In the second Gather Round showcase, Collingwood will look to make it four wins on the trot against a Sydney side that appears to have also found its groove.
Since falling in Opening Round against GWS, the Magpies have won against Port Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs and Carlton to claim an early top-eight spot.
Sydney, on the other hand, are in some fine form of its own, having trounced the Roos in the second half last Saturday to square its ledger at 2-2 and sitting just outside the eight.
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Dean Cox’s Swans go into Friday night’s bout at Adelaide Oval unchanged from their 61-point win, while the Pies were forced into three changes following their Round 4 victory over arch-rivals Carlton.
Dan Houston (suspension), Jordan De Goey (ankle/Achilles) and Lachie Schultz (hamstring) all go out in a triple-blow for Craig McRae’s side, with Lachie Sullivan, Ed Allan and Will Hoskin-Elliott recalled for the blockbuster.
Influential Collingwood ruckman Darcy Cameron will play his 100th game, and it will come against Sydney’s Brodie Grundy, who will again meet his old Pies teammates in battle.
The 29-year-old Cameron has been among his side’s most influential players thus far, playing a selfless last-man-standing role when his side is forced to defend turnover.
“He’s had a sensational year, and he deserves some recognition, because it goes under the radar how good of a ruckman he has been,” dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna told Fox Footy last week.
“The way Collingwood want to play, when they take off from half-back … there’s a reason why their half-backs can go with confidence; because they know their ruckman plays a bit old school — he stays a kick behind play to give them a little security blanket.
“So, if Collingwood do charge (forward) and do turn the ball over … they know they’ve got their big man to cover their bacon if they do get beat, and this has happened for about 18 months now.”
Cameron took five intercept marks against Carlton last Thursday night, and since the start of 2024 has taken almost 20 more intercept marks than the next-best ruckman, Max Gawn, illustrating the Pies’ utilisation of the tactic.
A win for Collingwood would take it to 4-1 for the first time since it won the premiership in 2023, while a loss for Sydney would see it fall to 2-3 for the first time since 2020.
However, they’ll have to buck a five-year trend as the Swans have won five of their last six meetings with the Magpies dating back to 2020. But in a plus for the Pies, they’ve won nine straight at Adelaide Oval.
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