Match Details
Melbourne v Collingwood
MCG
Monday 11 June, 3.20pm

Summary

FOR the first time since 2006, Melbourne and Collingwood will duke it out on Queen’s Birthday with both sides sitting in the top eight.

Melbourne is enjoying their best start to the season since 2005 and will enter the game in mercurial form. The Demons lead the league in scoring after 11 rounds and their last six wins have been by an average of 65.5 points.

For many fans, a win will also go a long way to casting away memories of the round 23 upset loss to Collingwood in 2017, which effectively ended Melbourne’s finals hope.

Collingwood however are in-form and will not roll over easily on Queen’s Birthday. The Magpies have won their last three and their ability to generate an even spread of goal kickers makes them dangerous.  

Ahead of the highly anticipated match, be sure to tune in or head in early for the Zurich Walk to the ‘G and the Big Freeze 4 which will see all 18 AFL coaches slide down into the icy water to Fight MND!

Team News

Melbourne
Jake Lever (knee) and Tim Smith (omitted) are Melbourne’s outs with six players in the mix to replace them. Billy Stretch, Cam Pedersen, Jayden Hunt, Harry Petty, Jeff Garlett and Joel Smith are all in the frame to return to the side. See the full squad here.

Collingwood
The Pies have no outs with four coming in. Former Melbourne high-flyer Jeremy Howe is a chance to play after missing round 11 with a knee injury.

Melbourne and Collingwood will name their final 22 on Saturday.

The key match-ups 

Max Gawn v Brodie Grundy
With both ruckman in All-Australian form, the battle between Gawn and Grundy at stoppages will be massive.  

Grundy’s work around the ground makes him dangerous and his ability to get the ball essentially adds an extra midfielder to Collingwood’s line-up.

On pure numbers in the ruck, Gawn has the edge. He currently averages 10 more hit-outs a game than Grundy and his domination has been the main factor in Melbourne leading the AFL in clearances (430) and centre clearances (161).

Jesse Hogan v Will Hoskin-Elliott
They may be planted at opposite ends of the ground, but this shoot-out looms as an intriguing subplot for Monday’s game.

Hogan and Hoskin-Elliott are the only players in the league to have scored in every game this year. Both are also coming off bags in round 11 with Hogan kicking five against the Bulldogs while Hoskin-Elliott scored six against Fremantle. Will their streaks continue this Monday?

2018 so far

Ladder position (as of June 8)
Melbourne: 3rd (W8, L3)
Collingwood: 7th (W7, L4)

Last five matches
Melbourne: WWWWW
Collingwood: WLWWW

Scoring record
Melbourne: FOR - 175.122 (1186). AGAINST – 122.114 (846)
Collingwood: FOR - 150.117 (1017). AGAINST – 130.99 (879)

In the media

Melbourne co-captain Nathan Jones
“When you look at the form of both teams, it creates more excitement around the game. Then you add that next layer, which has been there over the last three or four years with the ‘Big Freeze’, and particularly with the coaches heading down the slide this year, this one’s going to be a special one.”

Collingwood senior coach Nathan Buckley
On Grundy v Gawn (via AFL Media): “Brodie’s recent form has been first class and obviously Max is having a standout year. That’s where the game starts, that’s where it goes back to after every goal and I think both of them in their way have really started their team’s prospects.” 

Did you know…

  • If Melbourne win, it will be the first time the club has won seven in a row since the end of the 2000 season. That streak continued from Round 21 to the Preliminary Final and was ended by Essendon in the Grand Final.
  • At the halfway point of 2018, Max Gawn already has 534 hit-outs. If Gawn keeps his average of 48.5 hit-outs per game up in the back half of the season, he'll break the VFL/AFL season record of 1,058 set by North Melbourne's Todd Goldstein in 2015. 

Melbourne Milestones

Christian Petracca: 50th game
Jordan Lewis: 7,000th career disposal (currently on 6,999)

Head-to-head history

Total
Played: 214 games
Melbourne: 83 wins
Collingwood: 147 wins
5 draws

At the MCG
Played: 141 games
Melbourne: 58 wins
Collingwood: 80 wins
3 draws

Last decade
Played: 15 games
Melbourne: 4 wins
Collingwood: 11 wins
1 draw

Last time we met
R23 2017: Collingwood 14.15 (99) def. Melbourne 12.11 (83)

Match Day Hub

Whether you’re watching at home or heading to the game, all you need to know for game day can be found here.