WHEN Collingwood recruit Adam Treloar took to the MCG for the first time against Richmond, he knew the reception from the Tiger Army wasn't going to be pretty.
He was right.
Treloar, who played a key role in the one-point win, was targeted on Friday night because of his pre-season remark that he had chosen to join the Magpies over the Tigers because they had a "better list".
The crowd reminded the former Greater Western Sydney midfielder of his comment from his first possession to his 32nd, but Treloar said he had been prepared and was just glad to be on the winning team.
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"When the fans think someone's taking a shot at their footy club – which I don't believe I did, I reckon they're a great footy club – you're not going to be liked by the opposition team," Treloar told AFL..com.au.
"I knew every time I got the ball I was going to be booed and I expect it next game as well.
"But that's footy, that's life and it doesn't matter. We won at the end of the day so I'm happy … it's my first win with the footy club and our first win of the season."
Treloar was the player who drove Collingwood forward for its final thrust with just 30 seconds remaining, bursting through the middle and kicking deep inside 50.
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The 23-year-old was among the team's ball-use culprits, with a disposal efficiency of 62 per cent, but he set up the win with his dash when others were tiring.
"Now I look back and think about it, I should have run in and taken a couple of bounces and had a shot," he joked.
"But I was just thinking 'get the ball forward'. I knew there wasn't much time left and we were down by five points.
"We won it in the end with the ruckman standing in the right position."
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Treloar conceded the Magpies had let themselves down with a disposal efficiency of 72 per cent, particularly in a first half riddled with errors from both teams.
But the players "hung tough" and looked for redemption, following last week's 80-point loss to the Sydney Swans.
"It looked like we were done and dusted with five minutes to go but we stuck in there," Treloar said.
"We wanted to redeem ourselves and go back to the basics – effort and energy – and that's what really let us down last week.
"If we could get that on our side we knew we could win the game and I reckon in that last 10 minutes we really stepped that up."