JACK Ginnivan started the year in the centre of a storm and has spent more time out of Collingwood's best 22 than in it this year, but on Friday night, the cult figure showed he can play a key role in September. 

Ginnivan missed the first two games of 2023 due to suspension, lost his spot to off-season signing Bobby Hill and has struggled to replicate the shimmering form that saw him burst onto the scene in 2022.

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The 20-year-old played eight straight games after earning a reprieve in Gather Round but then spent more than two months in the VFL, playing in Frankston, Werribee and Victoria Park, waiting for another opportunity to get back into a side that was on top of the ladder and cruising towards September.

Collingwood secured the minor premiership for the first time since 2011 after smashing Essendon by 70 points at the MCG on Friday night, and Ginnivan was a big reason why, kicking three goals and handing off three others in his third game back in the senior side.

Craig McRae said the turning point in Ginnivan's season was in the middle of winter when the Castlemaine product put his head down at the AIA Centre and demanded another opportunity through his performances on the track. 

"I strongly believe it came down to his training standards. There was a real shift," McRae told reporters after Collingwood's win.

"You can get caught up in form, but at VFL level he wasn't playing above the level. Then he got busy with his training. 

"For a month there he was our best trainer, really high intensity with what he was doing and he wasn't getting rewarded for it, but he stuck with it. Opportunity presented and games like tonight shows what he is capable of."

Collingwood will arrive on the starting grid next month back in form, following a month where the Magpies dropped three of four games and conceded more than 100 points in three consecutive weeks – and 93 in the other game – to remove some of its aura ahead of the finals. 

"We came here with a clear plan to improve parts of our defence; we've said that loud for everyone to hear and we can be held accountable to it; I love saying things out loud so we actually have to deliver on it," McRae said.

"Anyone watching last week or the weeks previous we had to improve parts of our game and I feel like we did that. It was a step in the right direction. I feel like the hunger within our group has been questionable. Tonight I wouldn't have thought you could question that part of our game."

Collingwood won 17 games across McRae's first season in charge, including one final, but has now banked 18 wins from 23 games to ensure it will finish at least one game clear on top of the ladder.

"You're here to qualify and we've won 18 games – you can't deny that. 18 games in this tough 24 round competition – the first time it's been 24 rounds. It's a marathon with bumps and bruises, losses and the resilience to go again," he said.

"This is a tough competition and it is so even. The margins are small. There is not a massive gap between us and others. We know that. To qualify in this position. We are proud of our efforts."

The Magpies will regain Darcy Moore, Nathan Murphy and Beau McCreery for the first final, but Nick Daicos is expected to be available for the second final at this stage. 

Jamie Elliott was substituted out of Friday night's game at half-time after copped a corked glute but the small forward is in no doubt for the qualifying final. 

Fin Macrae will play in the VFL wildcard round on Sunday, despite playing the second half.

Essendon coach Brad Scott said the past fortnight will serve as fuel over the summer after his side's finals chances evaporated on the back of the 126-point loss to Greater Western Sydney in round 23, followed by the hammering by the Magpies.

The Bombers started the season 4-1 and reached the mid-season bye 8-5, but only won three more games – two of those were unconvincing performances against North Melbourne and West Coast – to finish Scott’s first season in charge 11-12. 

"The reality is we've got a heap of work to do. I've said that after wins, after losses, and nothing really changes from that perspective," Scott said after his side's loss.

"The last few weeks in particular have proven that where we're at, at the moment, we need to get a lot better to bridge the gap to the best teams. 

"We need to improve our list, we need to improve our football department, we need to improve right across the board. 

"In a perverse way, the players leave with a sick feeling in their stomach and that should drive their off-season. 

"This is the first opportunity I've got to drive an off-season. Not even a pre-season, an off-season, in terms of what expectations we have. The observations of the last 9-12 months is, it's nowhere near where it needs to be. We'll get that right."

Scott is confident All-Australian midfielder Darcy Parish will turn his back on free agency and re-sign with the Bombers in the coming weeks, despite the 26-year-old exiting the season without signing a new deal to remain at Tullamarine. 

"All I know from experience is when a player desperately wants to stay at your club and your club desperately wants to keep him, a deal gets done. That's been my experience," he said.

"I'm clearly not involved in the negotiations, but he is really committed to us and we're really committed to him."