AFL finals 2022 Collingwood v Fremantle: Every Magpie rated from the semi-final victory

Darcy Moore was one of Collingwood’s best in its big finals win against Fremantle, and his performance is even more impressive after a midweek battle. Every Magpie rated.

Artwork for the Magpies’ player ratings.

The Magpies must prepare for a preliminary final showdown with the Sydney Swans after taking care of Fremantle at the MCG.

Find out who led the charge to keep their campaign alive.

Chris Cavanah rates every Collingwood player.

BRAYDEN MAYNARD 6.5

The Magpies’ fiercest competitor looked a little sore with a groin issue he sustained while laying a tackle on David Mundy in the opening term. He started at the first centre bounce on Andrew Brayshaw before settling into his customary role in defence where he held his own on a mix of the Fremantle smalls.

Darcy Moore overcame illness to deliver a strong performance down back. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

DARCY MOORE 8.5

Collingwood’s general down back, Moore was touch-and-go to play, with coach Craig McRae revealing post-match that he had been in bed for days with an illness. But there were no signs of that as Moore put in another strong finals performance, holding Griffin Logue to a single goal while finishing with eight intercept possessions among 15 disposals.

JEREMY HOWE 9

He joked during Covid that he was used to playing in front of no crowds, having previously been listed with Melbourne. The high-flying defender would have loved strutting his stuff in front of the monster Magpies crowd at the MCG. Rock-solid down back all night — primarily playing on Rory Lobb — he fittingly finished with an intercept mark on the final siren. In the best three players on the ground.

NICK DAICOS 8

The Magpies’ leading disposal winner this season, the 2022 NAB AFL Rising Star winner again found plenty of the pill. His 25 disposals saw him finish as Collingwood’s leading ball-winner on the night across half-back. And, like usual, not many were wasted.

NATHAN MURPHY 5

He’s no Darcy Moore, but Murphy is developing into a fairly solid key defender. He had a job on young Docker Jye Amiss — who had no impact — for most of the game and held him scoreless. Murphy gave away a few free kicks but also sagged off his opponent to take some good marks.

Second only to Jordan de Goey, Jack Crisp was a powerhouse for the rampaging Magpies. Picture: Michael Klein

JACK CRISP 9

Ran like a racehorse in the opening term and was on world-record pace in the metres gained department at quarter-time with 260m. He kicked a goal in the second term and added another in the final quarter among 24 disposals. The second-most impactful player on the ground behind De Goey.

WILL HOSKIN-ELLIOTT 4

Still searching to do what his great-great grandfather did in 1910 and win a flag with Collingwood. The forward had his chances, but like a few teammates he squandered them as he finished with only three behinds from 12 touches.

SCOTT PENDLEBURY 8

Those 34-year-old legs are showing no signs of slowing down. The Magpies’ longest-serving captain set the tone early with seven touches in the opening 13 minutes on his way to 11 disposals in the first term. He finished with 24, primarily playing off halfback.

JOHN NOBLE 6.5

The son of the former Kangaroos coach provided some bounce out of the backline, but bit off more than he could chew at times — something he is prone to doing. He also gave away a few free kicks, but his run and carry was important for a side that likes to move the ball at speed.

Superstar midfielder Jordan De Goey was outstanding again for the Magpies. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

JORDAN DE GOEY 9.5

He was unusually quiet early but De Goey’s second term was as beautiful as an ice-cold Bintang. He had nine disposals for the quarter to be the game’s No. 1 ranked player at halftime and finished with that same ranking. He led Collingwood for clearances, inside 50s and metres gained. De Goey did not just damage with his power and leg speed but also some elite defensive work. That new four-year contract offer is surely ballooning in value by the week.

DARCY CAMERON 5.5

Cameron took the first centre bounce ruck contest against Sean Darcy, but shared the duties with Mason Cox fairly evenly over the course of the night. He got back strongly to support the defence when he was in the ruck and created a contest when forward.

BEAU McCREERY 3

The former carpenter put his signature blistering speed on display, but struggled to get into the game too much against a pair of very good young Fremantle defenders in Heath Chapman and Hayden Young. McCreery finished with just four disposals — his second fewest this season — but did bring some pressure and laid five tackles.

ASH JOHNSON 2.5

The eighth-gamer from Halls Creek had a stinker in the first-half, a sole behind coming from a snap over his shoulder in the second term. While he presented well, Johnson was caught with the ball on a couple of occasions and missed a couple of gettable shots on his way to three behinds for the night.

BRODY MIHOCEK 7

The one-time forklift driver gave the Magpies an early lift with the second goal of the game. He doesn’t mind playing the Dockers, having booted four goals against them on debut in 2018. Mihocek only finished with two goals this time around but had an impressive seven score involvements.

STEELE SIDEBOTTOM 7

He recently bought a house on a farm in country Victoria and Sidebottom found himself in a paddock on one wing on a few occasions. It wasn’t Sidebottom’s biggest game but he finished with 19 touches and didn’t waste many.

Mason Cox climbs for a big mark over Sean Darcy and Rory Lobb. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

MASON COX 6.5

The man with over 100 pairs of glasses kicked his 100th career goal in the last quarter and certainly celebrated it. His tap-work in the ruck at centre bounce against Sean Darcy was strong and when he wasn’t marking it around the ground he was bringing it to ground.

JAMIE ELLIOTT 7.5

The boy they call ‘Billy’ loves the big games and the big crowds. He kicked two goals in the first half, before adding just two behinds in the second half. But he was hungry and his pressure was top-notch, including seven tackles.

JOSH DAICOS 4.5

The wingman started on fire with eight disposals in the opening quarter, before tapering off a little after that. His disposal wasn’t always at his usual silky level, but he did finish with 371 metres gained.

ISAAC QUAYNOR 4

Usually a damaging rebounding defender who is a strong interceptor, the lifelong Collingwood fan was largely unsighted. That said, so were his direct opponents for much of the night — which included the dangerous Michael Walters and Lachie Schultz. Walters kicked one goal on Quaynor in junk time in the last quarter.

Jack Ginnivan kicked three goals in a polished performance by the small forward. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

JACK GINNIVAN 8.5

There were pre-game fireworks and the antagonistic small forward brought some more in the opening seconds after kicking the first goal of the match. Ginnivan brought the house down midway through the final term when he kicked his third goal to put the result beyond doubt. He now sits as Collingwood’s equal leading goalkicker this year alongside Brody Mihocek.

TRENT BIANCO 5

He once worked at his family’s Lazy Moe’s restaurant, but Bianco was anything but lazy in his finals debut. Brought in to replace the injured Taylor Adams, he made a couple of early mistakes but was relatively clean and composed thereafter. Finishing with 16 touches, he might to have done enough to keep his spot for the preliminary final.

PATRICK LIPINSKI 8

He was in the stands for the Western Bulldogs’ 2016 premiership before he was drafted. Now, Lipinski is on the path to being on the turf on Grand Final day at the MCG. One of the Magpies’ leading ball-winners on the night, Lipinski had 21 touches mixing his time between the forward line and midfield.

JOSH CARMICHAEL N/A

The former bottle shop worker from South Australia was left on the shelf after starting as medical substitute, with the Magpies getting through the match injury-free.

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Originally published as AFL finals 2022 Collingwood v Fremantle: Every Magpie rated from the semi-final victory