Out coached

by MICHAEL STEVEN

OUR full back was out, our centre half back was out, our centre half forward was out, two of our ruckmen were out, our best small forward was out, and our third tall in the backline was out.

He has been called a sook by some, but Michael Malthouse was not crying about Collingwood's horrendous run with injuries before the game. He was building a structure that was going to give Collingwood its best win in a terrible year.

Some people expect that the coach should use his skill to inform and manipulate his playing list so that they will do what he wants. That is not the modus operandi of Michael Malthouse. Using the upper rungs of the ladder of participation he gave his players control over their own actions, calling for partnerships that all good teams enjoy and avoiding the tokenism of propitiation and consultation. Empowered, the players did it for the coach.

Buckley and Tarrant were used as decoys, until the last quarter at least, and it was Collingwood's second and third tier that exacted a lesson that you wonder if Fremantle will ever understand.

Weeks ago, I said that Collingwood was a better team. I was excited by the rapid development of Richards, Cloke the second and the new-found stamina of Didak. None were playing on Friday night. It was Maxwell's role on Medhurst, King's three goals, Shaw's assertiveness over Headland, and the best game yet by Leon that showed the merits of giving people an opportunity and them taking it seriously.

The performances of Fremantle rejects, Holland and Clement, epitomized what a good coach can do. Accepting responsibility they played tough, smart football to provide leadership to a bunch of kids who stood up and beat a so-called finals aspirant. Woewodin too showed the strength of Malthouse's style. Backing into packs he has accepted the challenge and took marks that the Melbourne Football Club never thought he could and never asked him to.

There was a spatial comprehension of the oversized Subiaco oval in Collingwood's win. Using a small forward line with strong tackling players like Burns, Licuria and others negated the Fremantle run from the backline. Instead it was Collingwood that joined up its lines of attack with power running and a commitment to engaging all its players in what was truly a great team effort. There was an interconnectedness of focus brought about by intuition, and a vision that is still emerging.

Young players like Maxwell, King, Walker and even Justin Crowe, who contested every opportunity he got, have the smell of Dennis Banks who on grand final eve in 1990 stood up and told his team mates that all he was going to do the next day was not get beaten by his opponent in any contest that arrives.

Chris Connolly was devastated and I suspect it was not because of his player's failings to put their head over the ball. I think he understood that he was given a football lesson and it will be interesting to see what he learns.

Mark my words, 2004 was the recession we had to have. The Collingwood team is now in a much better position for the next five years than it was this time last year. The youngest list in the league knows what is needed, it has the system, it has the passion, it has the coach. Look out here we come.

Oh, and Neil, there are two words that explain why Malthouse gets paid more than little Johnny Howard - intelligence and integrity! And unlike Howard, Malthouse understands that greatness comes from the whole, not just a selfish few.

The prime minister

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