Geelong
In blue and white
Fighting for the right
In our quest for glory
We believe and unite
Collingwood
Congratulations Travis Cloke on 100 sensational games
(and on the back)
Collingwood 2009
We fight harder because it means more to us
Omen
Melbourne's skies opened up around an hour-and-a-half before bounce-down and it seemed the conditions would foster another close contest between two sides separated by just five points in the 2007 preliminary final.
However, come game time the rain had stopped and Collingwood got the early jump, but Geelong kicked 17 of the next 21 goals and blew any remaining moisture off the MCG surface.
Hero
Hard to go past Gary Ablett. The little maestro started the game in the forward line, but quickly moved into the middle where he casually collected more possessions in the first term than 11 Collingwood players did in the entire game. He booted two goals and had 34 touches all up, and was the Cats' big winner in and around the stoppages.
Goat
Leon Davis drew jeers instead of cheers from the Magpie army throughout his lacklustre performance. At the other end of a week that saw him named All Australian, Davis was rendered ineffective by Geelong defender Andrew Mackie. His shoddy, scoreless game finished a hugely disappointing month.
By numbers
12 – The number of possessions Ablett had in the first term alone. That's what happens when he has no opponent
119 – Seagulls that got lost on the way to the beach and ended up at the MCG
16 – Seconds it took Geelong forward Paul Chapman to kick the first goal of the second quarter
87,258 – The total crowd, before the black-and-white clad proportion left five minutes into the final term
The decision
While there were many the crowd didn't agree with, an interesting interpretation seven minutes into the second term caught the eye – well, umpire Scott McLaren's, anyway. Fans and players alike held their breath as Leigh Brown set himself up for a hospital mark, with Darren Milburn closing in at top pace. As the ball touched Brown's hands, Milburn arrived on the scene and gave the Magpie a little nudge. The slight movement was enough to warrant a 50m penalty, which gave the Pies their first goal in 31 minutes.
Lost in commentary
"This is a destroyation of epic proportions. The Collingwood players have a white flag and they are waving it in the sky." – 3aw's Rex Hunt at the 21-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
The moment they'll replay
Geelong fans will rightly put the entire second half on a loop when revisiting the game, but the moment that will be plastered across the news coverage came just after the 20-minute mark of the final term. Chapman, hamstrung in the late stages of the home-and-away season, embraced his teammates after booting his third goal for the quarter. He ended with five.
The moment they should replay
Max Rooke showed a talent for unusual variations on gymnastic acts midway through the first quarter. After attempting to mark a low ball, Rooke was collected by an incoming Tyson Goldsack, with the hit sending him sideways. The result was a spectacular horizontal cartwheel, with Rooke completing a full 360-degree turn while on his side. Breakdancing, anyone?
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
