Darcy Cameron executed the perfect tap, Nick Daicos executed the perfect kick and Mason Cox executed the perfect stuff up. Sometimes in life, and in football, you just know it isn’t going to be your day. And when the ball ballooned off big Mason’s belly button, a bad Collingwood moon was rising. A few minutes later, Scott Pendlebury was zipping up his tracksuit top, done for the day and the year. He’s their compass and their second coach but he also plays a critical defensive role at stoppages. Several times in the opening quarter, the Lions waltzed out the front of packs where Pendlebury would normally have been the doorman.
One thing Collingwood had in their favour was precedent. So you’re three goals down at quarter time, all at sea and without one of your best and most experienced players? Sound familiar? But unlike Geelong’s violent wrenching of the contest the night before, Collingwood’s was more of a stabilisation, a reset, a gradual ratcheting up of the pressure. As Brisbane conceded a 100-metre penalty, Ryan Lester was having his head stitched up, Ty Gallop was being tested for concussion and Collingwood had kicked six goals from 15 entries. Watching the Lions trudge to their rooms didn’t inspire confidence.
But as the little leaguers toddled off, a different Lions team emerged. Zac Bailey, so good hitting stoppages at full speed and with perfect timing, parted a sea of bodies at a deep ruck contest and Will Ashcroft kicked a ripper 30 second later. Collingwood’s hopes at that stage rested with Jamie Elliott, whose two goals came completely against the run of play and who twisted himself like a piece of fusilli to take one of the marks of the year. His direct opponent Brandon Starcevich took out his frustrations by whacking the leather bench seats, like George Foreman pummelling a heavy bag. If it’s any consolation, Bruce Doull in his prime couldn’t have stopped those goals.
Elliott was terrific all year and it would be a crying shame if he’s not in Collingwood colours next year. But most of his fellow forwards struggled. Their lack of scoring power was a question mark even when they were riding high on top of the ladder. Even so, they were still within striking distance with 10 minutes to go. But the moment Tim Membrey decided to lob a nine iron to Elliott instead of taking the shot was the moment their hopes were extinguished. The umpire lost his whistle and Collingwood lost all momentum. And as is football law in those circumstances, the ball pinged straight up the other end for a 12-point turnaround.
Make no mistake, the Lions were the superior team. They had too much class, especially among their hybrid forwards who have a great sense of when to step up and separate a game. It was one of the loudest home crowds you’d ever see at a football game but it didn’t bother the visitors one whit. It was a brutal preliminary final, with players cannoning into one another, popping shoulders, ripping goggles and leaving in moonboots. Chris Scott was up in the stands, scouting and devouring packets of snakes with his daughter. Every time a Lions player was injured, he’d have the same look he gets when he’s trying to downplay a big Geelong win. But despite the carnage, he would have seen a young, resilient team that was still running on top of the ground at the finish, a team that will ask more of his side than they did a fortnight ago.
Brisbane had nine of the 11 least experienced players on the field but five of those are premiership players and most of those nine played crucial roles in the second half. In contrast, it’s too easy to analogise and catastrophise a knockout final like that but it felt like an ageing team’s final swing. Craig McRae was as devastated as we’ve seen him. “It comes to an end really quick,” he said. He was talking about the season, but could easily have been talking about the team itself. They’ll remember that win in Adelaide for years to come, but ultimately the Crows were the only top eight side they beat from late May onwards.
And so we’re left with the two best performed teams of this decade, two teams that have been circling one another for years, two very different teams that can completely switch up their modes of play according to the conditions, the opponent, the scoreboard and the occasion. In terms of patronage, atmosphere and individual brilliance, it would be hard to surpass the two preliminary finals but this grand final is well placed to do so.
