MAGPIE Taylor Adams briefly dropped his guard to grin after Saturday's win over Port Adelaide, on learning he won 16 of his 30 possessions in the second quarter alone.
Even better was that 13 of those were effective – he had a whopping 23 in total – in a silent shot at the critics that regularly question his efficiency and decision-making.
The tough midfielder's accurate long-range set shot on the tick of half-time was the perfect exclamation mark.
In fact, Adams ranks No.22 in the competition in the past month for average effective disposals, so he's doing plenty right in that department.
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"I don't listen too much (to the critics)," he told AFL.com.au.
"I think my kicking's improved a lot over the last couple of years, and over the last eight or so weeks I feel like I'm in pretty good form.
"My role's to be a contested-ball beast and I think I'm doing that at the moment."
Don't take Adams' word for it: only 10 players in the AFL are winning more of the contested stuff per game this year – and just six in the last four rounds.
The 24-year-old's importance to the black-and-white cause has only heightened since partner-in-crime Adam Treloar suffered a serious hamstring injury in round 14.
Treloar's absence, along with several other key members, has meant Adams and company have carried a heavier load, so Collingwood's ability to win five of eight games reflects well on them.
The 51-point thumping of the Power secured the Magpies' first finals appearance since 2013, and few are more thrilled than Adams, who has never played a post-season game.
"It's something I've been craving for seven years now, so I'm really excited," the former Giant said.
"We don't really want to get too carried away, but we're just loving playing footy as a club. Every week we have 22 role players and it seems to get the job done.
"It's a lot more enjoyable than this time last year, when we were packing up stumps and planning overseas holidays. This year we're looking forward to making a dent in the finals."
But Adams isn't ready to look beyond the home and away season, with he and his teammates intent on beating Fremantle and keeping their top-four hopes alive.
"There's still one round to go and we're travelling over to Perth next week, so that will be difficult, but we love getting away together and I'm looking forward to it," he said.
"The way we've done it all year has been week to week, and we're really confident in our ability and the system and brand of footy we play.
"We're excited for finals, but we're trying to secure a top-four spot now."
