AFL round 8: Lachie Sullivan joins first-kick, first-goal club alongside three Magpies
Lachie Sullivan joined an exclusive club alongside three Magpies as Collingwood pipped Carlton at the post on Friday night. Mason Cox chats the debutant, the Pies’ form and more.
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Collingwood big man Mason Cox says the spark and energy of a few fresh faces and the pride shown by the rest of the group have played a part in the Magpies’ 2024 rejuvenation.
After losing the first three games with “a target on our backs”, Cox said the Magpies are back in the groove after being unbeaten in five weeks (including an Anzac Day draw), with Friday night’s six-point win over Carlton their most complete of the season so far.
It comes as Cox welcomed mature-aged debutant Lachie Sullivan - the former electrician apprentice who lit the switch for the Magpies on Friday - into the ‘first-kick, first-goal’ club.
Incredibly, four of the 23 Magpies on Friday night - Cox on Anzac Day in 2016, Scott Pendlebury (2006), Beau McCreery (2021) and now Sullivan - have been able to achieve that special feat.
“He’s an incredible story, it is a great story of perseverance,” Cox said of Sullivan, who brought the MCG crowd to their feet when he nailed a goal just over two minutes after being subbed into the game.
“He joins the first-kick, first-goal club. It’s a baptism of fire playing your first game against Carlton in front of almost 90,000. You find out if you are up for the fight early in your career.
“He has been playing above the level in the VFL for a long time, and to come in and make the impact he made is a real credit to him.
“He would have had a million people here watching him, his family and friends, and I’m sure they would be as proud of him as we are.”
Sullivan’s goal came from a handball from Harvey Harrison, who has played only six games and is another of the relatively new Magpies to start making an impression.
Harrison also took an intercept mark in defence late in the game as well as tapping the ball at a stoppage in the passage that saw Magpies star Nick Daicos kick the match-winning goal with just over one minute left on the clock.
“I was going nuts on the bench (when Daicos kicked the goal),” Cox said. “As soon as he kicked it, I knew we only needed a point (to win), but he went ahead anyway and kicked the goal.”
“He (Daicos) is an incredible player and an incredible human. He is someone we are really proud of and he is definitely the future of the club.”
Cox said the Magpies were working into form again after a slow start, saying a win over Carlton showed the team was on the move.
“We’ve had a bit of a target on our back after last year (winning the premiership) and everyone is going to try and bring it to us,” he said.
“We have just stuck with the process. If we play the way we want to play and move the ball as we want it, we know our best is good enough.
“It is good to come out and play in front of a big crowd against a great rival. We love our supporters coming out and this is always one of our biggest games of the year.
“We have a lot of respect for the (Carlton) players. It’s always a challenge against them. Their forward line with (Charlie) Curnow and (Harry) McKay and their rucks (Tom De Koning and Marc Pittonet) are good. They have a decent tall team to say the least.
“It’s always a scrap against Carlton. They are a good squad which will take some beating.”
Cox celebrated the win with his parents, Phil and Jeanette, in the rooms after the game. They have been out in Australia for the past three weeks.
“It’s always good to have the family in town and to have them share this experience and journey has always been important to me,” he added.
BRING ON SEPTEMBER: BLUES-PIES EPIC WHETS APPETITE FOR MORE
Collingwood’s hunt, pressure and swagger is back as Craig McRae’s clutch kings gave the rest of the AFL competition a powerful reminder that their premiership defence is well and truly alive.
In a game of so many twists and turns that the record home and away crowd between these two bitter protagonists would have gone home feeling dizzy, it was that man – Nick Daicos – who kicked the matchwinning goal with just over a minute left on the clock.
After both sides had chances to steal the advantage when a draw looked likely late in the game, some Daicos brilliance at a stoppage as he powered away from Sam Walsh and co ensured the Magpies would score in a Friday night classic against the Blues.
If the historic Collingwood-Carlton enmity lay almost cryogenically frozen for a generation in the Blues’ post millennium malaise, this retro return of footy’s most famous rivalry is back to scorching level.
And it might yet have a rematch in September, which would be the first time in 36 years since these foes have met in a final.
This was a game of remarkable momentum swings and brilliant individual moments, finished off with Daicos’ extraordinary speed from a stoppage and goal to win the game by six points.
He capped it off by winning the best afield medal for his performance as the Magpies took home the Peter Mac Cup.
Matt Cottrell had dragged the game back to level with just over four minutes left as Charlie Curnow found him in attack, but then a host of players missed chances to step up and secure the win.
Jamie Elliott was rundown in a tackle, then Harry McKay’s kick late into attack was sharked by Harvey Harrison.
Then, with precious time left and with a possible fifth draw beckoning between these two teams, Daicos stepped up for his moment of sheer magic his legendary father Peter would have been impressed with.
The Blues’ triple forward threat of Harry McKay (four goals), Tom De Koning (two last term goals) and Curnow caused the Magpies plenty of concerns throughout the night.
But after trailing by 19 points in the first term, somehow the Magpies got the game back on their own terms, cutting the Blues’ midfield supply lines and creating some of their own.
Collingwood’s spark came from an unlikely source arising out of a moment of concern.
Beau McCreery was concussed during the second term, meaning the Pies had to pull an early trigger on their sub, debutant Lachie Sullivan.
The 26-year-old had waited almost a decade for his AFL chance; he only had to wait a quarter and a bit as the sub to get the chance he has been craving for years.
He went straight into the middle in the second term, missed his first tackle, then put himself right in the frame to make an impact.
A handball deep in attack from Harrison – who had just nailed a goal – landed in Sullivan’s hands and he joined the first kick-first goal club in stunning fashion.
Sullivan’s new teammates rushed to him in a wave and it was so good that McRae showed vision of it to the players in the rooms at half time.
That’s the Collingwood of 2023 – celebrate the moments.
It was one of five goals straight for the Pies as they looked more and more like their 2023 self, which is a scary thought for opposition teams going forward.
For the record, the Pies’ win sees them hold onto their win-loss buffer on the overall tally – with 132 wins, four draws and 129 losses.
We can’t wait for the next instalment.
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Originally published as AFL round 8: Lachie Sullivan joins first-kick, first-goal club alongside three Magpies
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