Before a passionate pro-Collingwood crowd of more than 95,000, the Magpies set up their win with a 13-goal first half that had them 62 points clear by the long break.
Travis Cloke dominated his battle with Tom Lonergan and overcame his goalkicking yips to finish with three goals while Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury were outstanding in the midfield, as Collingwood won 18.12 (120) to 11.13 (79).
It was a blistering performance from Mick Malthouse’s men, and regardless of their eventual opponents, the Pies will be short-priced favourites to win their first premiership since 1990.
However, the fitness of star recruit Luke Ball will be a concern during grand final week after the star recruit suffered a left hamstring injury during the third quarter.
“I’m not trying to kid you here. I’m not trying to make out anything. He came off with a cramp,” Malthouse said after the game.
“The first thing I asked the medical staff was about that and they said it was cramp.
“I’m very confident that he will play. He is as well and there was no point whatsoever in putting him back on.”
But if Ball is sidelined by the injury, small forward Leon Davis - who was a late withdrawal on Friday night due to a hamstring problem of his own - might gain a reprieve.
The thumping loss looks to have brought Geelong’s four-year period of domination to a clear end.
In what could prove to be his final game for Geelong, Gary Ablett was one of few winners for the Cats. He gathered 25 possessions in the first half, finished with 40, and tried everything he could to keep his team in the game.
Collingwood played with relentless intensity from the opening bounce. With their supporters roaring themselves hoarse, the Magpies led by 17 points after only nine minutes.
When Leigh Brown picked the ball up inside the centre square and blindly booted it into attack, only for it to do a leg break and bounce through for a goal, it was clear it was Collingwood’s night.
By the end of the first term the Magpies led the inside-50 count 22-8 and enjoyed a 43-point advantage on the scoreboard.
“They just annihilated us early and we were a bit shell-shocked,” Geelong full back Matthew Scarlett admitted later.
“I’ve played for a while and I’ve never seen a side [apply so much] pressure.
“They just swarm you and it’s like they’ve got three or four extra players out there. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“They’re a great side and they’re going to be very hard to beat next week.”
Things only got worse for the Cats in the second term.
Even simple rotations off the interchange bench became a problem when Corey Enright stepped outside the yellow line and gifted Collingwood a shot from the goal square.
After Dale Thomas put it through, the difference was 55 points and the Magpies were effectively through to the grand final.
The margin blew out to 81 points during the third quarter, although the Cats restored some pride late in the game as the Collingwood players eased up with one eye on the following week's game.
“We won the game by the pressure and the systems that we created and that was for the full four quarters,” Malthouse said.
“We dropped off at certain times but we still managed to keep most of it in place.”
Collingwood 7.2 13.7 16.11 18.12 (120)
Geelong 1.1 3.5 6.10 11.13 (79)
GOALS
Collingwood: Cloke 3, Pendlebury 2, Sidebottom 2, Swan 2, Wellingham 2, Beams, Brown, Dawes, Didak, Johnson, Macaffer, Thomas
Geelong: Varcoe 2, Stokes 2, Byrnes 2, Bartel, Johnson, Mooney, Ottens, Podsiadly
BEST
Collingwood: Swan, Pendlebury, L. Brown, Thomas, Toovey, Cloke, Didak
Geelong: Ablett, Varcoe, Bartel, Kelly
INJURIES
Collingwood: Ball (hamstring)
Geelong: None
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Chamberlain, Ryan
Official crowd: 95,241 at MCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
