In the most exciting game between these two traditional rivals since they last met in the finals in 1988, the Blues came from 27 points down early in the final quarter to win 13.11 (89) to 11.14 (80).
And it was Davies, a 20-year-old youngster in only his 22nd AFL game, who was the unlikely hero with three last quarter goals to spark the Blues’ revival.
The win could well be the one that kick-starts a Carlton revival under coach Denis Pagan, after the two worst years in the club’s history.
And one has to go back to the 1999 preliminary final for the last time the Blues’ famous theme song was sung with such gusto after the game as Carlton fans in the 56,000 strong crowd celebrated as if their team had just won a final.
But for Collingwood it was simply a nightmare day as the Pies not only threw away a match-winning lead but also lost skipper Nathan Buckley with what appeared to be another hamstring injury.
Buckley was only returning in this game after a three match absence with back-related hamstring problems but the reigning Brownlow Medalist only lasted 20 minutes before going off the ground.
He returned briefly in the second term but left the field again at the 10-minute mark and did not return.
And the inspirational Collingwood captain could only watch helplessly as the Pies simply surrendered in the final quarter, after looking certain winners.
Collingwood came into the match with just one win and the Blues two, and while that scoreline after six rounds was almost expected of a Carlton side, still battling to re-build its list after two years of being unable to participate in the national draft, Collingwood in contrast was coming off two successive grand final appearances.
And despite the return of Carlton skipper Anthony Koutoufides for the first time this season and the absence through injury of Scott Burns, Josh Fraser and Simon Prestigiacomo for the Pies – this was meant to be the day the Magpies kick-started their 2004 season.
But instead it is the Blues celebrating their third win of the season while the Magpies remain rooted to the bottom of the ladder with just one win from seven rounds.
However it all looked so different when Leon Davis’ fourth goal of the game gave the Pies’ a 27 point lead early in the final term.
After an even but error-riddled first half, which ended in a massive push and shove between both sides as they left the field at half-time, the Pies took control in the third term through the midfield dominance of Shane Woewodin and Davis’ predatory instincts in attack.
But after Davis’ fourth goal early in the final term, the game suddenly changed thanks to the heroics of young Davies.
The small forward kicked three goals in six minutes to suddenly cut the lead to ten points at the 12 minute mark and then Matthew Lappin – one of the few four quarter contributors on the ground – snapped one off the pack to cut the margin to four points.
And fittingly it was Brendan Fevola – who had virtually kept his team in the game single-handedly in the first three quarters with five goals – who kicked his sixth to give the Blues the lead at the 18 minute mark.
Adrian DeLuca – one of a number of unheralded Blues who lifted enormously in the final quarter – then kicked the sealer at the 24 minute mark in a win that was even more creditable considering Heath Scotland, the former Magpie who was the Blues’ best player for the first three quarters, limped off early in the final term with an ankle injury.
But while the Blues’ fans celebrate the club’s best win for five years, Magpie fans were entitled to leave the MCG feeling extremely downcast and wondering just how their team could have fallen so heavily, so quickly.
And to make matters worse, the Pies play the rampaging St Kilda next weekend.
Blues coach Denis Pagan said he could not have been more proud of his side. “It was a sensational win and full of character and shows what you can achieve if you persist,” he said.
“To be 27 points down in the last quarter and get up and kick six goals to one was a special effort.''
Magpie coach Mick Malthouse said he was disappointed to see the progress made by the side over the past four weeks thrown out the window by the disappointing final quarter.
“All I can do as a coach in conjunction with the match committee is work to eliminate the mistakes. Never in my 20 years of coaching have I said we will make a certain spot on the ladder, all you do is look for improvement," he said.
Carlton: 1.5 4.8 7.9 13.11 (89)
Collingwood: 3.3 5.7 10.11 11.14 (80)
Goals: Carlton: Fevola 6, Davies 3, Scotland, Hulme, Lappin, DeLuca.
Collingwood: Davis 4, Tarrant 2, Woewodin 2, Kinnear, Lokan, Buckley
Best: Carlton: Fevola, Davies, Lappin, Stevens, Scotland, Teague.
Collingwood: Woewodin, Davis, Holland, Lonie, O’Bree, Swan.
Injuries: Carlton: Scotland (ankle)
Collingwood: Buckley (hamstring).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: McBurney, Davis, K Nicholls
Crowd: 56,617 at the MCG.
