‘Hard to believe’: ‘Lazy’ Pies exposed as curious high-five leaves pundits perplexed

Four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis believes Collingwood players “turned their toes up” against Sydney on Friday night as he exposed several “lazy” Magpies defensive efforts, including a curious mid-play high-five.

The Pies’ sluggish start to their premiership defence stretched into a second consecutive week, suffering a 33-point loss to a slick Sydney outfit after unfurling their 2023 premiership flag earlier in the night.

Collingwood’s ball use and inability to defend their turnovers were uncharacteristically poor, with Sydney scoring 78 points off intercepts at the MCG.

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But just as concerning was the Magpies’ defensive pressure, with Sydney winning the tackle count by +21 – the worst tackle differential for a Collingwood side under coach Craig McRae.

“I think it’ll be a tough review,” Lewis told Fox Footy post-game. “There were countless times when you watched the play unfold and there were players not communicating, players jogging, players that weren’t willing to buy-in defensively.”

Lewis pointed to a passage of play from the fourth quarter where the Swans moved the ball out of half-back and through the middle of the ground with alarming ease. Six Collingwood players were highlighted on the Fox Footy LAB vision jogging through the centre square, with Brayden Maynard and Jordan De Goey even seen completing a casual high-five – a mid-play act that was “hard to believe”, according to Lewis.

“This is where you want Collingwood to be better. It is far too easy (for Sydney) to cut through the middle of the ground. They are ball-watching, there is no communication – there’s even players giving high-fives,” Lewis said.

“That is lazy, that is not being involved in the game, that is not helping your defence.

“They were waiting for the end of the game. I don’t think you say this too often about Collingwood because they’ve been unbelievable about their effort, but they turned up their toes tonight.

“That is hard to cop as a player. When you sit back and see that in the review on a Monday, that is hard to cop.”

Five-time All-Australian Garry Lyon called the high-five “bizarre”, adding he saw an array of Magpies players “going through the motions” throughout the game.

“There was the first outing (against the Giants) as the premier – and that’s what happens, the pressure comes on them and the expectation and they got it handed to them by the Giants – and now they come out here and they really got it handed to them,” Lyon told Fox Footy post-match.

“All through the week, (it was) ‘no one panic’ – and understandably, it’s one game … Now it’s come out and it’s got worse. I think it’s a worse defeat than last week.

“Early on (in the game) there was want and desire – and then it got a little bit too hard.

“Sydney deserve all the credit, because they made Collingwood look ordinary.”

Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown put the heat on some of Collingwood’s more experienced players.

“You’ve got to start with the veterans. Some of the veterans are struggling: (Scott) Pendlebury, (Steele) Sidebottom, (Darcy) Moore, (Jack) Crisp – they’ve been ordinary the first fortnight,” Brown told Fox Footy.

“They’re the ones you rely on when you come into a premiership defence, you need those guys to be able to set the standard all the way through – and at the moment, they aren’t able to set the standard for four quarters of a game.”

Seven-time All-Australian Nathan Buckley said the Pies had been “out-transitioned” in two straight matches.

“That’s where the game is. It’s not a static game. They’re in great positions at the start but then the game moves,” he told Fox Footy.

“Sydney, when they team defended tonight, Collingwood weren’t able to work the ball through them because they work so hard as unit and they ran hard to close down space.”

The Pies face another tough task I Round 3, coming up against Ross Lyon’s St Kilda in a big Thursday night clash.

“No one’s putting a line through (Collingwood) … But we’ll wait and see how they recover from the hole they find themselves in two weeks into a season,” Lyon said.