Could Collingwood be better in 2024 than they were in 2023?
While that may sound ridiculous at first thought, considering the Pies lost just five games in 2023 en route to the club’s 16th premiership and that they’re 5-1-3 in 2024 already, their Champion Data profile says otherwise.
Although Collingwood ended up winning the premiership last campaign, according to Champion Data, their best period of last season was in the first ten weeks when they went 9-1 to set up their run at the flag.
Across that period, Champion Data rated the Pies as the sixth-best offensive team and sixth-best defensive team.
In 2024 though, Champion Data analyst Daniel Hoyne says that over the last six weeks, the Pies have been the best team in the comp for turning possession into scores while also being the second hardest team in the AFL for opposition clubs to turn their possessions into scores.
That was an aspect of Collingwood’s game not shown in any six-week block in 2023.
“This might be shot down, but they actually might be better than last year,” Hoyne said on SEN's Sportsday.
“Whether or not that means that they win it or not, time will tell because there’s a team up north in Sydney that is absolutely flying at the moment.
“They won the flag last year, but they won it by 12 points over a three-week finals campaign … it was the first 10 weeks of the (2023) season when they were at their best.
“In simple terms, how often they turned a possession in into a score that was the sixth best in the competition in that 10-week period.
And how often the opposition did the same thing, they defended that the sixth best in the competition.
“So (in that 10-week period they were) top six both sides of the ball … that was good enough to be you know a 9-1 team and set your season up.
“But in the last six weeks, there’s no more potent team in the competition at turning possession into a score, and then they are the second hardest team in the competition to turn possession into a score.
“We did not see that at all in any six-week period last season.”
Hoyne also revealed other stats where Collingwood is outperforming their 2023 selves including stoppage and general play.
“Over the last six weeks, they're fifth offensively and they are the second-best team without the footy,” Hoyne said.
“Their work at clearance, in particular, the last two weeks … hats off to the coaching group because they’ve come up against Carlton - and that’s how they can get you - and then they all reference West Coast and their stoppage work as well.
“They absolutely annihilated both of them at the stoppage. They went to work.
“That's without Jordan De Goey and Tom Mitchell in the team, it gets back to the how, not the who component that we talk about.
“In general play and in winning contest, they’re the third-best team in the competition.
“That profile is better than what we saw from them at any stage last season.
“The competition, I think has got better and it is tighter, but that that there is better than what they were doing in any six-week period last year.
“They are going under the radar a little bit. People are starting to think, ‘Are they back?’. They’re well and truly back.”
Collingwood, who haven’t lost since Round 2, will hope to keep their strong form going when they play Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
