The ‘scary’ proof Collingwood is team to beat after what it did to Fremantle on Thursday night

The Magpies arrived in Perth off a five-day break without its GOAT and three other stars. They left with a resounding message for the rest of the league. SCOTT GULLAN unpacks the importance of the win.

The road to the 2025 premiership is going through Collingwood.

This edition of Craig McRae’s team is better than the premiership-winning model of 2023 and for those non-believers, take a good hard long look at what they did to Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Thursday night.

Coming off a five-day break, they arrived in Perth without possibly their greatest ever player (Scott Pendlebury), the heart-and-soul of their defence (Brayden Maynard), their best forward for five of the past six years (Brody Mihocek) and their biggest X-factor (Jordan De Goey).

They were then a man down in the last quarter after the courageous Lachie Schultz, who’d been super against his former team, was knocked out tackling Jordan Clark, just a couple of minutes after veteran Steele Sidebottom had been subbed out at three-quarter time.

Throw in the fact superstar Nick Daicos was clearly playing sore and operating below his normal capacity and then the statistic which sums the whole thing up — Fremantle had an extraordinary 28 more inside 50s.

Jack Crisp and his Collingwood teammates celebrate their win over Fremantle. Picture: Getty Images

Jack Crisp kicks a goal

Talk about making a statement.

They live and breathe the mantra that the system will always beat talent. In post-match interviews both Daicos and Bobby Hill used the term: “Next man in mentality”.

In the midfield with Pendlebury out, Sidebottom and Daicos quiet, someone else had to stand up so Jack Crisp put his hand up.

After missing a chance to win the game after the siren against Geelong last week, Crisp responded with 29 possessions (17 contested) and seven clearances.

In the forward line without Mihocek, Jamie Elliott decided it was his night to step up and carry the load with a bag of six goals while Norm Smith Medallist Bobby Hill (three goals) also came along for the ride.

“We take turns,” Elliott said. “Not relying on one person makes up a good team.”

Jamie Elliott stood up for the Magpies. Picture: Getty Images

Those contributions stood out but in the final 10 minutes as the Dockers started to come with a rush, it was the small things by a disciplined Collingwood team which will thrill their coach.

The Beau McCreery rundown tackle on Cooper Simpson will be shown a lot in the next week as will Tim Membrey selflessly getting his opponent out of the way to open the way for an Elliott mark to get his sixth goal.

Then there was Lachie Sullivan, one of the inclusions this week, taking a huge one-handed mark in a crucial one-on-one contest on the wing and a Isaac Quaynor deft tap under extreme pressure in the back pocket which saved another goal.

And of course, there was a Daicos moment. A brilliant victory in a ground ball against two Dockers which he finished with a sublime one touch handball got the Pies a critical inside 50.

Small things that matter. And it’s often small things that win you premierships.

DATA MELTDOWN

This game will have the Champion Data boffins rocking slowly in the corner of a padded room as they try to make sense of it.

On all their measurements which have stood the test of time, Collingwood shouldn’t have been winning their seventh game of the season by 14 points.

Fremantle had +75 disposals which included +12 contested possessions and +74 uncontested possessions, +16 kicks, +59 handballs, +28 inside 50s (62-34), +13 clearances and +12 centre clearances.

The Dockers three key midfielders - Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and Shai Bolton - combined for 87 disposals, 22 clearances and two goals. They win most games doing that.

But while they got plenty of the ball, they had no idea how to handle Collingwood’s defensive system led by captain Darcy Moore with the Pies collecting the highest number of intercept marks by any club this season.

HOME SWEET HOME

Take out the Ground Zero head-scratcher against the GWS Giants and Collingwood’s brilliant record on the road under McRae has been a feature of his coaching.

But this great asset won’t be called on for a while now. In fact the Pies don’t leave Victoria again until Round 18.

There are four MCG games and three at Marvel Stadium with Hawthorn (Rd 12) and potentially Carlton (Rd 17) the only real obvious challenges for the premiership favourites.

In 2023 the Pies rode their luck, or you could call it good management, by winning all the close games.

That finals series was a seven-point qualifying final win over Melbourne, a one-point preliminary final win over the GWS Giants and then a four-point Grand Final defeat of Brisbane.

There were some who liked to say they got a bit lucky a few times that year but there is no luck in what the 2025 Pies are throwing up.

The team is a lot better with recruits Dan Houston, Harry Perryman, Tim Membrey and Schulz in it. They stack up more than favourably against the likes of Jack Ginnivan, Tom Mitchell and Oleg Markov.

The list of those who have elevated a level over the past two seasons is led by ruckman Darcy Cameron who if Max Gawn wasn’t around would be the All-Australian ruckman.

Nick Daicos is clearly a better player than he was in ‘23 - he should have won the Brownlow last year - while veterans Pendlebury and Sidebottom have found a magic potion which has them playing better than they have for years.

It’s a scary prospect for the rest of the competition who had been hoping last year’s ninth place finish was a trend rather than the mulligan which it clearly was.

Originally published as The ‘scary’ proof Collingwood is team to beat after what it did to Fremantle on Thursday night