Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has confirmed that he and his coaching staff have sent Darcy Cameron to the center, who would decide their season against the West Coast over two-time all-Australian Brodie Grundy.
However, he claims Grundy is still the number one ruckman for the Magpies to make it to the semifinals with Geelong despite losing form over the course of the season and problems in the elimination final.
Grundy was surprisingly spotted on the bench in the second half. The 10-player Cameron was sent in to take down Nic Naitanui, the AFL’s top center bounce ruckman.
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That included the final center bounce of the game, just over a minute in play, with a point difference.
Cakes win an absolute THRILLER
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While some have speculated that Grundy had an injury that explained his loss of shape, Buckley dismissed that idea and told it instead AFL 360 It was a match-up decision.
“We did it (on purpose), and it was mostly Darcy’s ability to get behind the ball. He has shown that this is a real strength of his, ”Buckley continued Fox Footy.
“We thought it was probably 50:50 for the jerk competition and then he could help us, and ultimately he was involved in that bounce clearance in the middle.
“Brodie Grundy is our best ruckman, he’ll be in the middle for the first jump on Saturday night and front and middle for the rest of our campaign like he always has.
“I can understand the commentary on that and the analysis, but given what we needed in the game, we thought these two guys were beaten well on the night but they both got really well.”
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Some were surprised by the selection when Cameron was added to the Magpies’ 22-man crew to take on the Eagles.
The move didn’t neutralize Naitanui as the All-Australian got the maximum number of votes at the 2020 Gary Ayres Award for best player in the final.
But after a first half with the Eagles scoring numerous goals straight from the center, Buckley felt that Cameron was the best available option.
“We thought the jerk competitions would be crucial. We can’t have done a great job because he was unanimously the best player (by coaches’ votes), ”said Buckley.
“But he just played an extraordinary game, Nic, and was a constant thorn in our side. The original plan was to allow Brodie to compete with Nic and have Darcy Cameron there to take on Oscar Allen.
“In the end, the evidence from the first half indicated that Darcy actually did very well against Nic and we decided to play more 50-50 in that second half and he did really well, not just in jerk competitions but around the floor.
“I think it was important because Brodie, the attack he put on at the end of the third quarter, was crucial for Jack Darling and I thought his last quarter was excellent, with a reduced time, but its impact was really important to us . “
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