GEELONG and Collingwood will head into their crucial qualifying final at the MCG as named, with no late changes for either team. 

Mark O'Connor will be the Cats' medical sub, while big forward Nathan Kreuger will don the vest for Collingwood. 

As expected, NAB AFL Rising Star Nick Daicos will take his place in the team despite a light week on the training track after pulling up tight from a gym session, while the Cats will welcome back all of Jeremy Cameron, Mitch Duncan and Rhys Stanley for the blockbuster final. 

>>> CATS v MAGPIES Live coverage from 4.35pm AEST

Geelong v Collingwood at the MCG, 4.35pm AEST

NO LATE CHANGES

MEDICAL SUBS
Geelong: Mark O'Connor
Collingwood: Nathan Kreuger

SUMMARY

Collingwood returns to September after winning 12 of its final 13 games of the home and away season to secure fourth spot. Taylor Adams looms as the only player returning from injury, with the Magpies vice-captain set to play for the first time since hurting his groin in round 20. Geelong arrives at the start of another finals series on the back of a 13-game winning streak, finishing two games clear on top of the ladder. Jeremy Cameron, Rhys Stanley and Mitch Duncan all missed round 23, but all three are set to play. Cam Guthrie hurt his shoulder in the that game but is good to go. 

Where and when: MCG, Saturday September 3, 4.35pm AEST

WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR? 

Round 3: Collingwood 13.13 (91) lost to Geelong 16.8 (104) at the MCG

Before Collingwood clicked into gear under new coach Craig McRae, it almost stunned Geelong early in the season. The Magpies booted nine third-quarter goals to lead by 30 points at the final change, before the Cats steamed home, kicking seven final-term goals to none with Jeremy Cameron booting six majors in a dominant display. Only one team banked the points that night, but Collingwood fans didn't leave disappointed. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Geelong
Jeremy Cameron earned Therabody AFL All-Australian selection for the third time last Wednesday night after a brilliant second season at Kardinia Park. But the Coleman medallist arrives at the start of September with some concern regarding his fitness after straining his hamstring in round 22. The 29-year-old has been cleared to play, but he has history of hamstring issues at Geelong. Hopefully this one is behind him. 

Collingwood
While the Cats had five players named in the All-Australian side, Brayden Maynard was the only Magpie to be picked in the 22. The 25-year-old is the match-up no one wants from Geelong. Maynard's versatility could see him used on anyone from Jeremy Cameron to Tyson Stengle to Patrick Dangerfield if he plays in attack. The defender's style stacks up in finals, just like it has in big games at the MCG in front of 70,000-plus this year. Collingwood has played in front of the five biggest crowds of 2022.  

THE STATS THAT MATTER

Geelong
The Cats have only missed out on playing in the finals once in the 12 years Chris Scott has been at the helm. Just once. But since going all the way in 2011, Geelong has won seven of 22 finals. Preliminary finals are very hard to win, but they haven't been the Cats' biggest problem. Geelong has won only two qualifying finals under Scott, dropping six and two elimination finals. They haven't won in the first week of September since 2016. 

Collingwood
While the Cats have been gearing up for September for months, Collingwood has been preparing in a different way. It has won nine games by single digits, two more by less than two goals, losing one other by just seven points. With so much more on the line in the finals, Craig McRae's men have gained some invaluable experience this winter that should stand up in spring. 

IT'S A BIG WEEK FOR… 

Geelong
While Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins have multiple premierships on their CVs, Patrick Dangerfield doesn't have one yet. At 32 and with plenty of kilometres on the odometer, the Brownlow medallist is running out of time and might not get another opportunity like this to taste the ultimate success. It all starts on Saturday night for the 300-gamer who has 23 games of finals experience.

Collingwood
It has been a big year for Jordan De Goey. The off-field drama has taken away from his brilliant first half of the season, but the stage is set for the box office star to explode this September. De Goey has proven his ability to perform in finals in the past and if he does so again in the coming weeks, it will be hard to see Collingwood letting him play elsewhere next season. 

PREDICTION

Geelong by five points. Collingwood has proven over a long period of time that it can match anyone, but the Cats are clearly the best team in it and should be able to overcome the best of the Magpies, just like they did in round three. 

GEELONG has won in the first week of finals for the first time since 2016, denying Collingwood by six points in a thrilling, brutal encounter to book a home preliminary final at the MCG.

The Magpies were the masters of the tight finishes in 2022, winning nine games by single digits – and 11 by less than 12 points – but practice doesn't always make perfect, as it was Geelong who stood up at the death.

CATS v MAGPIES Full match coverage and stats

Chris Scott's men have now won fourteen straight games after the 11.12 (78) to 10.12 (72) win at the MCG put them just one victory away from playing in another Grand Final. 

Gary Rohan was the hero for the Cats, hauling in a colossal pack mark and subsequent goal to put the Cats in front late in the final term, before Jack Crisp levelled the scores with less than three minutes to play.

ROHAN CATS' 'ENERGY GIVER' Scott says forward's heroics 'gratifying'

After a scrappy passage from the ensuing kick-in, Jeremy Cameron delivered a dagger through Magpie hearts when he fired a ball deep inside 50 to Rohan, who fed the ball to an unmarked Max Holmes for the match-winner from inside the goal square. 

Having waited 12 months to show that he can handle the searing pressure of finals football, and overcoming an injury-interrupted season, Rohan was one of the most influential players on the ground, finishing with an equal game-high three goals. 

Cameron, who showed no sign of the hamstring issue that kept him out of the Cats' round 23 clash with West Coast, also booted three goals to go with his 17 disposals in a brilliant display.

FIVE TALKING POINTS Shaky Cat delivers right on time

After the first two games of September whetted the appetite for the most highly anticipated fixture of the weekend, 91,525 people – the biggest crowd since the 2019 preliminary final between Richmond and Geelong – crammed into the MCG to see one of the games of the season. 

And the game delivered from the opening bounce until the final siren. 

Collingwood led by 14 points at quarter-time, a point at half-time and seven points at the final break, before Jordan De Goey put his side 12 points up three minutes into the fourth quarter with a clinical finish on the run.

But just when it looked like Craig McRae's fairytale first season in charge of the Magpies was going to continue, Geelong found a way to win a game they looked like losing for large chunks. 

SEASON OVER Heartbreak for tough mid, Pies told not to 'act like losers'

De Goey (26 disposals, two last-quarter goals) and Scott Pendlebury (34 disposals) were outstanding for Collingwood, while Joel Selwood (25 disposals) and Tom Atkins (23 disposals) were important as the Cats gained the ascendancy around the contest in the decisive final quarter.

After missing the final three games of the home and away season due to an adductor strain Taylor Adams made a big impact around the ball for the first three and a half quarters, before bringing the game to a standstill halfway through the final term when he had to be helped off the ground in the arms of trainers. 

The Magpies vice-captain was left in tears on the bench and was emotional in the rooms after the game, with the club suspecting Adams has torn his groin off the bone, ending his season.

Despite Geelong's superiority across the home and away season again – the Cats finished with the double chance for the 13th time in 16 years – it is all about what happens in the most important month of the football calendar. The Cats had won only seven of 22 finals since the last time they went all the way in Scott's first season in 2011. 

Make that eight now, after ending a first week of September hoodoo in the process.

GEELONG                    1.3       4.7       7.10     11.12 (78)
COLLINGWOOD          3.5       4.8       8.11     10.12 (72)

GOALS
Geelong: Cameron 3, Rohan 3, Close 2, Hawkins, Duncan, Holmes
Collingwood: De Goey 2, Johnson 2, Crisp, J. Daicos, Elliott, Hoskin-Elliott, Lipinski, Mihocek

BEST
Geelong: Cameron, Stewart, Atkins, Dangerfield, Rohan, C. Guthrie, Duncan
Collingwood: Moore, Pendlebury, De Goey, J. Daicos, Sidebottom, Crisp, Noble

INJURIES
Geelong: Kolodjashnij (knee)
Collingwood: Adams (groin), Johnson (thigh)

SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Mark O'Connor replaced Jake Kolodjashnij in the second quarter 
Collingwood: Nathan Kreuger replaced Taylor Adams in the fourth quarter

Crowd: 91,525 at the MCG