- \n
- Fun and coach\u2019s faith key to Darcy Cameron\u2019s success at Collingwood.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- Lachie Whitfield says energy is high at Giants.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A tiny insight into Craig McRae\u2019s Collingwood came in an otherwise nondescript round 12 match last year, at least for the Magpies it was nondescript.<\/p>\n
McRae\u2019s men were playing Hawthorn, who were significant underdogs but keen to honour premiership players Luke Breust and Liam Shiels, both playing their 250th milestone match.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Darcy Cameron relaxing at Collingwood\u2019s training base.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Luis Enrique Ascui<\/cite><\/p>\n
McRae, the AFL\u2019s answer to hyper-positive, fictional TV character Ted Lasso, wanted to inject something for Collingwood to play for, too, even if it was lighthearted, so ruckman Darcy Cameron\u2019s 40th game \u2013 six years into his career, after starting at Sydney \u2013 became the source.<\/p>\n
Cameron can sometimes be, in his own words, \u201cthe brunt of jokes\u201d for his propensity to make the odd on-field blunder, so he is used to these types of scenarios.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got a few video messages from people around Australia, some big dogs. There was Hamish McLachlan, Warwick Capper, Fraser Gehrig \u2013 it was hilarious,\u201d Cameron told this masthead.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Collingwood ruckman Darcy Cameron recalled the string celebrity messages he got for his 40th game, including one from colourful AFL identity Warwick Capper, who like him, once played for Sydney.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n
\u201cThey went with the joke: \u2018Congrats on your 40th; you\u2019ve come so far\u2019, and it was very funny. The boys loved it. Ten games later, they did exactly the same thing for my 50th.\u201d<\/p>\n
All jokes aside, there were times in Cameron\u2019s \u201cfrustrating\u201d Swans days when he feared he might not even make it beyond single-digit AFL games after playing only once in three seasons in red and white.<\/p>\n
His 2019 trade to the Pies changed all that, to the point list boss Graham Wright was so confident in his ability he was willing to offload dual All-Australian Brodie Grundy last year. Cameron took great confidence from that, knowing there was trust in him.<\/p>\n
Twelve months on, Grundy seems poised to request a trade from Melbourne to a third club, while Cameron has formed a new ruck combination with Mason Cox entering a second-straight preliminary final.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lost to Gold Coast that day [I played my only game for Sydney] \u2013 the first time ever at the SCG \u2013 and that\u2019s not how I would have liked it to go, and it took me another couple of years to play my second,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking I was going to play only a handful of games throughout my career, which is why I try to enjoy every game and be grateful for what I\u2019ve been dealt because I\u2019m having so much fun doing it. You like to have a little fun when we can in those team meetings, but there\u2019s also a lot of seriousness about it, and we take our jobs really seriously. I am really grateful for where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron\u2019s worn criticism in the latter stages of the season for a dip in form, especially compared to his breakout 2022 campaign, and was subbed out in the qualifying final against Melbourne and a rampaging Max Gawn.<\/p>\n
It did not help that he was sick most of that week before some \u201cColombian remedies\u201d from his nurse partner helped him get to the starting line. Cameron understood why he was sacrificed in that big final and said moments like those were why he enjoyed his working relationship with Cox.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Collingwood coach Craig McRae.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Darrian Traynor<\/cite><\/p>\n
\u201cSharing the load with Coxy, you don\u2019t have all this pressure to go out there and dominate \u2013 you just have to go out there and play your role,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I\u2019m bringing the ball to ground, following up well and doing the right things; you don\u2019t need to have those big games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collingwood are taking a similarly optimistic view to Taylor Adams\u2019 unfortunate situation, with a left hamstring setback keeping him out of at least Friday night\u2019s preliminary final. A groin tear cost him playing at the same stage last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re pretty excited that, hopefully, if we can get over the line this week, that we will see him on grand final day,\u201d Cameron said.<\/p>\n
Another reason for positivity is that the Magpies are set to regain the incomparable Nick Daicos, as a timely Adams replacement, from a hairline fracture in his right knee that has sidelined him since round 21.<\/p>\n
John Noble will also hope to force his way in after being an unlucky omission for the qualifying final.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure [Daicos will play], but I don\u2019t want to be crucified if I get that wrong. I think we\u2019ll see him out there \u2013 he\u2019ll train this week, and I\u2019m expecting him to play,\u201d Cameron said.<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cYoung again\u201d, Whitfield says Giants have energy to take down Pies<\/h3>\n
Steve Barrett<\/em><\/p>\n
Lachie Whitfield feels \u201cyoung again\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sure, he is only 29 with loads of footy and life ahead of him, but the way GWS have taken all before them in recent months following a disappointing, difficult 2022 and dire start to 2023 has the star playmaker and his fellow Giants feeling rejuvenated.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jack Buckley and Lachie Whitfield celebrate the GWS Giants\u2019 comfortable win over Port Adelaide.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n
\u201cMy body\u2019s sore but I feel young again,\u201d Whitfield said. \u201cI feel full of energy. Any challenge that\u2019s being sent our way we\u2019re taking it head-on.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a really big confidence to get the job done week-to-week. There\u2019s so much energy in this footy club at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Down and out in 15th position with a 4:8 win:loss record after round 12, GWS won nine of their next 11 games to claim a finals berth then ousted St Kilda in an elimination final and Port Adelaide on Saturday night at the Adelaide Oval.<\/p>\n
The Giants\u2019 51-point loss to the Power in round 22 was a rare blemish in their late-season run, but they redeemed themselves on Saturday when it counted most.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey nutted us in the midfield only a month ago,\u201d said Whitfield, who starred in Saturday\u2019s win with a game-high 33 disposals.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the boys to be able to flip that and smash them in clearances and put a winning score on; it\u2019s just so pleasing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The midfield mauling in the first half \u2013 GWS beat the Power 29-12 at clearances and 81-29 for handball receives \u2013 was a masterclass that exceeded the highest expectations of GWS coach Adam Kingsley.<\/p>\n
The first-year coach said after the match he could not remember his team having such statistical supremacy over an opponent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a nice time to get those numbers,\u201d Kingsley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat run-and-carry game that we\u2019re trying to implement looked really good at times. But equally, our pressure and our come-forward defence was really strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now the Giants face a preliminary final against Collingwood on Friday night at the MCG.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Giant Jake Riccardi celebrates a goal in front of a small band of hardy GWS supporters who braved the trip to the Adelaide Oval for Saturday night\u2019s semi-final.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AFL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n
\u201cClearly it will be a different challenge against Collingwood,\u201d Kingsley said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been quite a good stoppage team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like our game is in good order, we\u2019re healthy, we\u2019ll have a full list to pick from again. We couldn\u2019t be better placed to take on Collingwood.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Power, meanwhile, were left to lament their late-season slump, including successive finals batterings in the midfield from Brisbane and GWS.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely have to get better if we\u2019re going to win in September,\u201d said Port coach Ken Hinkley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a great run of 13 (consecutive) wins, and we were playing some really strong footy but the last 7-8 weeks, for a number of reasons, we weren\u2019t near that form … and it got shown up in the finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarlton and the Giants have played no doubt as good a football as anyone in the last 8-10 weeks and they rightly earned their way to prelims.<\/p>\n
For Whitfield, this week\u2019s clash against the Magpies is a reminder that he missed his club\u2019s finest hour \u2013 its four-point win over Collingwood in the 2019 preliminary final \u2013 after being hospitalised with appendicitis.<\/p>\n
While he did stage a remarkable recovery to take his place in the grand final against Richmond 10 days after having surgery, his team was swamped by the Tigers and Whitfield, like many of his teammates, was below his best.<\/p>\n
In his defence, he had lost three kilograms in weight and was almost unable to kick on his painful right-hand side. But this time he\u2019s fit and primed, as is his team.<\/p>\n
\u201dThe Pies have been the benchmark all year. But finals are funny; anything can happen if you just do the right thing at the right moment,\u201d said Whitfield, who is averaging a career-best 27 disposals a game this year.<\/p>\n
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