Josh Daicos and Jeremy Howe celebrate a goal in round three against Geelong. [Photo: AFL Media]

The system works

The system Craig McRae has put in place is achieving its intended outcome - more of the ball inside 50 is creating more scoring opportunities.

Collingwood finished 18th for inside 50s last season and McRae built his system around getting the ball inside 50 more often.

The Pies are currently fifth for inside 50s after three rounds and have scored +100 points in two games, falling just short of 100 points on Saturday. 

Pies winning the contested ball

Collingwood finished with +23 contested possessions and recorded a massive +37 contested possessions in the third term.

Unsurprisingly, our strongest efforts in the contest directly correlated with our nine-goal quarter.

More hard ball gets, loose ball gets and contested marks puts any team in a better position to win and Collingwood is currently in second place for total contested possessions this season (444), behind only undefeated reigning premiers Melbourne (448).

Taylor Adams (13 contested possessions), Jordan DeGoey (13) and Jamie Elliott (14) were among our best when the ball was in dispute on Saturday.

Collingwood footy at its best is pure entertainment

Our unrelenting, attacking style is a joy to watch and it's clear the players are having a ball too.

Always pushing forward with players opting to run and carry at every opportunity, every game so far has been fun for Collingwood supporters (Saturday's result notwithstanding).

Reef McInnes and Brody Mihocek celebrate a goal in round three. [Photo: Collingwood FC]

McInnes a strong addition

Reef McInnes' AFL debut was hotly-anticipated after a 2021 cruelled by injury and the 19-year-old gathered 14 disposals, took five marks and assisted a Brody Mihocek goal in his first game at the top level.

At 194cm he's a big presence in the midfield and he made sure his presence was felt, finishing with two tackles, six score involvements and five inside 50s.

Elliott a standout

While a number of players were gallant in defeat, Jamie Elliott was among our best.

His stats tell most of the story: 26 disposals, 14 contested possessions, two goals, six score involvements, five tackles and three intercepts.