Sunday, July 24th, 2022
By Paul McKay
As some of you know, this is the first time for me to be writing a report while at the game, at the G. And what a game it was… as the Paul Kelly song goes… one for the ages. I hope you all enjoy my report at least half as much as I enjoyed being at this game.
I have chosen to depart from the usual blow by blow format, since I’m pretty sure most in this audience would have digested a lot of coverage on this game since the final siren last night. So much drama packed into those 100 minutes, it’s going to be a serious test to find the right adjectives and superlatives, so here we go…
I met my cousin, Kym at Gate 2 at 2pm, and our intention was to meet early so that I could have a quick walk through the MCC museum, which I had never seen before. My fascination with history was soon swept aside by somebody commenting that the Pies were about to take the field. Getting back to our seats, we heard the roar as the Pies went through the banner and the G was buzzing with noise, a deafening noise.
Q1 sees the Pies in sublime and exceptional form under the Jolimont sunshine, with six goals piled on in impressive fashion, and Essendon are kept to a solitary point. We are not giving the Bombers anything easily. Ash Johnson gets three of the first six. The confidence of our younger brigade in these past few weeks is something worth dwelling upon. In previous years, the new kids would be welcomed into the team and we would all find ourselves nervously gritting our teeth with each possession, and ultimately saying “aah well, he’s still pretty green isn’t he, he’ll come good”, explaining away their awkward moments as they fumbled or caused costly turnovers. None of that is to be found in 2022, as the likes of Johnson, Carmichael, Lipi, Nick Daicos, Ginnivan (and I’ll even add Bianco to that list, after his cool, calm and critical contribution to the final play) are having us thinking that they are all packing in years of experience. There is clearly a secret sauce in the preparation of these youngsters, and it has worked a dream.
Two key moments in Q1 need to be tasted, chewed and digested. At 21 minutes, in a clearly intentional act of “to hell with the rules”, Mason Redman sees red and takes Jack Ginnivan all the way down with a high tackle. Play on is the call. Even Essendon supporters around us are in shock. An earthquake of boos is heard around the ground and the wound is opened again. There is no need to tie oneself in knots over this issue. The rules are clear. You can tackle only below the neck and above the knees. Pies fans are fearing the worst, that one day Jack will be seriously decapitated, living out the rest of his days in a neck brace. The other key moment is at 24 minutes, when Josh Daicos gets the ball on the city side of the southern wing, handballs underground and along the boundary line to get around Durham, then a subtle tap to get around Hind, collects, moves inbound to lessen the angle, and then threads it through to perfect the perfect. There is no time at all between his kick and his celebration. He knew, almost as he made contact, that that ball was going straight through. Camera pans to his elated father in the stands, bearing a huge beaming smile, two arms in the air. I’m considering adding myself to the injury list, as I’ve been pinching myself for the entire first quarter. Other notable moments to close out the first quarter – Mason Cox getting off the ground to take a hanger right in front of us, an armchair ride thanks to Andrew Phillips, with Peter Wright in the big man contest as well. Icing on the Q1 cake is Ash Johnson, positioning himself perfectly at the top of the goal square to accept a Beau McCreery entry. Goal. 37 point lead at quarter time.
The rest of this story could unfold in two ways. Either we relax and let the Bombers back in, or we put the foot down, play possession footy and cruise to an easy win. Of course it went the way of scenario 1, and in a manner which was way too much for our collective nerves. In true impartial FPS fashion, I choose to skip the details of the 2nd & 3rd terms, where the Pies seemed to lose interest, the Bombers whittle away our lead and in fact move ahead, to hold a ten point lead at 3QT. It seemed during those two quarters we chased and chased some more, coming second for pretty much the entirety of these two quarters. Diverting back to half time – I did some exploring and got lost in the magnificent MCC library, discovering a sad alphabetical coincidence, that the Collingwood collection is right next to the Carlton section. After some browsing, I admit I lost track of the time, only to be tapped on the shoulder while in the VFA section by an attendant, updating me with a sense of urgency about two key facts…. One; the game has just re-started. And two, the library was now closing!
Q4 started with a quick goal to Draco Malfoy, otherwise known as Matt Guelfi, followed by a few more points to the Bombers and we are 20 points down early in the quarter. It could have been worse. I tell Kym that all we need to do is the same as what was done over the past two months, but deep down I was thinking that we needed a miracle. Yet the miraculous has a knack for startling us all, and the miracles start to unfold. Josh Carmichael commences with a cool set shot from the 50 at the Punt Road end. Jamie Elliott does exactly the same from almost the same spot a few minutes later. We are whittling away at their lead. Carmichael does it again, this time a set shot from the left pocket. How cool is this kid in the big moment? Incredibly, Elliott will do same from almost the similar position, but wait, before we get there, Ash Johnson pops up again, but his round the corner kick from the left pocket cannot find its mark. Being at the ground, we do not know how much time is left, and when Jeremy Howe slips over and bounces the ball while being tackled, he gifts a free kick to Harrison Jones, 45m out, directly in front. His accuracy is perfect, as he slams the ball directly into the left post. I find out later that at this moment, we have 45 seconds to perform the impossible and win the game.
What follows is not only decisive and direct, but also beautiful to watch. Pendles takes the quick kick from the square, very clever, giving no time for the Bombers to re-set. He finds a rampaging Moore, who delivers perfectly to Bianco on his own on the wing, who takes a few quick steps and sends it deep to Elliott, marking 5 metres behind the 50m arc, outfoxing Jake Kelly (why is he not on the Collingwood list?) and Kyle Langford in the process. Billy Elliott. Who else would you prefer to take such a pressure kick? The siren sounds as he is halfway through his run up and he coolly slots the goal. All the players mob him, Pies fans at the fence join in the celebrations and the MCG is in a state of delirious ecstasy. McRae mentioned in the post-game wrap up, that they have actually practised these crunch time scenarios many times. We see it, we believe it. And we do love it.
The votes
Very hard to pick here, if we look for consistent performers throughout the entire game, given our “bookend” performance, but here we go:
1. Pendles; Apart from an awful late cross to Noble in Q3, provided his usual drive and leadership,
2. Ash Johnson; Started the game off well, getting himself into position and kicking straight, except for one,
3. Jamie Elliott; Kicking truly under enormous pressure for both his Q4 goals, on top of his work rate, forward pressure and goal assists for the remainder of the game.
Apologies to Josh Daicos, a sure candidate for goal of the year and was busy during key moments, Taylor Adams (our top possession getter, tackling and playing on with his usual intensity), Jack Crisp (23 possessions), Isaac Quaynor (took some telling marks at critical moments) and Steele (tackled hard for the whole game).
We are in the top four.
Enjoy the week.
Go Pies!
Cheers everyone,
The BKK Correspondent, from Melbourne.
==
COLLINGWOOD 6.2 7.4 8.5 12.8 (80)
ESSENDON 0.1 5.3 10.7 11.10 (76)
GOALS
Collingwood: Johnson 3, Carmichael 2, Elliott 2, Mihocek 2, Cameron, J.Daicos, Pendlebury
Essendon: Wright 3, Guelfi 2, Draper, Jones, Langford, Martin, Phillips, Stringer
INJURIES
Collingwood: Maynard (shoulder)
Essendon: Redman (internal bruising)
SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Josh Carmichael (replaced Brayden Maynard)
Essendon: Brayden Ham (replaced Mason Redman)
Crowd: 72,402 at the MCG
==
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