The richest rivalries are the lifeblood of an AFL season. They are born naturally, set hearts racing and get blood boiling. A shared history of fiery clashes, tight and contentious finishes, or simply close proximity, give a game soul even when there is little at stake beyond pride and bragging rights. They tend to be at their best when a deep and long-running feud comes together in a finals series.
Adelaide and Collingwood have had a fresh rivalry brewing for years. A pair of large and fervent fanbases used to turning their home stadiums into a one-eyed cauldron of noise already have their fair share of historical and heated opponents. But as the temperature has soared in recent contests between the two teams, another arch-rival is ready to be added to each of their lists of nemeses.
Close encounters have made this one of the must-watch matchups in recent seasons. Even as the Crows took time to edge their way back into the top eight, and the Magpies mostly remained on their perch higher up, the past six games have been decided by only a combined 25 points. The Pies held sway for the first five of those tense tussles, as they opened up an 11-match unbeaten run against the Crows.
Dubious decisions in the dying stages of thrillers have added fuel to the fire. The AFL conceding that the umpires got a critical non-call wrong at the MCG was next to no consolation when it came in the days after Collingwood overran Adelaide in a pulsating contest in 2023. Jordan Dawson should have been paid a free kick, the AFL acknowledged, when Magpies forward Jamie Elliott not only caught the Crows captain high but left him with a bleeding lip. But nothing could change that Dawson was denied what would have been a shot at goal after the siren as the Pies grimly held on by two points.
Controversy was back at the MCG just a year later when the Crows were again on the wrong side of a debatable decision. Izak Rankine had already booted a stunning goal early in the last term to give his side a sniff, before he burst away from a stoppage on the wing with less than 30 seconds remaining and the Crows trailing by four points. The livewire took a bounce and then kept charging forward to launch one last attack with a long bomb inside 50. But when the umpire’s whistle was belatedly blown for Rankine running too far, the Pies had piled more misery on the Crows.
The tables were finally turned in their most recent clash, with the Crows this time leading in the dying stages. Nick Daicos slotted a long-range shot to give the Magpies hope and leave the Crows searching for ways to slow the game down. Adelaide forward Riley Thilthorpe was fortunate not to give away a free kick when booting the ball out of sight after it had trickled over the boundary line with under a minute left on the clock. The Crows held on by three points to snap their horror streak against the Pies and seal a top-two spot. But a new nightmare was to come their way in the aftermath.
Rankine was back in the spotlight, this time for all the wrong reasons, as it was revealed the following day that he had directed a homophobic slur at a Collingwood player during the match at Adelaide Oval. The 25-year-old was banned for four matches, and still has three to serve. Meanwhile the Crows return to the finals for the first time since 2017 without their star player available to face the Pies. In a bitter irony, only a Collingwood victory in the qualifying final this week can open up a pathway for Rankine to play if Adelaide go on to reach this year’s decider.
The crucial ingredients of recent years and the extra spice over the past few weeks have been thrown in the same pot to leave the Crows and Magpies rivalry bubbling away. It will be no surprise if it spills over when they meet again on Thursday night.
A clash of styles that somehow brings the sides closer together is also on the cards. The Crows must seek to open up their opponents and move the ball quickly to their formidable forward line that has made them the second-highest scoring team among the finalists. The Pies are filled with elder statesmen and comfortable with a more measured and cautious contest, which is partly why they have the most miserly defence in the league but failed to make the most of having 71 inside-50s the last time these teams met.
Whichever way they do it, both sides are among the top three for the modern-day metric of points scored from turnover differential – the increasingly important ability to punish opponents for their mistakes. That won’t be enough for a shootout at Adelaide Oval but could mean one side inflicts more wounds on the other than we have seen in the past six meetings between these two evenly matched teams.
