The Northern Blues have suffered their second successive defeat, going down by 13 points against Collingwood on Saturday evening at the Holden Centre.
A spirited third-term fightback was not enough for the Blues as they were left to lament a first-quarter lapse, with the Pies triumphing 15. 9. (99) to 13. 8. (86).
Northern struggled to gain any forward momentum early on in the piece, as an incredibly effective Collingwood moved the ball efficiently forward of centre.
Inside the first 20 minutes, the Magpies piled on seven goals to nil to leave the Blues trailing by 40 points at the quarter-time break.
The Blues finally got their running game going in the second term and got their first goal of the contest, after a brilliant check-side set-shot from returning speedster Blaine Boekhorst.
A renewed sense of vigour saw the Blues kick three early goals in the second quarter, and fight gamely to get back into the contest.
However, the Pies continued to hit the scoreboard (13 scoring shots to seven at half-time) as they extended their margin to 46 points heading into the main break.
The half-time siren seemed to work wonders for the Blues as it all clicked into gear, with Northern piling on six goals to one against the competition’s most resilient defensive unit.
The Blues’ hard work at the coalface began to pay dividends as two goals to Liam Jones and a host of individual goalkickers drew Northern to within 13 points in a rush.
Nick Graham (11 disposals) and Hisham Kerbatieh (10 disposals, one goal) were catalysts in the third-quarter revival, as Northern’s midfielders began to reap the benefits of Cameron Wood’s strong ruck work in the middle.
Northern carried all the momentum into the last quarter, slowly chipping away at the Pies before a Wood goal got the Blues within just seven points with three minutes remaining.
However the Blues were never able to hit the front, with the Pies stemming the flow late in the piece before a late sealer to record a 13-point victory.
Graham led the Blues midfield with aplomb as he collected a game-high 36 disposals and 10 inside-50s, while Mark Whiley continued his impressive run of VFL form with a solid 26 disposals and eight tackles.
Nick Graham starred for the Northern Blues against Collingwood. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)
In his return from a fractured wrist, Boekhorst was also one of the Blues’ key contributors, collecting 16 disposals and kicking two goals in a strong display rotating between the wing and half-forward.
“To the boys’ testament we came hard and fought back into the contest: it showed that when there’s 23 players on board, we can compete well and really bring it to the opposition,” Boekhorst said.
“Everyone’s compliance to work together and stick to the system got us back into the game. Our ball movement was better and we started to hit the scoreboard.
“We definitely felt like in the second quarter we started to get some momentum back, but we didn’t hit the scoreboard which hurt us.”
The Northern Blues will be looking to atone for the last fortnight when they host Geelong at Ikon Park next Saturday from 2pm.
COLLINGWOOD 7.1 11.2 12.6 15. 9. (99)
NORTHERN BLUES 0.3 3.4 9.8 13. 8. (86)
GOALS
Northern Blues: L. Jones 2, Jaksch 2, Boekhorst 2, Kerbatieh 2, T. Jones, Barrett, Buckley, Wood, Wilson
