Collingwood defeats Carlton to end their 2022 season

Carlton fans have been left broken hearted after Collingwood drove the final nail into their 2022 season in a game for the ages.

Ouch. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Collingwood have broken Carlton’s hearts with a brutal one-point victory in the final round of the 2022 home and away season.

Carlton fans once again believed they were heading to September, but like they’ve done all season long the Pies came storming home with a wet sail to steal a famous victory.

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In front of 88,287 fans, the Pies took the lead in the final minutes thanks to forward Jamie Elliott and despite a large charge, the Blues couldn’t get the job done.

The loss for the Blues means their season is over as for the first time all year, they drop outside the top eight on the ladder.

A Western Bulldogs win earlier in the day against Hawthorn saw the Dogs jump inside the eight and the Blues simply needed a win or a draw to leap frog them.

It wasn’t to be for the Blues who will long rue their capitulation in round 22 against Melbourne when Kysaiah Pickett goaled with 11 seconds to go to secure the comeback win for the Demons.

With just over a minute to go, Carlton’s Zac Williams chipped it forward but his kick missed its intended target in Harry McKay and Jeremy Howe took the relieving mark. Then with 31 seconds remaining, Josh Daicos laid a match-saving tackle on Patrick Cripps.

“Carlton had the opportunity to stamp it right at the start of the fourth quarter. They had the opportunity to put it to bed and they didn’t,” St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt told Fox Footy.

“We’ll celebrate Collingwood and we’ll talk about them for the next couple of weeks because they’re going in on the wave of the most unbelievable momentum, but that was a butchering of the highest order.

“Two weeks in a row they’ve slaughtered it.”

The Dogs were watching on down in Tasmania and they erupted when the final siren sounded, confirming they’d be playing in September.

ABSOLUTE SCENES!

Incredible 😆😆😆 pic.twitter.com/TW0gaUmEW2

— Western Bulldogs (@westernbulldogs) August 21, 2022

But they succumbed 11.9 (75) to 10.14 (74) to become just the third team in VFL/AFL history to drop out of the finals spots in the final round after spending the rest of the season sitting in a finals spot, and the first team to suffer that fate in 45 years.

The Magpies amazing record in close games this year continued. They’re now 11-1 in games decided by 11 points or fewer, and 9-1 in games decided by seven points or fewer.

The result saw Collingwood finish in the top four and earn the all-important double chance, completing an incredible first year under rookie coach Craig McRae after they finished 17th on the ladder last year. The Magpies will likely face Geelong in a qualifying final in a fortnight’s time.

Meanwhile the Bulldogs, who finished 0.6 per cent clear of Carlton, will travel to Perth to play Fremantle in an elimination final. The other elimination final will be played between Brisbane and Richmond at the Gabba.

Fans watching on couldn’t believe the Blues had thrown away their opportunity to play in the September action.

Carlton is the first VFL/AFL team to sit inside the top eight after every round except the last since Carlton in 1977. @FOXFOOTY

— Max Laughton (@maxlaughton) August 21, 2022

Brutal.

— Nat Edwards (@Nat_Edwards) August 21, 2022

Unbelievable

— Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) August 21, 2022

Contested possessions + 53. Inside 50's + 21. Clearances + 12. @CarltonFC lost the unlosable... again. Footy is unreal #AFLBluesPies

— Kane Cornes (@kanecornes) August 21, 2022

– with Ronny Lerner, NCA Newswire