Mark Robinson: Collingwood’s grand final win typical of Craig McRae’s fighting, smiling team

It truly was a grand final for the ages and maybe the best this century. Mark Robinson gives his take on Collingwood’s famous premiership win.

Collingwood’s Darcy Moore and Craig McRae hold aloft the premiership cup. Picture: Lachie Millard

They don’t know how to win it any other way, these Magpies.

Another heart-stopper. Another win on the back of ticker and pressure. And another famous victory.

It truly was a grand final for the ages, and maybe the best this century.

This was also Collingwood’s 16th premiership and it joins Essendon and Carlton at the top of the premiership mountain.

The final margin was four points.

They won their qualifying final against Melbourne by seven points and the preliminary final against Greater Western Sydney by a point.

That’s a collective 12 points for three finals wins.

Lucky it’s about how, and not how much.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise as 21 of coach Craig McRae’s 51 games in charge of the black and white have been decided by less than 10 points. The Magpies have won 17 of them.

The grand final win was trademark Collingwood – high pressure, heavy tackling and rebound footy.

McRae says his team wants to always have fun, but they don’t play with smiles on their faces. They are blue-collar without the ball and daredevil with it, and fight like fury when it’s in dispute.

Maybe that’s the fun bit.

The Magpies sing the song in the rooms. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Their pressure rating in the final quarter was 205 to Brisbane’s 166. The Lions didn’t capitulate, but they couldn’t get any fluency.

They were lucky to be so close, anyhow. They also had momentum in parts but couldn’t get the score on the board. The Lions kicked 2.3 in the final quarter, with misses to Joe Daniher and Kiddy Coleman half-killing their prospects.

Still, the Pies kicked 9.9 in the first half, when they led by a goal, but kicked a miserable 3.9 in the second half.

If they lost the match, they would’ve been accused of choking

Just four points shapes the narrative of season ’23.

That and the culmination of an astonishing resurrection by the Collingwood Football Club over the past two seasons under McRae and the organisation’s new management.

Key moments pockmarked the match, led by Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill.

Hill was devastating. He kicked 4.2, had 18 disposals and laid five tackles. Like Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, who would scurry among the fantasy forest, Hill danced and darted and made the Lions, at times, look bamboozled.

His four goals came in the first half, three from set shots and one from general play. His selflessness can’t be ignored. In the third quarter, he passed a goal off to Scott Pendlebury and had another two score involvements in the final quarter.

Two years ago, he wanted to be a Bomber and the Giants said no. Twelve months ago, he wanted to be Magpie and the Giants said yes. And now he’s on the most cherished of honour boards.

Teammates congratulate Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Three critical goals came from Steele Sidebottom, Jack Crisp and Jordan De Goey.

De Goey kicked a 50m goal after the quarter-time siren and Crisp did exactly the same at halftime. They were goals pivotal to the result. If either missed, it was a win for the Lions.

In play, Sidebottom’s goal at the 22nd minute of the final quarter gave Collingwood a 10-point margin.

He just might be the best defensive wingman in the game, and that was on display last weekend when he marked a Toby Greene late snap on the goal line, and he was brilliant again on grand final day supporting his defensive teammates.

But his goal from 52m was clutch and, to be honest, a surprise. Can’t remember when this 32-year-old with 309 games in his ancient legs has kicked such a prodigious distance, not on tired legs and at the end of a bruiser.

Crisp had a mighty game, while veteran Scott Pendlebury had 24 disposals including 11 in the final quarter.

Perhaps Tom Mitchell best personified the Pies. He had 24 and 13 tackles. That’s trench footy.

Saint Nick had 29. That’s not a surprise. He has 29 walking his dog.

He kicked the first goal of the game, just as his father did in the 1990 premiership win over Essendon. It opened the gates for the Pies.

He stood up again. He had mainly McCluggage as an opponent, which was one of the major 1v1 contests of the game. We’ll give it to Nick.

Jordan De Goey walks off the MCG with Craig McRae. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

The first half was as good a first half of football we’ve seen in a grand final,

At the half, the score was 63-57, and Collingwood should’ve been further ahead.

As expected, Josh Dunkley went to De Goey, Moore to Daniher, Maynard to Cameron and Frampton to Harris Andrews.

Frampton had two disposals, but strange as this might sound, he held his own until the final quarter. The double cobra in celebration on the stage told us how pleased he was.

Kiddy Coleman had one hand on the Norm Smith Medal at halftime, when he had 22, three tackles and 585m gained. To put that in perspective, his highest metres gained for a game this year before Saturday was 534. He finished the game with 761m, which spoke of tired second half and terrific accountability from sub Pat Lipinski.

He made an important contribution.

Others didn’t.

Brisbane’s Jarrod Berry had 11 disposals and gave away two 50m penalties, the second of which took Sidebottom from the wing to 52m from goal. He kicked the winner.

Eric Hipwood didn’t hit the scoreboard, young Jaspa Fletcher looked overawed, Callum Ah Chee was quiet and was subbed, and Cam Rayner, despite a flurry of solid performances at home, didn’t bring it to the MCG.

In the end, the Magpies are smiling, just as McRae wants them to be.

In the past two years, they won 34 and lost 11 home-and-away games, and their finals record now stands at 4-2.

What a story he is. Premiership coach. Husband. And a father again as of Saturday morning.

Right now, life doesn’t get any better, and betcha he’s still smiling.

Originally published as Mark Robinson: Collingwood’s grand final win typical of Craig McRae’s fighting, smiling team