Post Match. Pies win thriller. All comments.

[JC Hartley]

Collingwood have secured their spot in the 2023 AFL Grand Final, after outlasting GWS by 1 point. The opening quarter saw the Magpies get off to a fast start with the first two goals of the game, while managing to keep the Giants goalless and take a quarter time lead of 11 points at the first change. The second term was when the Giants hit back by converting their chances in front of goal, while the Pies failed to kick a goal during the quarter, which then resulted in the Giants turning an 11-point deficit into a lead of 10 points at half time. Momentum shifts continued after the main break in the third term, with the Woods having the wood over the Giants for most of the quarter by booting 5 goals to 2 and regain the lead at three quarter time by 4 points. The last quarter became an absolute tussle and scrap with hardly any goals being kicked. The Giants booted 2 goals to 1, but were not able to deny Collingwood's plucky, tenacious and fearless approach at ground level, which eventuated in Collingwood's favour when the game was there to be won and ultimately prevailed by 1 point to make the Grand Final next weekend on the last Saturday in September.

Collingwood won their statistical categories from indicators such as hit-outs by +17 ( 45 - 28 ), +18 for clearances (44 - 26), centre clearances had a margin of +3 ( 11 - 8 ), while stoppage clearances had a differential of +15 ( 33 - 18 ). Tackles were claimed by +8 ( 68 - 60 ), Tackles Inside 50 were won narrowly by +1 ( 8 - 7 ), while marks were claimed by +9 ( 98 - 89 ),uncontested marks by +14 (87 - 73), and +4 for Inside 50s ( 52 - 48 ). GWS won their categories from sources such as disposals by +21 (377 - 356), +21 for handballs (154 - 133), contested possessions had an advantage of +14 (154 - 140), uncontested possessions were won by +3 ( 211 - 208 ), intercept possessions were up by +5 ( 83 - 78 ), while turnovers had a deficit of -6 (83 - 77). Contested marks were won by +5 (16 - 11), +5 for intercept marks (83 - 78 ), and Marks Inside 50 had a differential of +3 ( 11 - 8 ). Both teams (223 apiece) recorded the same number of kicks.

Jordan De Goey (34 disposals @ 74%, 463 metres gained, 17 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 17 kicks, 17 handballs, 6 marks, 2 tackles, 6 score involvements, 13 clearances, 5 centre clearances, 8 stoppage clearances, 5 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) was sublime all night with his ability to break tackles and create territory from clearances making him the most influential player on the ground.

Scott Pendlebury (25 disposals @ 68%, 404 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 6 intercept possessions, 16 kicks, 9 handballs, 8 marks, 1 goal assist, 5 score involvements, 2 clearances, 6 Inside 50s & 3 Rebound 50s) created territory and ball movement with each of his possessions that gave his team every chance of keeping possession or scoring from the chains that he was involved in.

Steele Sidebottom (24 disposals @ 58%, 537 metres gained, 10 contested possessions, 14 uncontested possessions, 6 intercept possessions, 18 kicks, 6 handballs, 6 marks, 4 tackles, 3 score involvements, 7 clearances, 6 stoppage clearances, 3 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) started like a freight train with his ball-winning ability on the wing where he was amongst the action in the first term, before drifting in and out of the game thereafter. Sidebottom ensured he was a marking option for his teammates at all times, while producing territory with every kick.

Tom Mitchell (24 disposals @ 62%, 276 metres gained, 12 contested possessions, 12 uncontested possessions, 9 kicks, 15 handballs, 3 marks, 10 tackles, 4 clearances & 3 stoppage clearances) played to his strengths by winning the contested ball and feeding the footy by hand to teammates, while tackling with purpose to deny the Giants easy possessions on the outside of contests throughout the entire night.

Jack Crisp (19 disposals @ 63%, 541 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 10 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 15 kicks, 4 handballs, 5 marks, 5 tackles, 5 score involvements, 4 clearances, 4 stoppage clearances, 5 Inside 50s & 1 goal) was really aggressive and attacking with his ball movement and decision-making enabling his team's ability to score from his possessions, while impacting the scoreboard with an excellent goal from a forward 50 stoppage in the first term.

Josh Daicos (18 disposals @ 61%, 405 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 12 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 12 kicks, 6 handballs, 3 marks, 2 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50s & 3 Rebound 50s) started well with 12 disposals in the first half, before being shut down in the second half. His gather on the Shane Warne Stand wing to evade Josh Kelly and hit Will Hoskin-Elliott in the dying seconds ensured that Collingwood were able to milk the clock and ultimately win the game with that play.

Darcy Cameron (13 disposals @ 85%, 129 metres gained, 18 hit-outs, 8 contested possessions, 5 uncontested possessions, 6 intercept possessions, 9 kicks, 4 handballs, 8 marks, 2 tackles, 3 score involvements, 2 clearances & 2 Inside 50s) was immense with his marking around the ground across half-back to always ensure he was always there to compete in marking contests and take them when they were needed to be taken. Cameron also contributed in the ruck where he gave his midfield opportunities to win the ball first at centre bounces and stoppages.

Mason Cox (9 disposals @ 67%, 27 hit-outs, 4 contested possessions, 5 uncontested possessions, 6 kicks, 3 handballs, 4 marks, 2 contested marks, 3 tackles, 5 score involvements & 1 goal) was tremendous in the first quarter with most of his hit-outs going to advantage, and was able to base his game on the back of his ability to win his ruck contests. Cox came up with a critical mark and goal in the last quarter which proved to be enough when the final siren sounded.

Nick Daicos (28 disposals @ 68%, 520 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 19 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 15 kicks, 13 handballs, 4 marks, 4 tackles, 2 score involvements, 6 clearances, 5 stoppage clearances, 5 Inside 50s & 3 Rebound 50s) started the game on the bench before going forward in the first term where he would stay for most of the first half. Nick moved behind the ball after half time to generate ball movement from defence and was still able to attack the game with purpose. Daicos also managed to conjure entries for his forwards even though the investment did not match the numbers.

Isaac Quaynor (19 disposals @ 74%, 491 metres gained, 4 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 9 intercept possessions, 13 kicks, 6 handballs, 8 marks, 4 tackles, 3 Inside 50s & 5 Rebound 50s) is playing career-best footy presently, and he was able to do it by taking several marks that denied and thwarted each attempt that the Giants had up forward, while Quaynor was prepared to roll up and be equally attacking with several kicks going long to a contest at half-back, before Quaynor exited defence a few times to give his forwards opportunities to take marks or bring the ball to ground.

Brayden Maynard (18 disposals @ 100%, 405 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 13 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 12 kicks, 6 handballs, 5 marks, 5 tackles, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements, 3 Inside 50s & 4 Rebound 50s) made accurate and effective decisions with his ball use coming out of defence, while holding his marks when they were needed to be taken to deny the Giants any shots at goal they may've had.

Jeremy Howe (15 disposals @ 93%, 352 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 12 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 11 kicks, 4 handballs, 10 marks, 2 contested marks, 4 tackles, 2 score involvements & 6 Rebound 50s) was an irrepressible force behind the ball for the Magpies, with his ability to take intercept marks at will, before generating serious rebounds and territory with every kick going long to a contest.

Jamie Elliott (10 disposals @ 70%, 115 metres gained, 4 contested possessions, 6 uncontested possessions, 6 kicks, 4 handballs, 4 marks, 3 tackles, 1 goal assist, 6 score involvements & 1 goal) had a mixed bag in front of goal where he kicked one goal from three attempts, but he remained lively and busy in the second half, after recording just 2 disposals at half time.

Bobby Hill (9 disposals @ 67%, 130 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 6 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 8 kicks, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 2 score involvements & 1 goal) contributed to the result with a crucial goal and the third term, and maintained a high level of pressure.

(Beau McCreery (8 disposals @ 75%, 5 contested possessions, 3 uncontested possessions, 3 marks, 4 tackles, 3 score involvements & 1 goal) tackled hard, provided a marking option up forward, before snapping a goal from close range in then all-important third term.

(Brody Mihocek) 8 disposals @ 50%, 165 metres gained, 4 contested possessions, 4 uncontested possessions, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 3 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 1 goal) presented well at marking contests by either taking marks or bringing the ball to ground, while his pressure was at a good level and he managed to kick a vital goal in the shadows of three quarter time.

Daniel McStay (5 disposals @ 60%, 104 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 2 uncontested possessions, 4 kicks, 4 marks, 2 contested marks, 4 Marks Inside 50, 1 goal assist, 4 score involvements & 2 goals) had the greatest impact out of all of Collingwood's forwards with his presence up forward coming to the fore, where he took critical marks, and was mostly accurate before being subbed out of the game with a knee injury. His MCL strain has cruelly denied him a chance at becoming a premiership player against his former club next weekend.

Collingwood's next game will be against the Brisbane Lions on September 30 at the MCG. No better time to equal Carlton and Essendon's premiership tally than now, and to get one back on the Lions in the process. Collingwood's ball use will need to be smart when they're making advancements to their forwards. Look for short kicks before being forced to kick long to a contest, and make it a ground level game to diminish Brisbane's greatest strength, which is their aerial marking. Take away that threat, it will go a long way to securing Collingwood's 16th premiership cup in VFL/AFL history.

[Take_a_Screamer]

Just saw some of the replays...
How that for sportmanship from a young player:-
Nick Daicos comforting Toby Greene after the final siren.

I love to see this sort of human touch in any sport.

[Magpietothemax]

Just saw some of the replays...
How that for sportmanship from a young player:-
Nick Daicos comforting Toby Greene after the final siren.

I love to see this sort of human touch in any sport.

Yeah saw that...wonderful scene

[Pete 70]

There was another nice moment earlier in the game where Maynard tackles green and they both go over and Maynard offers green a hand to help him up. It was all class, and illustrated you can play hard and not be a complete jerk

[Magpietothemax]

Only now do I feel able to make a comment, having watched the video multiple times taken in the enormity of what just transpired. That was heroic in every sense of the word. To have kept the ball suffocated between the arcs for 5 minutes 40 seconds was just an expression of what this team represents: will to win, determination, focus, selflessness, brothers-in-arms... That effort, that incredible synergy of concentration and physical desperation, could only occur because there is so closely bonded,and they are driven by belief. It also happened because throughout the game, every effort was celebrated, every necessary communication to each other was made, every individual mistake was comforted.
The last quarter was a drama of herculean proportions. Both teams had a opportunities to win. That is the nature of such a contest...it does not mean one team was "lucky" or another made too many errors. It is like quantum mechanics: the randomness is what defines the law. And the law is that the Pies are highly trained in winning tight games, but more importantly, always believe they can.
JDG...what a game. He was Hercules and Houdini rolled into one: unstoppable almost by tackle. His evasiveness combined with strength reached a new dimension.
IQ...masterclass in defence. He has reached extraordinary levels of ability in the contest.
Two extraordinary individual performances which were the themselves also the product of an extraordinary team effort.
Now let's get ready for a Grand Final.

[David]

There was another nice moment earlier in the game where Maynard tackles green and they both go over and Maynard offers green a hand to help him up. It was all class, and illustrated you can play hard and not be a complete jerk

Absolutely. That for me is the epitome of good sportsmanship. It was nice to see them shake hands before the game too (in a manner that was more than merely perfunctory but signalled mutual respect).

[Magpietothemax]

The strange underrating of Nathan Murphy continues. I don't understand how a player can "hold up defensively all night" including "some big moments" when the game was on the line and yet only get a 6/10 rating. I have a feeling that some of these football journalists are spending too much time looking at Fantasy football ratings and are unwilling to give defenders their proper due.

I agree David. Nathan Murphy is playing an astonishing role in our defence. His spoils, desperate acts of courage and marks in our D50 seem to go under the radar of the talking heads. He is a gun.

[Piesnchess]

A bloody one eyed Tigers fan, tells me, insists, that the Giants were " not paid a heap of free kicks in the last qtr, that they should have got, and we were very lucky ". Ive watched it, and I am damned if I can see a "heap" of free kicks they should have gotten. ?? Thoughts people ????

[Take_a_Screamer]

From memory, Giants got a 50m penalty from which they had an easy goal. This levelled the score. I'll have a look at the last quarter replay for other frees.

[Pete 70]

A bloody one eyed Tigers fan, tells me, insists, that the Giants were " not paid a heap of free kicks in the last qtr, that they should have got, and we were very lucky ". Ive watched it, and I am damned if I can see a "heap" of free kicks they should have gotten. ?? Thoughts people ????

F..k me. Seriously. 1979 (the boundary line), 2002 (Rocco’s goal and then the non free to Tarrant on the goal line immediately after Fraser’s goal as agreed by former lions coach R Walls), 2018 (that muppet pushing Maynard so Sheed could mark un-opposed), 2022 (the only Sydney goal in the last from the instructional video push in the back) all say hi. What a joke. Toby ducks as Daicos comes in to tackle. The commentary around this is absurd. Whatever. I was slightly worried that all of this would adversely impact the umpires for the GF. Then I came back to planet Earth and realised that boat sailed long ago. On to No.16

[mudlark]

Hello fellow Victorians, I’m up in Sydney, just got back to my Hotel, youse must've been shitting your dacks, unlike my beloved Panthers cruising to such a beautiful victory, stress & bruise free footy.

Any reports or injuries please, haven’t watched the game yet, but did hear snippets, have a good week all.

who gives a sht about the panthers fk off Madonna you look like a boiled egg

Where’s the LOVE button when you need it. Bad call though WOY!! I love boiled eggs.

[piedys]

Cameron masterfully tapped the ball to feet in the last 90 secs to ensure the ball was treated like a hot chip feasted upon by a flock of seagulls...

Finally something Grundy taught him hit paydirt.

Much better than Cox's soda tap to Toby for a gimme goal...

[K]

...
What was with the umpire sending Cox off the ground when he had his gernsey ripped??

I noticed it at the ground but wasn’t sure but confirmed after watching replay at home umpire Cleary says you must go off the ground to have gernsey replaced!

I didn’t think the umpires had the right to send the player off the ground in that situation as it affects rotation numbers not to mention momentum if the player is having an impact. Could become a tactic in a close gf to get a player off the ground.

I'm guessing the AFL didn't like the look when Dev Robertson was running around topless forever.

"Could be a tactic...": Yeah, then the AFL would have to make it like deliberately smearing blood on the oppo --- reportable offence.

Long term forecast now predicting 29 degrees. It's gonna be a gruelling affair

Last GF I remember that warm was '86. Think it hit around 30

Might have been 1987 you're thinking of.

2015 GF (Hawks vs Eagles) was very warm as well.

And Michael Tuck still wore long sleeves.

[K]

Oh ffs we beat both Melbourne and GWS. We won. We didn’t “dodge a bullet.” That implies we shouldn’t be here, we’re pretenders (most popular commend in the game day threads).
Have some $$%^%%$ confidence and pride in our abilities to win games instead of “oooh we’re not that good, we’re really lucky to be here blah blah.” We WON our way to a GF and we’ll win that one too. Go Pies!

AMEN Mr M.

We are in this up to our eyeballs, some of you need to grow a pair.

Blokes, to imply "dodge a bullet/s" doesn't necessarily mean we didn't deserve to win, nor were inferior by any stretch; that's simply your defensive paranoia manifesting.

I don't recall ANY posters stating, in any thread: “oooh we’re not that good, we’re really lucky to be here blah blah...” etc in even terms remotely resembling those?

Both finals were obviously hard fought and very well contested, and the losers were absolutely unlucky, not necessarily the better team.

I'd argue that most teams that win their way through to the GF and/or win in any given year, DO in fact get lucky and indeed “dodge a bullet” of some sort during their respective finals campaigns.
Point in case, Geelong last year, after no Collingwood player paid Selwood ANY RESPECT WHATSOEVER in the centre clearances late in the final term in 2022QF, and he took the game away from us off his own boot.
And not to mention pox pink ducks Sydney, who can't win a final without umpire interference.

Richmond's umpired win in 2020PF vs. Port?
Footscray 2016 campaign anyone?
Hawthorn 2013/2014/2015 and Stevic?
Many sliding door moments during those years.

For mine, we played better football in the 2022 finals series, compared to this year; but here we are, one win away from #16.

We are in this up to our eyeballs indeed; but extra pairs aren't required

Yup. Dyso beat me to the punch/post. (And it's not just about umpiring decisions.) Many premiers are lucky to survive the PF or GF, even the ones folks claim are "great".

e.g. Geebung 2007 PF. Geebung 2009 GF. Dodged bullets!!
Hawthorn GF against Freo. Freo kicked themselves out of it. Hawthorn dodged a bullet!!

Happens a lot.

And I'd say this too: You can be "lucky" without your oppo being "unlucky". If your oppo kicks themselves out of it, dunno they can claim to be unlucky. (Though goal kicking in any one game is partly luck.) But for sure you're lucky. 'Cos you didn't do anything to make them kick themselves out of it!

I'm really hoping Brissy have a stinker in front of goals. They've been shaky with goal kicking in the past. I'm hoping this is like Freo vs. Haw. If Brissy kick somein like 4.15 that'd help us a lot.

[What'sinaname]

A bloody one eyed Tigers fan, tells me, insists, that the Giants were " not paid a heap of free kicks in the last qtr, that they should have got, and we were very lucky ". Ive watched it, and I am damned if I can see a "heap" of free kicks they should have gotten. ?? Thoughts people ????

I would have responded with

"It's your first final hey?"

Whistle goes missing in the final quarter of finals every year.