribution so the clash is expected to go to the Tigers.
The key players in the second preliminary final at Optus Stadium on Saturday will be West Coast Eagles forwards Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling.
Both are strong marks and accurate kicks but they only came to life in the last quarter of their encounter with Collingwood two weeks ago.
They will need to contribute over the four quarters to capture a grand final place by beating Melbourne because the Demons have a tight defence and are definitely on a role.
Melbourne’s co-captains Jack Viney and Nathan Jones are inspirational while ruckman Max Gawn is reliable as a starting point for attacks and intercept marks when the Demons are defending.
That trio, with the support of other team members, will take the Demons a long way, but West Coast should prevail.
Friday
Richmond def Collingwood by 18pts @ MCG
Saturday
West Coast def Melbourne by 16pts @ Optus Stadium