Who would have imagined 12 months ago as we watched on the telly while Essenscum thrashed us by 38 points at an empty stadium that I assume was the MCG, that we would be eagerly awaiting a Qualifying Final at the same stadium but in front of a bumper crowd against The Pussies from down the Princes Highway?
This year has been a rollercoaster, white knuckled ride of a season that has generated a range of sentiments and experiences not seen by the Magpie faithful for many a year, if ever. 16 wins after a season in 2021 of only 4. Out of the 16 wins only 5 were by a margin of 12 points or more, and of the 11 tight games 7 were by a margin of a goal or less. After a season like that one what were we to expect going into a Qualifying Final against the best team in the competition, statistically, even though they have a lot of relatively easy games on their home turf down the Prince’s Highway. Geelong had not been beaten since the game against St Kilda at Docklands in round 9, a winning streak of 13 up until the Qualifying Final.
In a quick consult with Dave & Jim when we arrived at our seats, we were not optimistic, which reflects the pundits who seem to plump for Geelong unanimously. This observation brings me the first of 3 beefs I need to get off my chest. I volunteered for the Match Report after Dave indicated we needed to go revert to plan B for this week’s match report and DR votes where one or two of us three plus Steve fill in if there are no takers. Why was there so little enthusiasm for reporting on this unexpected final? I realise in the pre-season forecast most would have had us in any position between 10th and last. After last year, even though we had recruited an experienced coaching panel headed by Craig McCrae, who looks more like the next Premiership Coach for our beloved Pies each week; most of the pundits who are paid to do so and those who are not would never have predicted our finishing fourth after the home and away rounds, but we did. I strongly suspect most of our Floreat Pica folk were filled with trepidation at the prospect of this game being the one where the wheels really fell of and did not wish to have to report on it. Like most of us I felt it could get ugly, but it did not stop me from putting my hand up when needed.
Now I have got that off my chest to the next two whinges for the for the day, which are related but also separate: ticketing and viewing from some areas of the MCG.
I have volunteered to obtain tickets for all three of us for some many years now and have been able to do so to the satisfaction of my companions in arms. Until this year I have had little problem getting tickets at the designated time and seating has been more than satisfactory for all finals – including grand finals – going back to 2003. However, this year seemed to be something of a nightmare, mainly my fault. I had some issues with entering barcodes and ran out of time more than once. Consequently, when I got to book our tickets all that was left was Bay M32 row LL, which we all felt was OK. Undercover in case it poured and at the Collingwood end in the Ponsford. While on the surface the pozzy seemed fine, in theory when we arrived it was awful. From our seat the big screen was out of sight and only ones we could see comfortably did not show all that was on the big ones. I am going on like a pork chop since the view, or lack of it, has affected my take on the game. The camber of the seats is such that it is hard to see the flow of the game properly and reminded me of the front few rows of seating at Waverly Park where you could not see the other side of the ground due to the slope of the pitch from the middle to outer areas. In fact, it was worse as one could see like a horizontal TV screen but squashed so if the ball went up in the air, which of course it does in Aussie Rules, you lost sight of it until it came down. It was up to the crowd in the open to tell us what was happening, especially when goals were scored. In addition to the relatively restricted viewing, as we were on the end of the row there was a continual movement of people across us going for toilet breaks, food etc, and not just in the breaks but also during the game. Are they there for the footy or something else?
This viewing proved hard to assess who was doing what all the time and keep proper track of the game, so I have reverted to stats, AFL short replays and media reports as well as comments between us during the game and at the breaks.
I realise we are spoilt rotten with our usual seats in N36 Row B, which we have had since 2006. It was suggested by Jim that we should be able to keep our seats for finals games if we wished to attend. It seems a good idea to me but maybe beyond the planners at the AFL and Ticketek.
Now a little history of Geelong v Collingwood finals games. This finals rivalry is the one that has occurred most in the history of the AFL/VFL, with Cats and Magpies meeting 26 times until this one on Saturday 3rd September 2022. By my reckoning the Cats lead the tally 14-12, so this rivalry is alive and well, but Geelong seems to have the wood on us.
All three of us agreed that we hoped this would not be another LFMPHAT game (last five minutes heart attack territory) since we have all got into the habit of ringing or texting our significant others after all recent nail-biters to assure them we are still upright and breathing, even though we are excited but exhausted.
And so to the game:-
First Quarter
Collingwood came out of the blocks like Usain Bolt on speed. Kicking to the Ponsford end, apart from Geelong scoring the first point it was almost all at our end. Our tackling and pressure was immense and there were little signs of nerves from the many finals’ debutants in our side. Goals to Lipinski, after a great tackle, Mihochek off the ground and Daicos interspersed with a miss from Johnson that should have been converted as well as one from Elliot were replied to by one from Cameron giving the Pies a 14-point lead at the first break.
If we were nervous about our performing in finals with the expected lift in pressure, physicality and speed, then this quarter quietened those nerves. However, 3-5 could well have been 5-3 with a 24 not 14 point lead. Standouts in this quarter were both Daicos boys, Lipinski, Moore, Howe, Noble and De Goey. Old stagers Pendlebury and Sidebottom were prominent as well. No-one took a backward step and although a few mistakes were made, not just by our boys but theirs as well. It had the makings of a classical finals game with not much in it; not good for LFMPHAT!
Pies 23 – Cats 9
Second Quarter
If the first quarter showed how we could execute pressure tackling footy, the second showed us appearing to take our foot off the pedal or was Geelong stepping up the pressure by somewhat slowing the game down to diffuse our chaos method. Whichever of these it was, the effect was to give Geelong the lead, albeit a slender one and for not too long since we grabbed it back on the siren by the slimmest of margins. This quarter showed how dangerous two or three tall bulky and mobile forwards are even against the meanest of defences. Hawkins, Cameron and Rohan were significant in their presence. How nice would it be for us to have even 2 like them let alone 3?
The first half was made up of two different quarters. In the first we should have been more than 14 points up in terms of both kicking and general play. In the second quarter our pressure appeared to drop off enough to let Geelong back in while they capitalised by using their marking power in defence and attack to cause errors and kick 4 goals to our one.
It had to be remembered that Geelong were the highest scorers in the league as well the third meanest defence by 2 and 5 points, with the best percentage by a long way. In this context to see a half time score of 32 – 31 shows a tight game that could either blow out or stay tight and low scoring.
Pendlebury, Moore, Adams, Sidebottom continued their good form in this quarter but some of the younger brigade dropped off, as well as De Goey. Cameron improved in this quarter.
Pies 32 – Cats 31
Third Quarter
This is the premiership quarter and after the long break our boys came out with the same resolve as in the first. Tackling pressure was back to the same level in the first quarter and it showed on the scoreboard. Goals to Johnson (2), Crisp and Elliot gave us 7-point lead going into the last break, though we could never put more than 9 points between us and Geelong. Some slack marking in defence let us down as well as an out on the full soccer from Maynard that resulted in a Cameron goal from the boundary line. It appeared that Maynard did not need to hack the ball away, but who can criticise such a dedicated player who gives his all.
Pendlebury, Josh Daicos, Sidebottom, McCreery and Cameron were notable in that quarter and of course Johnson with two goals including one from the boundary line that was only matched by Cameron (Geelong) shortly after.
Pies 59 – Cats 52
Final Quarter
A 7-point ball game and all to play for. Collingwood got the first goal from a string of passes to take a 12 point lead through De Goey, but could not hold onto it for more than a minute or so as Cameron marked and kicked hie 3rd goal for the game. Geelong hit the front by a point with 8 minutes remaining, only for Collingwood to also hit the front by 5 points again through De Goey with less than 5 minutes to go. New we really were into LFMPHAT, only for Rohan for Geelong to grab the lead back within a minute or so. A point to Collingwood had scores level with less than 2 minutes to go. Neither side tried to milk the game to send us into extra time so a series of long kicks left Rohan about to take a mark that was dropped with Sidebottom about to pounce and tackle or take the ball away, but he slipped to allow Rohan to recover and pass to a player in the goal square to put Geelong up by 6, with a minute or to play. There was no coming back from that.
We have won so many games by a goal or less this year I suppose on balance of probabilities we were going to lose one by a similar margin to a late goal. If it is to happen at all it is supposedly better when we can live to fight another day rather than either the Essendon or Carlton game which would have left us out of the top 4 and playing Carlton again or maybe Footscray in a do or die game.
Better players in the final quarter were Pendlebury, Daicos brothers, De Goey, Noble Crisp and Sidebottom. Moore faded a bit in the last half but maybe Geelong tried to keep the ball away from where he was to reduce his intercept effect.
Pies 72 – Cats 78
And now we face Fremantle at the ’G’ on Saturday with a win seeing us go back to Sydney for a Preliminary Final. Sydney are looking good at present, but his team does not how to give up and it now all to play for. It would be nice to meet Geelong again the Grand Final and exact revenge, or even Melbourne who we have beaten twice this year. How sweet would it be to win our next flag that way. We can all dream, because that is why we all go along each week. Hope springs eternal or as the American Poet Emily Dickenson wrote:
“Hope is a thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash a little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet, never, in extremity
It asked a crumb of me”
Go Pies
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