Not many teams get the better of Brisbane at the Gabba, but Collingwood has had some strong results there in recent years.<\/p>\n
The injury list continues to grow for Brisbane, with Darcy Gardiner and Noah Answerth joining Payne, Andrews and McCluggage on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
Collingwood will be happy with their performance against the Giants last round, and they\u2019ve played well at the Gabba in recent seasons, beating the Lions there in their last two meetings.<\/p>\n
Can they cause another upset and put extra pressure on Brisbane\u2019s three-peat hopes?<\/p>\n
The Gabba has been a surprisingly good venue for Collingwood recently, with the Magpies winning their last two games there against Brisbane despite starting as underdogs in both.<\/p>\n
In their last 11 night games at the Gabba against Brisbane, Collingwood has covered the line nine times and won seven of those games.<\/p>\n
With Andrews and McCluggage still out, and Gardiner and Answerth now also missing, Brisbane\u2019s backline is under serious pressure. Although they eventually ran away with the game against St Kilda last week, it took them most of the night to get control. Expect Collingwood to keep this close.<\/p>\n
Fletcher fell short last week with 17 disposals, but I\u2019m happy to give him another chance.<\/p>\n
He has recorded 20+ disposals in 11 of his last 14 games, and Collingwood have allowed opposition defenders to find plenty of the ball this season.<\/p>\n
Whitfield and Ash combined for 67 disposals off half-back last week, while Wayne Milera had 34 in Adelaide\u2019s Round 1 win over the Magpies.<\/p>\n
Nick Daicos comes into this game after kicking two goals in each of his last two matches.<\/p>\n
Across his last 17 games, he has kicked at least one goal in 12 of them, and he has kicked a goal in three of his last four games against Brisbane.<\/p>\n
Brisbane will look to get the ball into Zorko\u2019s hands across half-back to drive their ball movement.<\/p>\n
Zorko is averaging 29.7 disposals per game to start the season and has recorded 25+ disposals in all three games so far, including two games with 30+.<\/p>\n
Similar to Fletcher, Brisbane\u2019s defenders and ball users should be the primary ball winners in this matchup.<\/p>\n