Luke Beveridge knew that if Collingwood vice-captain Steele Sidebottom got off the leash, as he did in the first-half, his Plan-B was a pretty good one.
He wears number 42 and his name is Liam Picken.
Sidebottom had racked up 17 touches by half time with Caleb Daniel and Lachie Hunter sharing the match-up, and was well on the way to blowing by his season average of 25.3.
Enter Picken.
“He was terrific, he ended up playing almost the whole second half, Liam, and shut Steele out of the game,“ Beveridge told media post mach.
“[He] had to go forward for a period of time, so that was a significant win.”
From a potential match-winner to just the three disposals in the second half, Picken’s job in curtailing Sidebottom’s influence may have gotten lost under the bright lights of Friday night footy, but Beveridge said he was a key part of the Dogs’ thrilling three-point win.
“It was an enormous effort from Liam.”
Mr Fix-it
After being shifted at half time, Liam Picken shut down one of Collingwood's prime movers.