This was a different game to last night, but there was plenty of entertainment and fantasy interest. Richmond jumped out of the blocks, but Collingwood lifted before the scoreboard got away from them. The game’s intensity levels were up and down, and it did feel like a practice game for the most part, but the final 10 minutes were thrilling as the Tigers just held on. Plenty of talking points, so let’s get to it.

Jordan De Goey: A man that has been dubbed a potential Dusty 2.0 may finally be able to honour that comparison this season. De Goey was huge tonight, playing up the field and impacting the play all over the ground. His numbers matched his impact with 27 touches, 11 marks, 5 clearances and 2 goals. He sent a scare through the Collingwood camp late coming off the ground looking proppy but thankfully returned unharmed. He’s ready and will be a worthy selection this year.

Brodie Grundy: The big fella didn’t look all that interested for most of the night and had his hands full with Nankervis early. He was more involved late once Nank had hit the showers and will surely show more urgency once the real stuff starts. The main concern here was how functional Collingwood looked with Grundy, Cameron and Cox all in the same line up. Grundy is still the main man in the middle when the game is on the line but honestly, it’s hard to see him recreating his 2018-19 scoring if the three talls all play.

Jack Crisp and Brayden Maynard: I’ve lumped these two together because they both look like playing the same fantasy friendly roles as last year and are both viable options once again down back. They had 29 and 24 touches respectively and were both frequently involved in link up plays exiting the defensive 50. Maynard did finish the game with ice on his lower leg after a nasty knock but should be fine.

Jeremy Howe: It was great to see the high flyer return from the serious knee injury he suffered last year and get through unscathed. He played the familiar role off half back and looked pretty good for his 20 touches in only 67% game time. He only took 3 marks but showed great spirit in one play that stood out. Running out from full back, Howe kicked the ground instead of the ball and turned it over. He chased the ball down and laid a big tackle winning a free and showing the old legs are good to go for another season. Could be a shrewd pick.

Isaac Quaynor: Just when you think Collingwood have enough run and dash off half back, this guy puts in a performance like this. Quaynor was clean, composed and put himself in all the right places helping to repel many Richmond attacks. He finished with 23 touches and, entering his third season, is primed for a breakout season.

Brayden Sier: On our watchlist since Treloar’s departure, Sier really grew into the game tonight and showed plenty to suggest he could play good consistent footy in Collingwood’s midfield. He contributed across all four quarters and finished with 22 touches and 4 tackles. The role is his for the taking and if he can take it with both hands, is very tastily priced.

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Just quickly…

Scott Pendlebury: It’s just year in, year out with this guy so it was no surprise that he was huge again tonight. 24 touches and a game high 9 tackles for the fantasy legend and yet another 100 plus average across the formats is on the cards.

John Noble: Yet another decent defender option for the Pies and a good game from him tonight too with 20 touches, 5 marks and 4 tackles. Unfortunately, I think there’s too many ahead of him but a great choice in Drafts.

Darcy Cameron and Mason Cox: We’re not going to pick these guys, but their output is important because of the impact on Grundy as noted earlier. They were huge in the second half, both finishing with 3 goals apiece, and were crucial in Collingwood nearly pinching the win.

Steele Sidebottom: Yikes, last year’s number 1 forward went off early with what we are being told is calf awareness. How could you not already be aware of your calves? Anyway, fingers crossed it was just precautionary, especially for those that nabbed him early in Drafts.

Josh Daicos: There’s been a bit of hype around this son of a gun this pre-season but tonight he didn’t justify it. Matched up on Dusty early gave him an opportunity to learn from the best and although I wouldn’t put a line through him, I’ve cooled on him.

Oliver Henry and Trey Ruscoe: Both showed signs at times but if I had to pick one for round 1, it’d be Henry. He only had 6 touches, but his 5 marks showed he has good awareness for a kid, and with the injuries mounting, is a good chance to debut against the Bulldogs. Ruscoe was ok in patches but was a bit too fumbly and I’d be surprised if he keeps his spot.

Jayden Short: Goodness me, where did that come from?? If that doesn’t shout top 6 defenders this year, then I don’t know what does. I don’t want to overreact to a preseason game but Short looked like short circuiting the stats machine towards the end there. 43 touches, 35 of which were kicks, and 12 marks are crazy numbers. His AF/RDT score of 171 was the second highest in a pre-season match in the last 10 years. Once we’ve calmed down, though, we need to work out if this was just a bit of March madness or is Short about to step into the elite fantasy category?

The short answer is both. He has been building his fantasy game steadily over the last couple of years in Houli’s shadow, but I don’t see him being afforded the same amount of space as tonight in a regular season game. Don’t be too swayed by tonight but if you like him, put him in and he won’t disappoint.

Josh Caddy: Now this one I AM putting down to March madness. Caddy was taking uncontested marks all over the place and, if it wasn’t for Short, would’ve been the fantasy story of the night for the Tigers.

He had 27 touches from his 11 marks and kicked a goal for good measure. Bump him up in your Draft ratings if you were impressed tonight but don’t expect him to become relevant in salary cap comps.

Dustin Martin: Did as he pleased for most of the night and as usual, his ball use and strength was first class. He had 23 touches from three quarters in what was a ho-hum performance. He’s not as prolific a scorer as he used to be but still an assured pick in our forward lines.

Callum Coleman-Jones: It was great to get another look at this guy tonight as we haven’t seen him since his one and only game in the seniors in 2019. I thought he really took his opportunity collecting 12 touches and kicking what ended up being the winning goal.

Standing at 200cms, Coleman-Jones would be a great foil for Nankervis in the absence of Ivan Soldo and could be a handy DPP ruck/forward cash cow for us once his AFL imposed suspension ends.

Just quickly…

Shai Bolton: Was quiet with just the 16 touches but did show flashes of what he can do. A dynamic player when he’s up and going and still worth considering in the forward line, particularly in Draft.

Toby Nankervis: A popular R2 option this year and he showed enough in just 35% game time with 8 touches and 8 hitouts. He did a great job of negating Grundy’s influence and looks set for a solid year.

Riley Collier-Dawkins and Will Martyn: Both got a bit of the ball when they came on but it was hard to get a read on them with such little game time (39% and 21% time on ground). The fact that they got a run with the reigning premiers means they should be close to senior action this year, particularly Collier-Dawkins who has been knocking on the door for some time now.