'Backs against the wall' but Pies relish Eagles final challenge
Collingwood are making no complaints about the difficult finals hand they've been dealt, with All-Australian midfielder Taylor Adams saying his team is relishing the backs-to-the-wall challenge of West Coast in Perth.
The Pies will fly out on Friday, six hours from Queensland to Perth, where they will be faced with seven days of quarantine while the Eagles are allowed to stay in their own homes.
"We can choose to look at it two ways. There’s some negatives, we’d much rather be playing up here where we are settled in," Adams, who received his first All-Australian selection along with Darcy Moore, said on Friday.
"We’re used to having things thrown at us this year that may seem difficult, some of the positives we will take away is we get eight days to get acclimatised.
"We’re looking forward to it. I feel like the boys really relish the opportunity of being backs against the wall, us against them.
"We know we are a real shot at coming back with a win and our mindset is that our season doesn’t end next week."
Adams says consistency and injury luck have helped him achieve All Australian selection. Credit:Getty Images
Adams said the Pies had learnt from their heavy loss to the Eagles at Optus Stadium in round eight, when Scott Pendlebury withdrew from injury moments before the bounce.
"That was probably them at the peak of their powers," Adams said.
"We got smacked around the ball and we couldn’t get any flow in our game. It was a great learning opportunity for us.
"It was the only outlier this year where we lacked real effort and intent across four quarters.
"We’re aware of the danger of what a quality side like West Coast can produce."
Speaking of his first All-Australian selection, Adams said a combination of consistency and luck with injuries had helped him achieve the reward.
He has battled hamstring, adductor and finger injuries in the last couple of seasons but not in 2020.
"It’s been my most consistent season. To play every game, especially during that condensed period, was something I probably thought was unlikely," Adams said.
"I had that 10-week period during the shutdown … where I went away and focused a lot on my game. Being really clean and efficient with the ball in hand.
"When we got back to training that three-week period was about trying to get as many contests as I could and get a feel for games again.
"I am happy to cop honest feedback and get to work on things that may not be strengths."
Anthony is a sports reporter at The Age.