AFL Finals 2022 Collingwood v Fremantle: Why Pies loom as footy story the year
Collingwood is just two wins away from a fairytale flag. And if we rewind 12 months, it is incredible that they are in this position.
Collingwood stands only two wins away from what could be one of the most extraordinary AFL premierships after extinguishing Fremantle’s season at the MCG on Saturday night.
In a season flourishing with fairytales, stirring finishes and uplifting moments, Craig McRae’s Magpies have put forward a compelling case for what could prove the team footy story of the year.
This time last year Collingwood had finished 17th, a new first-time coach had just been appointed following Nathan Buckley’s mid-season exit, the playing list was under serious scrutiny and off the field a boardroom stoush threatened to disrupt the road ahead.
Fast forward 12 months, and McRae is vying for Coach of the Year honours, the black and white army is roaring again, and the Magpies are into an SCG preliminary final against Sydney.
It promises to be a cracking showdown with the best two pressure teams in the competition ready to slug it out for a Grand Final berth.
Collingwood’s 20-point semi-final victory over a disappointing Fremantle before a heaving crowd of 90,612 fans was inspired by the usual suspects, but none more so than a best afield Jordan De Goey.
The explosive midfielder – who had 24 disposals, a game-high 12 scoring involvements, six clearances and 627 metres gained – is in rare form. His importance this September underpins why the Magpies must do all they can to ensure they don’t lose the 26-year-old.
He has created almost as many headlines off the field as on it this year, but his form over the past fortnight has shown why he is so vital to potentially unlocking the Magpies’ 16th VFL-AFL flag.
De Goey’s on-again, off-again four-year $3.2 million contract is back on the table, having first been withdrawn after his mid-season trip to Bali. It will have behavioural conditions to it – as it should given what has happened in the past – but the Magpies might now have to up the ante.
He is worth all of the $800,000 per season on offer – and more – when he plays with the ballistic intent as he has shown against Geelong and Fremantle in the past fortnight.
Footy boss Graham Wright might need to be at his creative best to ensure those figures are movable, even if the club must stand firm on the clauses it wants inserted in there.
He wasn’t the only one to shine for the Magpies, who had winners everywhere and should have won by a greater margin against a Freo side that looked tired and ready for a break.
Jack Crisp has never missed a game since joining Collingwood from the Brisbane Lions and he barged his way to 24 disposals, two goals and 601 metres gained.
Jeremy Howe (13 intercepts and four intercept marks) and Darcy Moore (eight intercepts) were almost impassable in defence.
Scott Pendlebury set the scene with 11 first-term disposals to help wrest the early control, while Nick Daicos is almost flawless with the ball in his hands.
Importantly, one of the things that would have delighted McRae was the fact that two of the Magpies who struggled against the Cats – Jack Ginnivan and Mason Cox – bounced back.
Ginnivan finished with three goals, one of them in the third term that broke a deadlock of nine consecutive behinds that kept the door ajar when it should have been slammed shut.
Cox spent far more time on the field this week – and more time helping Darcy Cameron in the ruck – and his confidence got a further boost when he closed out the game with a goal.
The Dockers were lucky to be as close as they were for most of the night, with Collingwood’s waste in front of goal after a 6.0 start keeping the visitors in the contest.
But it was a false economy. The Magpies were far too good when it mattered most.
David Mundy farewelled AFL footy after a magnificent career and 19 seasons with a fitting last term goal, while the prospects of Rory Lobb, Blake Acres and Griffin Logue remaining in purple next year are looking decidedly slim.
All three look to be headed to Victoria in the coming months.
The Dockers’ season is over, but the Magpies still have plenty of fight left. McRae’s team has won 13 of its past 15 matches, with those losses coming to Geelong (six points) and Sydney (27 points), but the confidence levels are high heading into next week.
Watch every match prior to the AFL grand final Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Prelim Pies: Mega Magpie army dares to dream
— Marc McGowan and Chris Cavanagh
Breakneck’s back, all right.
The AFL’s most high-octane team is into a preliminary final for the first time in three years, with Collingwood running Fremantle off its feet on the way to a 20-point victory at the MCG.
Rookie coach Craig McRae has transformed a team that finished below everyone but North Melbourne last season into an unlikely flag chance, as his Pies prepare to fly to Sydney to take on the Swans.
After barely missing out on the direct route to the preliminary finals in a brave six-point defeat to minor premier Geelong last week, Collingwood turned a blistering start into a comfortable victory.
Jordan De Goey added another September special to his redemption story — at least on the field — while Jack Crisp, the ageless Scott Pendlebury and intercept king Jeremy Howe also starred.
De Goey remains a restricted free agent but is as good as certain to stay in black and white after the best run of form in his life.
Saturday night’s performance was arguably McRae’s greatest triumph yet, with Collingwood cranking up the volume on its already slick ball movement to shell-shock the static Dockers.
The Magpies repeatedly exploded from halfback to create scoring opportunities, while Crisp set the 90,612-strong crowd alight with one scintillating, multi-bounce dash through the corridor.
Only inaccurate Collingwood finishing kept the Dockers in the contest into the second half — but Fremantle never looked like repeating last week’s comeback from 41 points down against the Dogs.
Collingwood’s first six goals came without a miss but 12 of its next 13 scoring shots were behinds.
That briefly made things interesting as Dockers forward Lachie Schultz set up Griffin Logue for the first major of the third term to cut the deficit to 24 points.
But the Pies’ dominance raged on as they feasted on Fremantle turnovers and effectively broke even in clearances and contested possession, two areas that were previously the chinks in their armour.
The defeat sends Dockers great David Mundy into retirement after 376 games, while Rory Lobb, Blake Acres and Griffin Logue could all be at Victorian clubs next season.
FREO, WAY TOO SLOW
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir spoke before Saturday night’s semi-final about wanting to avoid a repeat of last week’s tardy start — but Collingwood had other plans.
The Magpies played at breakneck pace from the outset and were efficient early, putting four goals past the Dockers’ defence before quarter-time compared to the visitors’ single behind.
Fremantle rallied from a 34-point quarter-time deficit against the Bulldogs in their elimination final to win by 13 points, after trailing by 41 nine minutes into the second term, but there was no return this time.
Longmuir’s men lost their last four opening quarters of the season, including the past three by a combined 70 points.
AMERICAN PIE RAISES BAT
Mason Cox joined the goalkicking party with a close-range finish in the final term that he celebrated with trademark gusto with his arms outstretched.
There was nothing remarkable about Cox’s finish but it was his 100th career goal in 93 matches and continues what’s been an unlikely sporting story for the towering American.
The 31-year-old will play in his first preliminary final since his famous performance against Richmond in 2019, where he kicked three goals and ripped down eight contested marks to ruin the Tigers’ dominant year.
SCOREBOARD
MAGPIES 4.0, 6.6, 8.12, 11.13 (79)
DOCKERS 0.1, 2.2, 4.4, 9.5 (59)
McGOWAN’S BEST
Magpies: De Goey, Crisp, Howe, Pendlebury, N. Daicos, Moore, Lipinski.
Dockers: Serong, Brayshaw, Schultz, Acres, Cox, Young.
GOALS
Magpies: Ginnivan 3, Elliott 2, Mihocek 2, Crisp 2, De Goey, Cox.
Dockers: Schultz 2, Logue 2, Walters 2, Frederick 2, Mundy.
UMPIRES
Rosebury, Stevic, Stephens.
VENUE
MCG
CROWD
90,612
‘We are here to win it’: McRae’s declaration
Collingwood coach Craig McRae has declared the Magpies are “here to win it” as the club prepares for a trip to Sydney next weekend where it will search for its first Grand Final berth since 2018.
After finishing second-last on the ladder last season, the rejuvenated Magpies secured a preliminary final showdown with the Swans after powering past Fremantle by 20 points at the MCG.
A monster crowd of 90,612 — the majority of who were decked out in black and white — attended the match, making it the biggest week two crowd of all time involving an interstate team.
The Magpies led by as much as 38 points late in the third-quarter, with the final scoreboard flattering a Fremantle side which was offensively choked.
McRae has been reluctant to look too far ahead this season but said his team — which has now won 13 of its past 15 games — is capable of going all the way this season.
“We’re here to win it. We are,” McRae said.
“One more win and you’re in a grand final. We’re here to win this thing and we’re going to work our butts off to get better every day to give ourselves every chance. We’ll set ourselves up and we know what’s coming up in Sydney, but we will give it our best shot.
“At the start of the year, if you thought you would be in the last four, it would be pretty big odds, I would have thought. I’m really proud of tonight in particular, just the growth of us. I said to the playing group, the best is in front of us. Just feel like we are growing before your eyes. Whether it is individually, guys stepping up and getting more used to the occasion, or as a group, just getting better.”
McRae revealed he received a call from the club doctor on Saturday morning about key defender Darcy Moore, who was still battling illness and there was “some concern” he could miss the match.
However, Moore suited up and was rock-solid as usual down back, finishing with 15 disposals and eight intercept possessions.
“He has been sick all week,” McRae said.
“But I thought he was pretty good tonight. If you look back and look how he played intercept, the guy has been in bed for a couple of days pretty ill. I love what he does.”
McRae said Collingwood had scouted Fremantle’s ball movement all week, with the Magpies restricting their opposition to just nine goals and 43 inside 50s for the match.
“They will try to possess the ball by foot and we took that away from them and forced them down the line and our aerial guys got to work,” McRae said.
“That is a real strength of ours, intercept marking.
“We wanted to force it in that style of the game and choked them around the uncontested mark in particular.”
Collingwood last met Sydney at the SCG in Round 22, with the Swans powering to a 27-point triumph in one of only two Magpies losses since Round 10.
Watch every match prior to the AFL grand final Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
More Coverage
Injury-hit Demons stun Crows in Norwood thriller
Struck down by a host of injuries across their team, the Dees have managed to keep their AFLW season alive by pulling off a thrilling victory over the Crows.
Make me a Giant: The deal that will make Stringer’s wish a reality
Jake Stringer wants to play for GWS next season, but how can the Bombers and Giants get a deal done? One young gun at GWS could be the key. Recap day three of the trade period here.