Sunday’s win over St Kilda was another feather in the cap of Magpies coach Craig McRae, whose “ridiculous” tactic ultimately won Collingwood the game.
The two form sides of the competition lined up against each other to conclude Gather Round at the Adelaide Oval and it was McRae’s Pies that edged out the Saints by six points.
McRae has been lauded for surging Collingwood back into contention so quickly and looks poised to have his team primed for September again.
Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne was particularly taken by the Magpies’ team defence on the weekend.
“I just wanted to give a bit of love in terms of what Collingwood actually force you to do in terms of how they defend,” he began on SEN’s Sportsday.
“They make you play a style that is not (what you want).”
It was the Saints’ first loss of the season and Hoyne believes they were forced into a different game style than what they’d played for the first month under Ross Lyon.
“We talked about this a couple of weeks ago that St Kilda have been using the boundary more than any other team that we’ve seen before in the first four weeks of the year,” Hoyne continued.
“They’re using the boundary around about 65 per cent of the time which is off the charts sort of stuff.
“But against Collingwood, Collingwood force them to actually try and be more aggressive in terms of how they actually use the ball.
“They clogged up the boundary, which sounds ridiculous, to actually force St Kilda to come back through the corridor, try and take more risks and then Collingwood will pick you off.”
An industry expectation is to typically force teams wide to lessen the speed at which they can move the ball.
But Hoyne says the “ridiculous” tactic was the driving factor behind the Magpies’ win.
“St Kilda use the boundary 65 per cent of the time. Against Collingwood, that was only 40 per cent of the time,” he explained.
“As a result, they’re trying to ping off these kicks back in the midfield, they turned the ball over 57 times through that midfield zone between the arcs. That’s the second most of any team this year.
“A low-scoring game, Collingwood score five goals of their 10 goals through St Kilda turning the ball over through that midfield zone.
“We haven’t seen St Kilda do that throughout the year. They weren’t allowed to play the boundary game that has been so successful for them in the first four weeks of the year.
“So hats off to what Collingwood forces you to do defensively… this defensive system that they’ve got, which is so aggressive, is so impressive to watch.”
McRae’s plan undoubtedly played into his side’s inside 50 dominance, winning that stat 64-50.
Collingwood will look to keep the momentum rolling at Anzac Day in a week's time, while St Kilda - which still sits atop the ladder - faces Carlton on Sunday.