THE 2011 AFL Grand Final loomed as an enthralling tactical duel between one of the game's most experienced and illustrious figures, Collingwood's Mick Malthouse, and a rookie coach in Geelong's Chris Scott.

And, coaching in just his 25th game to Malthouse's 664, it was Scott who emerged victorious.

Some calculated moves were made on both sides well before the opening bounce, with Scott sticking with Steve Johnson, despite the mercurial star wrenching his knee just seven days prior.

Darren Jolly (groin) and Ben Reid (thigh) were also in Collingwood's line-up despite their injury concerns.

Jolly seemed extremely ginger in the first quarter, but the veteran big man settled into the game and proved his selection was a good decision.

The same couldn't quite be said for Reid, however, who faded as the game wore on and was unable to stay with Tom Hawkins, who had a huge impact on the outcome.

Cameron Ling played the only real tagging role in the game, shadowing Brownlow medallist Dane Swan from the opening bounce and comfortably winning their battle.

Swan's only real victory over Ling was when he inadvertently smashed the Geelong captain in the face and gave him a bloody nose.

Ling held Swan to just 20 possessions, including only seven after half-time.

James Podsiadly had Chris Tarrant for company in the Cats' forward line and the veteran Cat struggled in the first half before suffering a game-ending injury.

Alan Didak, who has had a poor season by his lofty standards and been a regular substitute this year, started up front for Collingwood and had the commanding figure of Matthew Scarlett for company.

But it only took two decisive Scarlett victories for a move to be made, with Didak sent to the bench, replaced by Leigh Brown in the forward 50m.

Scarlett proved too nimble for Brown, however, and minutes later the outstanding Geelong defender out-marked the far bigger Jolly as he made a sizeable imprint on the game's early stages.

Malthouse decided to stick with the retiring Brown and it was a brave - and ultimately inspired - decision, with Scarlett quiet after the first quarter.

If Scarlett was the stand-out player of the opening minutes, he was quickly usurped by Collingwood spearhead Travis Cloke.

Given licence to roam around the ground, Cloke - who took a record number of contested marks in 2011 - began crashing into packs and almost singlehandedly kept his side in the contest.

Two booming Cloke goals allowed Collingwood to overcome some early jitters and settle into the match.

Scott needed to make an urgent change and he nominated Tom Lonergan as the man.

It proved an inspired choice, with Cloke barely sighted after his outstanding start.

Geelong had started the match in scintillating fashion, but the Magpies fought back and at quarter time it was the Cats holding a one-point lead.

The tactical battle continued into the second term, with Andrew Mackie used as a loose man in defence by Scott and Malthouse utilising Leon Davis in the same manner.

And it was Davis who made an impact, finding possessions around the ground as the Pies skipped out to a three-goal lead.

While the coaches were ringing plenty of changes, incidents often occur in games that they can do little about, and one of those happened midway through the second quarter.

As he has done all season, Podsiadly leapt into a pack and dropped his right arm to soften his fall, but only managed to slam his arm into the turf.

A dislocated shoulder forced Podsiadly from the ground and he would play no further part in the match.

In the first year of the substitute rule, there was plenty of intrigue about how the coaches would use their spare man, but Podsiadly's injury forced Scott to send Mitch Duncan into the fray.

The injury unsettled the Cats, who missed Podsiadly's presence whenever the ball was sent long into their forward 50m.

But Geelong showed plenty of character, regaining its composure and kicking the last two goals of the half to trail by just three points at the main break.

Despite its ineffectiveness in the first half, Malthouse obviously liked the tactic of Didak on Scarlett, going back to the match-up to commence the third quarter.

Didak did manage to break free and take an uncontested mark early in the term, but it was one of very few bright moments for him.

A reasonably clear day became a slugfest in the third quarter when the rain came tumbling down, but the players' remarkable skills still stood out.

Two moments of brilliance by Geelong's Jimmy Bartel led to two goals as he drifted forward and found some space, but Dale Thomas was able to answer with some of his own magic for Collingwood as the sensational contest continued.

With Geelong leading by seven points at the final change, the stage was set for a titanic last quarter.

Reid had managed to make it to the start line, but the longer the game went, the more he struggled.

It had dire consequences as Hawkins blossomed, especially after half-time. A succession of Hawkins marks from one-on-one contests allowed the Cats to break open a 15-point lead with 15 minutes remaining.

Johnson, who showed he had recovered fully from his knee problem, quickly spotted Hawkins' dominance and did some on-field coaching of his own, ordering teammates out of the forward 50m to isolate the young forward.

The Cats had made their move and shot out to a four-goal lead with 10 minutes remaining.

From there both coaches had played their hands and could do little but watch on, with the far younger, infinitely less experienced Scott claiming the honours.

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