As it happened: Moore elated as Collingwood win premiership; Bobby Hill claims Norm Smith Medal

That’s all we have for you tonight.

Thanks so much for all the interactions today as Collingwood won their 16th AFL/VFL premiership beating Brisbane by four points.

This blog wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless work of all our writers, photographers, subeditors, producers and others who contributed to the end product.

Thanks, as well, for all the support of our live blogs throughout the season. We will be back during trade period and the draft while our writers will have many more stories in the days to come as Collingwood embrace their new title as the top team in the AFL.

So until next time, bye for now.

It might not have been clear from the television broadcast but Paul Stanley from KISS reportedly did smash his guitar at the end of the band’s half-time show.

Back and forth. Highs then lows. This, but that.

Such was the storyline of the epic 2023 AFL grand final, yes, but also what basically became a single match referendum on the Collingwood Football Club, and whether we – the neutrals – still hate them.

Beau McCreery holds the premiership cup while Bobby Hill kisses it.Credit: Joe Armao

We’ve heard the opposite for some time now, you see, told time and again by members of the commentariat how likeable these new Magpies have become. How their organisation is filled with great people, and inclusivity. How they play with verve and desire. How they’re exciting to watch. Becoming likeable was, they told us, the dirtiest trick the dirty rotten mudlarks ever pulled.

There’s their coach, Craig McRae, with his Ted Lasso puffer jacket and guileless charm. Their captain, Darcy Moore, who reads books and dyes his hair and speaks with eloquence and empathy. Their veteran champion, too, Scott Pendelbury, maybe headed humbly towards the AFL games record.

But is that enough to really turn the other cheek? I think not.

Click here to read the story.

In 2018, Mason Cox was standing the mark when Dom Sheed kicked the goal that won the grand final for West Coast.

It’s a moment he has been trying to flush out of his mind ever since. He has now exorcised those demons.

Sinking feeling: Magpies Taylor Adams and Mason Cox react after Luke Sheed kicks the winning goal for West Coast in the grand final in 2018.Credit: Wayne Ludbey

The beanpole from America who arrived in Australia with no idea of the game, the culture or any friends has now achieved the childhood dream of many people in his adopted home.

Few stories in this game are as rich as that of Cox, the foreigner turned Australian whose career has entered the folklore of this sport.

Click here to read the story.

Will Hoskin-Elliott has achieved what his great-great-grandfather Charlie Norris achieved three times in winning an AFL/VFL premiership.

Norris played in Collingwood’s flag in 1910, only playing 18 games in the black and white before moving to Fitzroy where he played in two more premierships – in 1913 and 1916.

Will Hoskin-Elliott holds the cup aloft.Credit: Getty Images

Hoskin-Elliott had a quiet game, but was forced to move into defence and give the backline a chop out after Nathan Murphy was subbed out due to concussion.

He will, however, be remembered for his starring role in the side’s qualifying final win over Melbourne.

Often maligned, he played 52 games for the GWS Giants before moving to Collingwood before the 2017 season, and has gone onto play 152 more games for the Pies.

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan will urge his players to look to history as they deal with the disappointment of their four-point loss to Collingwood in the AFL grand final.

Fagan listed a number of examples of teams who lost grand finals and went on to be premiers including Hawthorn where he was football director for a number of years.

Chris Fagan congratulates Magpies counterpart Craig McRae, himself a three-time premiership player at the Lions.Credit: AFL Photos

“There are lots of teams who lose close grand finals and go on to win premierships in the ensuing years,” Fagan said.

“You know me, that will be my attitude, what can we learn for next year? I’ll never veer away from that. The Hawks lost a close one in 2012 and won three in a row. The Cats lost one in 2008 and won in 2009. West Coast lost to the Swans and won again the next year.

“There is plenty of history around to say that grand final losses don’t have to define you or destroy you – they can make you. That is what we will be looking to do.”

Fagan noted the number of young players in his side and that Will Ashcroft due to come back from his knee injury next season.

“We are well and truly in the [premiership] window and we have only just moved into the window, maybe because we have been in finals the last five years the banter has been that we have missed out window but I think we have just moved into it,” Fagan said.

“We have just to make sure we handle this loss well. Don’t get too down-hearted and learn to do it better.”

Craig McRae says Jack Ginnivan has plenty more upside after becoming a premiership player today.

Jack Ginnivan celebrates with Magpies fans.Credit: Paul Rovere

“Jack’s growing up. Is he the youngest player in our team? I think he could be [after Nick Daicos],” McRae said. “There’s so much he learns from today, and don’t go to the races the day before is something I’d say.”

Asked whether he wasn’t happy about Ginnivan going to Moonee Valley, McRae said: “Read the room, Jack.”

“You’ve got to grow up, but you’ve got to make mistakes to learn from them,” he said.

“He’s the youngest the player in the room [after Daicos], and he’s got great role models and resilience shown here [Bobby Hill] is a great role model for him. We’ll keep trying to educate.

“We’re not finished. We are nowhere near finished. We’ll grow and make more mistakes and then try and get better.”

The crowd of Collingwood fans at Olympic Park are gathering in front of the function area, anticipating the arrival of the players from the MCG nearby.

Collingwood fans fill the ground at the club’s Olympic Park training base.Credit: Tom Cowie

There’s no indication when that will be — there’s a fair bit of celebrating that goes on in the rooms after the game.

Best of ground today, in my opinion, is the weather — it’s shorts and T-shirts after 8pm.

Craig McRae has spoken post-match following his side’s premiership win, on...

Summing up the premiership win: “Two years of good habits and acting like winners every day and trying to improve ourselves. Not standing in what we’re trying to do, and in the end, it was an incredible management of moments. That’s probably the storyline for this team. They know how to manage minutes better than anyone I’ve ever seen in the game.”

Finding more scoring power: “Clearly we moved the ball differently; that was the whole theme of the week, let’s not do what we did the week before [against the Giants]. We didn’t look to change the angles, didn’t look to bring the ball into the corridor, didn’t look to switch off turnovers. We knew what to fix. Then we train it and reinforce it and we get the benefit.”

Craig McRae is a premiership coach in his second season as Collingwood’s head coach.Credit: Getty

The poise of Pendlebury and Sidebottom: “You can’t buy experience on grand final day. Those two in particular have been remarkable for our group. They both did PBs during the week. Pendles has done three PBs in the gym three weeks in a row. Talk about getting better every day. He’s an incredible role model for the rest of us.”

Nathan Murphy’s early substitution: “There’s always a story [on] grand final day. What about Tay? What about Dan McStay? What about Johnny Noble? We’re not here without those guys. The game doesn’t recognise [them] but we do.”