Strategy coach Craig Jennings is imploring Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley to make scoreboard pressure “part of their game again” as the club tries to fix their forward issues.
The Pies are ranked 14th in the competition for points scored in 2020 and comes after they ranked 7th for total scores in 2019.
Collingwood’s lack of scoring is the subject of much debate and Jennings explained why things could be breaking down for them forward of centre.
“What I was to see from Collingwood tonight is them making scoring part of their game again,” Jennings said on SEN’s Whateley.
“They’re playing an elite man-on-man contest team (in Sydney) and to beat those teams, they’ve got to break the lines off half back. If Collingwood go well tonight, they won’t be kicking down the line and you’ll be seeing those 20-metre lateral kicks and they’ll spring off half back."
Jennings has urged Collingwood to take the game on more when they next play in a close match, highlighting their risk-averse attitude which brought about their downfall against GWS Giants in Round 4 and Essendon in Round 5.
“Most importantly for me, and it may not come out tonight … if Collingwood are behind late on the scoreboard then you’ve got to be able to see them open up the stoppage area and increase their risk for a greater reward,” he said.
“I spoke about this earlier on in the week, in their last two close games, in the last three minutes of those games they’ve only had one inside 50 from 13 stoppages. With Brodie Grundy and their elite midfield, Collingwood should expect more than that.”
After losing their last two games, Collingwood will be looking to bounce back against Sydney at the Gabba on Thursday night before a clash against bottom-placed Collingwood at Adelaide Oval next Tuesday.