Ball on centre-wing, Jeremy Howe and Jacob Hopper charge at the pigskin.
Crunch. The latter, Collingwood’s MVP of the first four games, goes down clutching his knee.
The AFL community holds its breath as he is helped off the ground.
The worst-case scenario rings through everyone’s minds – is it season-ending?
Moments later, the Giants hold on in almost mirroring circumstances to last year’s Preliminary Final but the result seems secondary.
Collingwood fans, despite losing yet again to their new rival had lost their general, their high-flyer and arguably one of their most important charges. In the eyes of the AFL community, it’s the loss of one of the game's brightest and most entertaining players.
It’s almost a guarantee that Howe would do something special.
Reminds me a lot of The Simpsons episode where Homer is watching the gangland fight between The Poison Fists of the Pacific Rim and the Springfield Mafia.
After one of the members of the former had yet to get involved in the melee, Homer turns to Marge and says “look at him, he’s going to do something and you know it’s going to be good.”
That’s what it’s like watching Jeremy Howe.
You know when you see him in the vicinity of a high-ball, there’s a good chance he will do the spectacular.
However, there has been chatter that the impending injury – season-ending or not – will derail the Magpies' chance at a 16th premiership.
When you look at his stats, it’s hard to see who could replace not only an aerial expert but a superb kick. He averages 22 disposals (83% efficiency), 17 kicks and seven marks per game – all above average to elite numbers for defenders.
He’s arguably the best in the competition at playing the sweeper role and providing the loose at a contest.
There is reason to believe the Magpies defence may not bounce back.
But before jumping the gun, we must only look back to last season.
Round 1 last year, Alex Rance does his ACL – same discussion and it was totally within reason to write the Tigers off. But the side adapted and were still able to come away with a Premiership without arguably the best defender of the past five years.
A year prior, West Coast lost both Andrew Gaff and Nic Naitanui to suspension and injury respectively – they still won a flag. In 2016, the Bulldogs did it without their spiritual leader Bob Murphy. Good footballing sides adapt and overcome obstacles which throw the natural discourse out of whack.
We must also remember; the Magpies are not strangers to the injury curse.
Two years ago, when they had a memorable run to the Grand Final, they faced a similar injury crisis late in the season. Lynden Dunn and Matt Scharenberg had torn their ACLs, Darcy Moore’s hamstrings were playing up and Ben Reid missed with a raft of injuries. Tyson Goldsack was rushed back from an ACL injury of his own and created a plug and place defence alongside Howe and Tom Langdon.
Remarkably, without so many of their stars, this team still managed to come within a kick of knocking off the Eagles in a Grand Final – a side who arguably had the best key forward combo in the competition at that time.
Nathan Buckley knows how to deal with a defensive crisis.
For the first time in years, the Pies have a relatively clean bill of health – especially down back.
With adversity, comes opportunity and to fill a Jeremy Howe sized hole is almost impossible for any team but Collingwood have the luxury of ready-made players waiting in the wings.
Scharenberg has showed he can play a similar role with his big size, superb intercept work and elite kicking. Jack Madgen and Mark Keane have both shown in pre-season games and limited senior games (for the former) that they are capable of playing as a third tall. Nathan Murphy looms as another interesting prospect while Langdon continues to make strides on a miraculous return from a career threatening injury.
When you look back at those aforementioned sides, Richmond found a way to adapt without their defensive dynamo. Scott Lycett admirably filled the Nic-Nat sized gap in the Eagles' lineup and Dom Sheed returned to the side a week after Gaff’s suspension – we all know what happened next.
Overall, the Collingwood side of 2020 are no slouches.
From their defensive unit, to their midfield core and their attacking six are more than capable of still having their hand raised when it’s all set and done in October – with or without Howe.
Being reliant on a single player to carry the hopes and dreams of an entire club is just unrealistic.
The best sporting teams know that and the footballing world knows that.
The Magpies know it better than anybody else that when an injury crisis looms – the only way to continue making strides is not looking back.
It’s not sitting in a dark corner of a room, staring at a wall and waiting for the impending return of their defensive messiah.
It’s not about throwing wild predictions that a team’s entire hopes and dreams hang in the balance because a player is missing.
No, it’s about looking forward.
There are still 13 games of football. The ball still gets bounced in the centre, the goal-posts don’t shift and next Friday night, a team will still enter the MCG.
It’s about 'who’s next?', 'who’s the next man up?'.
When a soldier falls, another rises, another gets their chance to cement their spot.
The journey continues and the goal is still the same.
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