Whateley
The Big Issue - Collingwood's Identity | The Means Test with Adam Simpson! (11.05.26)
10 May 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
All right, the big issue is Collingwood. You've had a pretty good read on them right throughout the year. Yeah. Their stone average, four and a half from nine, 99.9%.
Mm-hmm.
Talk to me about Collingwood.
Well, I mean, you can take the weekend in isolation, but, you know, you are who you are at the moment. I think it's really difficult for teams to actually get out of their cycle or where they're really poor at. And we spoke a few weeks ago about, okay, let's look at our first six or seven weeks and where are we at? I haven't seen a change in some of their stats, I suppose.
I mean, they speak about their connection in the front half, but they're ā You know, they're fourth for defence. So they're going well in defence, but they're 15th in attack. So there's a distinct issue. They're 18th for contested possession differential.
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Chapter 2: How does Collingwood's performance impact their identity?
So 18th. They're the worst in the competition, Gerard. And they're 7th and 8th at clearance differential. So you can't win with those two stats. And unless you're just... brilliant at something else. And we'll talk about the Suns later on because they can't shake their DNA either. They're a back half transition, forward handball side. But the Pies don't have that luxury to play that way.
So the 15th for centre ball up differential, the 10th for inside 50 differential side. I don't think it's the connection piece. I know that's what they've been working on. I think it's the contest. And how much do they rely on Dacos? You know, they've used the least amount of players. This year, they've used 29 players this year. So the Tigers have used 36. The Blues have used 35.
So it's not like they've been rotating players through. Yeah, so there's a bit going on there. The metres gained is interesting too. I mean, they were second in the comp last year, metres gained by handball. So that was a big, you know, emerging stat. This year, the Swans are number one at 700 metres. So there's four or five teams taking this and running with it.
And I'm just not quite sure if the Pies are that type of side.
Chapter 3: What statistical challenges is Collingwood facing this season?
So when you play Collingwood... Really good defensive system. If you go slow, if you go quick, take them on, go through the front door, you might test them one-on-one and they don't look as competent as perhaps the team defense does when it stands up. And we showed some vision last week when their defense saved the day and on the weekend it didn't. They conceded six goals out of the middle.
So there's stuff there that... you think it's pretty easy to fix. You mentioned centre bounces and team defence was an event, but the pattern has been clearances and contests. And that's the cornerstone of a game, isn't it? Yes.
So why are they so poor at it?
Well, it's hard to fix. Like, how do you fix contested possession? You can get angry, and I don't know if he's done that, or you get the right players. And then there's a bit of strategy around centre bounces and positioning and that sort of stuff. So, I mean, the real question is, you know, Every year is the first year of a five-year plan from a list management point of view.
Does that make sense? Yeah, sort of. Every year is the first. So what is their plan in four years' time? I'd love to know the list management, and we'll never know. But what is the ā right now we are in the first year of a five-year plan. So in five years, what does ā do they ā I'm sure they care. I'm not sure where Fly's at with everything. So what are they building towards is the question.
And the other question is, do the fans care? Are they as passionate as they got the flag a few years ago? They trust what's happening. They haven't let us down too often. We'll be okay. No worries. Or is there a bit of, where are we? Yeah.
So it'd be interesting to see what the fans actually think about, you know, is this the year that they pull back a little bit or is this the year they just, they launch in the next three or four weeks? Can you see that? Um, I don't want to write them off. Yeah. I think you said it before about, they could go up and have a, you know, a fantastic, cause the defense still stacks up.
Top four defense sort of gives, gives you an opportunity, but if they don't get these things right, they're not going to go anywhere. They'll finish mid table and you know, unless the experience. Just be average. I think so. Yeah.
And is that, is that okay? What if they're in the last year of a five-year plan rather than the first year? Well, that's what happened to us at West Coast.
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