Source :- THE AGE NEWS
The Lions have come out snarling while the Magpies have been unimpressive with the footy and their turnovers have been far off the mark.
Will Ashcroft won a free kick close to goal and then booted the major.
Lions 20, Pies 8 with 10 mins to go in Q1.
The Magpies have coughed up turnovers twice in a row and the Lions punished them the second time as the ball was turned over at half-back following a kick in and then Eric Hipwood kicked to Levi Ashcroft who handballed over the top to Connor McKenna who booted a goal.
Lions 14, Pies 8 with 12 mins to go in Q1.
Anything you can do…..
The Magpies have won the ball from the middle, found Scott Pendlebury and then watched him dish a lovely handball to Ed Allan who booted a goal on the run.
This is a high-octane start.
Lions 6, Pies 6 with 18 mins to go in Q1.
The Lions have won the ball from the middle and booted it long to Logan Morris who pulled in the mark and snapped the opening goal of the night.
That was about 30 seconds or less – the Lions are flying out of the blocks.
Lions 6, Pies 0 with 19 mins to go in Q1.
Magpies coach Craig McRae says his club contemplated resting some stars for tonight’s match but, in the end, opted to keep playing ahead of the wildcard round next weekend.
Veterans Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe came back into the side after illness and injury issues but they are otherwise unchanged.
“We weighed it all up but the reality is that our players wanted to play,” McRae told Kayo Sports.
“It’s time to keep getting better.
“We didn’t want to get dragged too far ahead. We have a job to be done against a quality opposition tonight.”
After the week the AFL has had this was the entirely appropriate game day development.
There was a sewer leak at the MCC, causing much stomach turning and gasping from patrons.
Emanating from a door plant room right next to the door to the new Pavilion Restaurant, the stench was. Well, it was what you would expect of a sewer leak.
Plumbers attended and apparently fixed it. Though soon after, the stench was picking up again, so they might have to head back.
Collingwood veteran Steele Sidebottom is back to full fitness and desperate to throw himself into his final few games of AFL football.
Sidebottom will retire at the end of the season and he was a late withdrawal last week after coming down sick, just days after announcing his retirement.
Pies coach Craig McRae joked that people needed to wash their hands, claiming Sidebottom became sick after shaking hundreds of people’s hands following his announcement.
“I came down with something; it wasn’t ideal, and it was probably my body telling me to slow down a bit,” Sidebottom told Kayo Sports.
Lions coach Chris Fagan is happy with his side’s mindset heading into tonight’s match and he’s made it clear to his players how important winning this match is, due to where they could finish on the ladder.
A win should see them finish third or fourth but a loss could see them fall into the wildcard matches.
“The players are very much looking forward to this opportunity,” Fagan told Kayo Sports.
“We could finish as high as third or as low as seventh, so there is a lot at stake and they know what is on the line.”
Collingwood can’t go out of the wildcard positions of eighth or ninth.
Lions football general manager Danny Daly says his club hasn’t spoken about the possibility of playing a depleted Sydney Swans in a qualifying final.
The Lions need to win tonight to secure a top-four position and if they finish in third place, they will face the second-placed Swans at the SCG.
Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon were suspended by their AFL club on Wednesday for breaching behavioural standards by staying out late, drinking and inviting women back to their hotel room at the Pullman in East Melbourne.
Daly said the Lions just wanted to secure a top-four spot.
