The AFL Season restarts on Thursday Night, and it will be the Collingwood Magpies taking on the Richmond Tigers at an empty Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The MCG has a capacity of just over 100,000, and it proves to be unprecedented times as neither side will have the help of their passionate supporters.
Footy is back though, and thousands of Aussie Rules Football fans will be glued to their seats for the first football encounter in almost three months.
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Collingwood vs Richmond
Last Meeting
Collingwood 9.12 66 – Richmond 14.14 98
Last 5 Meetings
Collingwood – 2 Wins
Richmond – 3 Wins
Key Injury Concerns
Collingwood – Adam Treloar, Dayne Beams, Levi Greenwood, Tom Langdon, Ben Reid
Richmond – Josh Caddy
Current Head to Head Odds
Collingwood – $2.40
Richmond – $1.60
In their last encounter in July last year, Richmond was too good on the back of a 38 Possessions and 2 Goal Performance form Dustin Martin. The Tigers won the match by 32 Points, and Tom Lynch was a significant contributing factor with 5 Goals. Dion Prestia was also damaging with 35 Possessions, and Bachar Houli was solid down back for most of the match.
The Tigers won their first game in Round 1 by 24 Points over Carlton, and the Magpies were way too good for a fancied Bulldogs side and won by 52 points.
The significance of such a long break from Aussie Rules Football will have an impact, and the side that has put in the training effort will more than likely win the match.
Collingwood has some injury concerns coming into this game and would no doubt welcome a fit Adam Treloar into their midfield as well as the tagger Levi Greenwood to add midfield depth.
Richmond, on the other hand, has no significant injury concerns coming into this match and are well covered in every position on a football field.
The Collingwood defenders have their hands full trying to contain the Big Richmond Forwards, Tom Lynch and Jack Riewoldt, and their crumbing small forwards know how to kick goals.
A wildcard for the game could be Marlion Pickett from the Tigers who has only ever played in one AFL Game which was the 2019 AFL Grand Final and won a Premiership. Pickett is an exciting player and proved that on the big stage last year.
The Tigers also welcome back speedy forward Jack Higgins who played a big part in their 2017 Premiership Win.
Prediction
The Tigers are the best all-around AFL Team and don’t rely on star players. The Pies have a slight edge in the ruck with Brodie Grundy and were impressive in Round 1, but expect the Tigers to win this game in a close contest.
Take a look at the video below to see the highlights of their last match at the MCG in Round 19 last Season.
Be sure to take a look at our Australian Football League Season 2020 Preview.