Dermott Brereton has identified several aspects of Collingwood’s game where players played with too much dare and confidence on Friday night.
The Pies were completely outplayed by Carlton to open Round 19, losing to the beat of 17 points in front of 86,785 fans.
You couldn’t question Collingwood’s efforts, but you felt during the game that Craig McRae’s team were shooting themselves in the foot with poor ball use out of defence.
This was one of the aspects of the game where Brereton has labelled the Pies not good enough.
“Several aspects of Collingwood’s game was hubris, Collingwood overrate their ability to kick the ball from the backline,” Brereton told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“Darcy Moore, who is a wonderful player, I’m drilling into certain areas that they’ll have a mention to him.
“Also, Brayden Maynard, he overrates his kick.
“Both Maynard and Moore are very good kicks but trying to bite off kicks that are 1-1000 is not the way to go about it.
“To overrate your talent and think you’ve got a laser leg when you don’t, that’s hubris.
“When you actually say ‘I can take this kick on in the middle’, when the game is still well and truly alive is hubris.”
The Pies were smashed in contested possessions on the night, losing the count 109-142, and it was telling in the end result.
On numerous occasions, the likes of Patrick Cripps, George Hewett and Adam Cerra were harder and tougher in the contest, leaving Jordan De Goey, Scott Pendlebury, Nick Daicos, Jack Crisp and the likes flat footed.
Brereton says that while you can rely on skill for most of the game, when it’s your time to go, you’ve got to go, and that wasn’t the case for a few Collingwood players last night.
“99 per cent of our game is relied on skill, the ability to deliver and execute in football, but sometimes you’ve just got to supply some grunt,” Brereton added.
“On several occasions for the Magpies last night, for the first time it became conditionally, there were a couple of lads who said 'you know what, not this one, I’ll live to fight in the next contest but not this one'.
“There was a kick in from Darcy Moore that went to Jack Crisp, he’s as brave as they come but there’s bravery on the deck and there’s bravery in the air, he chose to go to ground without contact rather then make that contest. The ball got turned around, kicked to Jack Martin and he kicked the goal.
“He got like a muscular inhibition, no contact and went to ground, as I said he’s as brave as they can be but not in the air.
Brereton continued: “As good as young Daicos is, at the 15:15 mark in the last quarter - and I’m not shooting him as he is fantastic - sometimes a player like that has to live to fight the contest but he saw the ball between him and Cripps and he stopped, he made up his mind and said 'I’m not going for this one, he can have it and we will fight the fight in the next second after but Cripps bossed him'.
“That’s choosing your moment, and I want Daicos to keep doing what he’s doing as he’s awesome, but sometimes your team has to see you fight the fight to keep the ball where it is right then and there.
“At 15:15 remaining on the clock in the last quarter, that was the time, that was conditionally.
“There were a couple of moments there where I thought they played conditionally, McRae will never say that that was conditional but you can understand that that then bleeds into the result.”
The Pies will look to get back to their winning ways next weekend against Hawthorn.
They still sit two games clear at the top of the ladder.