2018 Preliminary Final
Collingwood 5.2.32 10.4.64 12.7.79 15.7.97
Richmond 1.3.9 2.8.20 6.10.46 8.10.58
VENUE: MCG
DATE: Friday 21 September
CROWD: 94,959
UMPIRES: Rosebury, Stevic, Ryan
PRE MATCH
After another season blighted by injuries and mediocrity, president Eddie McGuire commanded a review of the football department led by interim CEO Peter Murphy. Essentially, the upshot was coach Nathan Buckley needed to adjust his style, but more so, he lacked the requisite support to succeed. The reprieve was otherwise viewed as fortunate for the mere wont of a better option at hand.
With a two-year contract in his back pocket, Buckley’s introspection led to a loosening of the reigns. He never lost the players, however this New Age persona served to reinvigorate a club at the crossroads. Yet, despite the touchy-feely vibes, a familiar tale of the tape read 0-2 after the second round, not to mention a fast filling casualty ward. A so-so win over Carlton broke the duck before an unexpected on-the-road dismantling of 2017 grand finalist Adelaide broke the shackles. An ANZAC Day thrashing of the Bombers, soon followed by a 7-match winning streak, pointed to a substantial improvement. A wunderkind in Jaidyn Stephenson had been unearthed, after another off-season brou-ha-ha Jordan De Goey set out to regain respect – and then some, and most importantly, the team gelled, finding a groove where both attack and defence worked as complimentary, well-drilled units. Critically, in the middle Grundy became a dominant force, Sidebottom sublime and Adams, Pendlebury and Treloar a midfield minefield for opponents.
Balancing the great gains on the south side of Olympic Boulevard, the Punt Road army were on the crest of a flag wave. Despite best efforts, the Woods only matched the short-priced premiership favourites for three quarters in each of their two home and away clashes. The more recent blockbuster was further marred by the devastating loss of backline revelation Scharanberg to yet another ACL knee injury and Howe to an ankle that would never fully recover. And with the loss of Dunn, Moore and Reid to season-ending injuries, the back half was critically undersized, forcing selectors to chance it on veteran Goldsack inconceivably returning to play finals after wrecking his knee in March.
The most that could be said of supporters’ expectations was the comfort of having already overshot them by the size of Texas.
THE GAME
The ‘Pies looked to be ‘on’ from the first bounce. The feeling was enhanced when, after Riewoldt pulled a relatively easy chance, De Goey curled one from the pocket, playing on from a set shot to open the goal account. Collingwood kept pressing for the next which came via Varcoe’s solid shot from 40m, after Mayne’s pinpoint pass. Riewoldt made amends to register Richmond’s first major half way through the opening stanza. Strangely, when faced with the same set shot again, Varcoe chose to give it off to a wayward Goldsack streaming through. It proved merely a blip when a minute later Crisp finished off a strong chain of play. Next in line was Mihocek, after taking a superb mark sandwiched between two defenders. A fifth and final goal came about from a throw in where Grundy fed Adams who quickly handballed to De Goey for a left foot snap. Sidebottom accumulated nine disposals and set up three of the Woods’ first term goals. Meanwhile, 14 minutes had elapsed before Levi Greenwood allowed Dustin Martin his first touch.
Cox rammed home the ascendency early in the second term with a mark in front of Houli and Vlaustin, then another bigger grab over Cotchin, ahead of Rance and Vlaustin. Adams’ perfectly weighted kick played no small part in the act. A few minutes later a similar kick by Pendlebury afforded another mark and goal by the number 46. ‘USA-USA’ competed with the c2010-11 ‘Coll-ing-wood’ chant, both in turn reverberating around the stadium. The Tigers missed a few chances to peg one back and were made to pay again when Crisp banged one in from the 50m arc. The 57-11 scoreline was incomprehensible, and the ‘Pies weren’t done yet. Whilst a searing pass by Sidebottom to De Goey only realised a behind, a speculative floater by Crisp resulted in a sensational left-handed grab and goal by De Goey who out bustled Alex Rance, no less. 64-11! A desperate Richmond’s struggle to execute was epitomised by Rance who nearly missed the ball entirely when attempting a basic pass. Finally, after a few more failed attempts, Higgins marked and goaled to narrow the gap to 44 points – a familiar half time margin for Magpie fans with long memories.
At the resumption of play, in no time Riewoldt fired a warning to superstitious ‘Pies, kicking true from 50m. Following a pattern, De Goey missed a set shot before a quick follow up goal – this time roving the crumbs from a Cox kick to the top of the square. It appeared the game had resumed its prior course with Cox again taking the ball arms fully extended, some ten feet above the turf. A fourth goal wasn’t to be, and determined to chart a new course, Riewoldt slotted another. Just as Martin looked to exert an influence, his mark in the goal square was disallowed, the umpire rightly adjudging Goldsack to have been pushed. The quarter half done, Astbury’s fumble gifted Mihocek a major within close range – the lead back out to 45. Richmond hit back through long set shots by Houli and Riewoldt late in the quarter to reduce the margin to 33 points at the final change. A hobbled Howe left the field late in the term with an ankle complaint, while De Goey spent more than four minutes in the rooms. Although clearly in the ascendency, there were grounds to be nervous.
When hostilities reconvened, Riewoldt began where he left off; a courageous mark and goal after hitting his head on the turf. This was exactly the start ‘Pies’ fans had feared. Minutes later a free against Goldsack to Higgins shrunk the margin to 21 points (with 15 minutes remaining). Richmond’s comeback over Collingwood in the 1973 Preliminary Final (from 45 points down in the second quarter) reared it’s spectral head. Another huge mark by Cox in front of Rance calmed frayed nerves that were soon relaxed further by a terrific goal by Treloar. A couple turns of the clock later and Grundy parried the ball to himself from a throw-in and popped in a soda from the square where he’d kicked a last gasp winner to sink the Tigers two years prior. The equation stood at 33 points, 12 minutes remaining. Subsequent individual efforts pointed to a huge upset being brought to the boil, including another big Cox mark and crowd-pleasing tackles by Adams and Greenwood. The final nail would be delivered by the 2018 NAB Rising Star, Jaidyn Stephenson, booting truly having marked yet another Sidebottom assist. The pursuit five minutes to the finish line was a scoreless stalemate; Collingwood conscious of preserving health and energy levels, Richmond heavy of heart, their back-to-back dream in tatters.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
After the Magpies’ fast start, surely the real Richmond would click into gear in the second half hour? Instead, Collingwood upped the ante and the pressure mounted on a Tigers’ outfit unable to match it for intensity. And more to the point, there was no one to match Mason Cox, who with three goals in quick succession, turned a handy gap into an almost match-winning lead. In 15 minutes Collingwood had booted five answered goals whereas Richmond failed to even enter their forward 50.
Somehow, Richmond managed to be within striking distance with plenty of time left in the final quarter. Had the ‘Pies burned all their petrol tickets? A 21 point margin seemed like nothing, knowing what the Tigers were capable of. The critical doorstop came courtesy of Treloar, who from a reasonable distance considering the hurried nature of his left foot snap, slotted home an underrated goal.
From here the Magpies regained their composure, albeit the door was still ajar. Appropriately it was Grundy who sealed his team’s grand final gig to cap a dominant ruck performance over Nankervis. The roar of the crowd was calibrated at an ear-splitting 126 decibels.
AFTERMATCH
There were echoes of the way Collingwood dominated Geelong in the first half of the 2010 Preliminary Final, however this result came left of left field. Sure, Dustin Martin’s deep bleeding corkie and consequent lack of influence was helpful, but few thought a Magpie win possible, let alone by 39 points.
A VFL/AFL record 22 consecutive wins at the MCG, a week off, no losses since 14 July, the reigning Brownlow medalist in the middle, the Coleman medalist up front and a five-time All-Australian down back… Much like Collingwood in the corresponding game in 2011, the expectations of being ‘six goals better than the competition’ (according to most media pundits), proved a heavy weight to bear. The weight of history also came crashing down, in the first Collingwood-Richmond final since the 1980 decider, the Magpies bested its old foe for the first time in a final since 1937.
A statistic the Tigers had defied all year was its poor number of clearances. The issue came home to roost when it mattered, Collingwood accruing 60 points from stoppages compared to Richmond’s eight. Add to that the Magpies’ efforts to maintain possession and an insurmountable target in Cox, Richmond was unable to consistently win back possession as it had done most of the season.
THE HERO
Mason Cox (Collingwood)
Whilst Steele Sidebottom played the game of his life, with 41 touches at 85% efficiency (and 13 marks), in just nine minutes the seven foot American transformed the game and sent the ‘G into a frenzy. Outside of his three big grabs and three calmly slotted goals, Mason Cox was an unstoppable force, taking another five contested grabs across the green expanses. Hard to comprehend, given his underwhelming finals performances against West Coast and GWS which suggested a failed project, a player not suited to the big stage, or a long-term career in the AFL.
Even Tigers’ coach Damian Hardwick was compelled to make grand comparisons. “Mason Cox looked like John Coleman … an American was B.O.G, he was a star tonight,” he said.
POSTSCRIPT
Yet again Magpie supporters had been handed the gift of an unexpected grand final berth and all the hope and sense of horror that elicits. Much like 2002, grasping the notion the black and whites would be running out on the largest stage was difficult to compute. A final, perhaps a final’s win, was the extent the average diehard was willing to dream in 2018. But with a rise from 13th (like Richmond), and a reprieved and rejuvenated coach (like Richmond), now it felt like fate. This was an opportunity to crack that fairytale flag so elusive to all those brave but ultimately inadequate grand final sides that had gone before.
The feeling was tempered somewhat the next day when West Coast obliterated a grossly underwhelming Melbourne in what was closer to a training run than an intense, no-holes-barred Preliminary Final (ominously, much like Geelong’s pathway in 2011). For ‘Pie fans the result equated to more ticket availability, and essentially a home Grand Final against an interstate side, but on the flipside the Eagles outlasted Collingwood twice in the previous couple months.
With McGovern making it to the starting line, defying grave doubts as to his fitness, West Coast’s better structure and marking targets again wore down a brave Collingwood team that clung on like a contestant in a Survivor finale. Had the siren sounded two minutes earlier, or later, it might have been the greatest flag in the club’s history, not to mention a record-equalling 16th title. So many what-ifs littered the contest. Ultimately, a missed free and a miracle from the pocket will haunt, echoes of 1979 extending to kicking the first five goals and losing by the same five point margin.
This would be the strangest of Collingwood seasons where conflicted supporters were left with chests full of heartache, hope and pride. Only time will tell if the Herculean efforts of 2018 will be seen as the start of a new era or an anomaly made possible by a competition now so even that every game, every minute and every kick seems to count double.
Whatever transpires, the 2018 Preliminary Final will go down in Magpie folklore.
WHAT THEY SAID
“A kid might drop in ‘your dad’s going to get sacked’, I think that was pretty well daily.”
Nathan Buckley gives context to the emotion behind one of the enduring images of the Preliminary Final, when son Jett leapt into his arms after the match.“What has Collingwood unleashed here? We’re seeing the future of the game, perhaps. It looks different, doesn’t it?”
Never shy on grandiose statements, Bruce McAvaney was as excited by Cox as champion racehorse Winx.“Nobody could have envisaged this.”
Chris Judd on Cox, speaking for practically every astonished viewer.“I’ve just got a bit of a different mindset to most of the boys. I don’t stress out too much about it. I just kind of focus on the little things… I think it was just a great team effort today.”
Cox provides some insight into his outlier perception of football.“Three years he’s known the game. It’s a credit to himself, the people around him and the coaches to teach him the game. I’m really proud of him.”
Alternate B.O.G., Steele Sidebottom on Cox.“Collingwood were outstanding, I have said this a couple of times I thought they were the best side we’d play both times, the way they set themselves up.”
After congratulating Nathan Buckley in the Collingwood rooms, Richmond coach Damian Hardwick was impressive, and impressed, after the match.“I thought they were terrific and they’re probably similar to us last year, they’re playing great momentum of footy right here right now, so they’re every chance of winning it next week.”
Hardwick again, drawing parallels with his own side’s record rise from 13th to premiers in 2017.“We’ll relax, we’ll embrace it, we’ll share it with each other, we’ll have a laugh, we’ll absorb all of that because it’s enjoyable to do. But all the while, we know we’ve got a job to do and we’re really looking forward to that challenge.”
Buckley in the moment, with one eye on the prize.
COLLINGWOOD
B Maynard Goldsack Langdon
HB Crisp Howe Greenwood
C Sidebottom Treloar Phillips
HF Hoskin-Elliott Mihocek Thomas
F Stephenson Cox DeGoey
FOLL Grundy, Pendlebury, Adams
INT Varcoe, Sier, Mayne, Aish
COACH Buckley
RICHMOND
B Grimes Rance Astbury
HB Vlaustin Houli Short
C Grigg Conca McIntosh
HF Edwards Rioli Castagna
F Caddy Riewoldt Martin
FOLL Nankervis, Cotchin, Prestia
INT Lambert, Higgins, Broad, Graham
COACH Hardwick
BEST
COLLINGWOOD – Sidebottom, Cox, Grundy, Adams, Crisp, De Goey, Greenwood
RICHMOND – Riewoldt, Cotchin, Houli, Higgins
GOALS:
COLLINGWOOD – De Goey 4, Cox 3, Crisp, Mihocek 2, Varcoe, Treloar, Grundy, Stephenson
RICHMOND – Riewoldt 5, Higgins 2, Houli
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