The Pies had an atrocious run of luck when it came to injuries, which started when Jamie Elliott pulled out with a hamstring complaint when the team sheets were lodged. Then, Scott Pendlebury joined him after hurting his quad in the warm-up. Ben Reid was next, tweaking a hamstring four minutes into the game and forcing an early substitute before Travis Cloke hurt his ankle in the second quarter and didn't return. Then Ben Kennedy accidentally crashed into Dayne Beams' legs and forced his left knee to buckle backwards, which ended his night in the third quarter. It left the Pies with one fit player for a quarter-and-a-half, and rueing the massive cost of a night where nothing went right. 

 

Clinton Young and Tony Armstrong were the two emergencies called up to replace Elliott and Pendlebury, but there was a considerable difference in how each player spent their Saturday. While Young was held over from the Pies' VFL team's 14-point win over Geelong in case of a late change, Armstrong played in the game, which started at 11am. He was a solid contributor in the club's win and was named in the best. Less than six hours later, he found himself on the MCG seven minutes into the first quarter after Reid hurt his hammy. He started well against James Aish and had five touches in the first quarter and took it to 12 before half-time. Understandably, he trailed off after the main break and ended with 17 disposals.

 

While it was easy to focus on the Pies as they unravelled with setback after setback, it was hard to ignore the fact the Lions were playing pretty decent football. They locked the ball inside their forward 50 for the majority of the second term and raced to a 34-point lead by the main break. With Dayne Zorko racking up 23 disposals in two quarters, Pearce Hanley dominating at the clearances despite the attention of Brent Macaffer and Daniel Merrett proving a force at full-forward – and kicking an inspiring goal on the half-time siren before hurting his knee in the fourth term – the Lions were simply good to watch. Their pressure was good, their youngsters won plenty of the ball, Tom Rockliff had another day out and they looked strong up forward with second-gamer Jonathan Freeman slotting four goals.

 

While Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson was quick to use the six-day break between last week's clash with the Lions combined with the warmth in which it was played as why the Crows could struggle against Richmond on Saturday night, the Lions weren't so concerned. And, while the Crows looked sluggish early against the Tigers at Adelaide Oval, last week's game was no issue for the Lions as they enthusiastically bounced back from their 105-point humiliation by the Crows to record their first win over Collingwood since round 10, 2010, in their first night game at the MCG – played in chilly, Melbourne fog – since round 22, 2011. It was also their first triumph over the Magpies at the MCG since round 17, 2007.

 

Tom Rockliff and Jarryd Blair both celebrated their 100th games and Alex Fasolo racked up 50, but it was the Lions vice-captain who celebrated his milestone with not only a win but a memorable performance. As the Pies ran out of legs, Rockliff had plenty of mates in collecting possessions – Dayne Zorko had 36, Pearce Hanley 34 and Stef Martin dominated in the ruck. Rockliff's 43-disposal game takes him to 12 occasions this season where he has accumulated 30 or more touches, and four where he's had more than 40.