COLLINGWOOD has held off a desperate late charge from West Coast and moved through to the preliminary final with a 20-point win at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.

In front of 67,379 fans, star midfielders Scott Pendlebury and Dane Swan peeled off a combined 81 possessions as the reigning premiers started and finished slowly but did enough to triumph 12.10 (82) to 9.8 (62).

Faced with a ferocious opponent, the Magpies could manage only one goal in the opening quarter and, when Matt Priddis snapped the first goal of the second term, faced a 14-point deficit.

At that point, the Eagles' tall forward line of Quinten Lynch, Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and a resting Dean Cox or Nic Naitanui looked set to trouble the undersized Collingwood defence, which as expected lost All Australian nominee Ben Reid to a groin injury before the match.

But led by Pendlebury and Swan, the Magpies got on top in the middle of the ground and booted the next five goals.

From there Mick Malthouse's men looked in control as they extended a 13-point half-time lead to 26 points at the final change.

But two goals to Lynch and one to Darling in the last quarter drew the visitors to within seven points.

Consecutive set shot misses to Luke Shuey and Scott Selwood at the six and eight-minute marks eventually proved costly as Luke Ball kicked the sealer for Collingwood with less than two minutes remaining.

Compounding the Eagles' loss, Cox limped from the ground at the 20-minute mark of the third quarter and was subbed out of the game.

Influential players
Alongside Swan and Pendlebury, Harry O'Brien played a superb game from half-back, repeatedly driving his team forward with penetrating long kicks.

In his return from an eight-week suspension for gambling on football, Heath Shaw was almost as damaging off the other back flank.

Chris Tarrant, the Magpies' only true tall defender, was rarely beaten in one-on-one contests, and Sharrod Wellingham stayed busy from start to finish, booting three goals.

Ruckmen Naitanui and Cox (until injured) were magnificent for the visitors, comprehensively beating the Darren Jolly/Leigh Brown combination.

Likewise, key defender Eric Mackenzie outpointed his opponent Travis Cloke (one goal), while Darren Glass was also effective alternating between Brown and Chris Dawes (one goal).

Half-back Beau Waters showed typical toughness and made it a quiet 200th game for his direct opponent Alan Didak.

Lynch finished with three goals to be West Coast's leading scoreboard contributor, while Mark LeCras booted two.

The Eagles sorely missed hard-nut midfielder Daniel Kerr, a late withdrawal having still not fully recovered from a heavy knock to the back in round 22.

In his absence, first year player Andrew Gaff tried his heart out in the middle, but West Coast was thrashed in clearances (53-31) despite having 21 more hit-outs.

What it means
Collingwood will have a week off before facing Hawthorn, St Kilda or the Sydney Swans for a place in the Grand Final.

They'll regain Dale Thomas from suspension, and probably also Reid from his groin complaint.

West Coast travels back to Perth for a knockout home semi-final against the winner of Sunday's Carlton versus Essendon clash.

They'll be desperately hoping Cox's ailment is only minor, and that Kerr can get himself right after a frustrating three-week stint on the sidelines.

FIRST QUARTER
John Worsfold looked to stretch an undermanned Collingwood defence with Dean Cox starting forward, while Heath Shaw had his hands full starting on Jack Darling. It was the Eagles who made the flying start, with the first two goals. Nic Naitanui was in breathtaking form early around the stoppages, giving his counterpart Darren Jolly enormous headaches. The Eagles' press was in full force, with the Magpies struggling to move the ball freely from defence. When the ball found its way forward, West Coast's defenders continued to hold their ground in the one-on-one contests before Sharrod Wellingham finally dribbled home the first major for the Pies after 18 minutes. Collingwood worked its way back into the contest, but the Eagles held a slender lead at the first break.
West Coast by 8 points

SECOND QUARTER
The Pies who made all the running in the second quarter, with Andrew Krakouer kicking a brilliant goal and Leon Davis lighting up the gloomy Melbourne skies with a towering mark. The Eagles began to play into the Magpies hands with predictable forward 50 entries as the Collingwood defence began to find their run. A late slip from Adam Selwood allowed Dane Swan to waltz in and kick the Pies' fifth consecutive goal. A 50m penalty awarded to Naitanui arrested the momentum before Mark LeCras kicked a memorable dribbling goal from the boundary after some brilliant work by Darling and Chris Masten. Chris Dawes wrestled back the momentum with an all-important goal on the half-time siren to extend the Magpies' lead.
Collingwood by 13 points

THIRD QUARTER
After Scott Pendlebury's 25 possessions in the first half, Adam Selwood was asked to shadow him. The Magpies' relentless pressure began to take a toll on their opponents, with the Eagles' indecision highlighted by Matt Priddis' decision to play on from a set shot and then getting caught. His crucial turnover resulted in the Magpies defence swooping on the loose ball and scoring at the other end. West Coast's confidence was evaporating, with Harry O'Brien continuing to repel  attacking forays as their tall targets struggled to attract the ball inside 50. In a further blow, Cox was substituted out of the match after failing to shake off a leg/back injury sustained earlier in the match.
Collingwood by 26 points

FOURTH QUARTER
After Naitanui won the centre clearance and kicked long to Quinten Lynch, the Eagles had kicked the all-important first goal. West Coast dominated the early stages of the term, but Luke Shuey and Scott Selwood missed golden opportunities to reduce the margin to less than three goals. Eventually their dominance was rewarded when Lynch plucked the ball from the throw-in and snapped truly. At the other end, the Pies were also wayward as the contest began to open up. With the crowd getting involved, Collingwood looked to ice the clock before Luke Ball snapped a great goal and substitute Alex Fasolo put the icing on the cake as the siren sounded.
Collingwood by 20 points

Collingwood             1.1     7.5    10.7   12.10 (82)
West Coast                2.3     5.4      6.5   9.8 (62)

GOALS
Collingwood: Wellingham 3, Krakouer 2, Blair, Swan, Cloke, Dawes, Brown, Ball, Fasolo
West Coast: Lynch 3, LeCras 2, Kennedy, Priddis, Naitanui, Darling

BEST
Collingwood: Swan, Pendlebury, O'Brien, Wellingham, Davis, Shaw
West Coast: Naitanui, MacKenzie, Glass, Lynch, Waters, Shuey

INJURIES
Collingwood: Ben Reid (groin) replaced in the selected side by Alex Fasolo
West Coast: Daniel Kerr (back) replaced in the selected side by Patrick McGinnity, Cox (hip/back spasm)

SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Alan Didak replaced by Alex Fasolo during the final quarter.
West Coast: Dean Cox (leg) replaced by Patrick McGinnity during the third quarter.

Reports: Nil

Umpires: McBurney, Margetts, Jeffery

Official crowd: 67,379 at the MCG

The views in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs