The roof was closed at the Dome, and all seats were taken – we were ready to fly.
Sydeny’s finals aspirations still hung in the balance but a strong opening stanza by Collingwood deflated the visiting team and their supporters.
The Magpies, who could clinch a finals berth with a win, came out firing kicking seven of the eight goals in the first half. If it wasn’t for Nick Maxwell’s 50m penalty in the first term, the Swans may not have goaled at all.
This was the Pies’ best quarter against the Swans in 25 years, and its best opening since round nine, 2003.
We were blown away at the sensational team effort, and the fact that big bad Barry Hall had been kept relatively quiet by Shane Wakelin. The crowd however, could not contain their jeers for Hall, who was suspended by both the match review panel and the club for striking Shane Wakelin in round 14 – and rightly so! Hall was one of the few standouts for the Swans in the game and went on to boot 3.3.
Leon Davis electrified the game with 22 possessions, five clearances and two goals, sparking the Magpies’ fiery domination of the Swans.
Our own ‘Swan’ - the Great Dane, made seven clearances and 31 superb touches and earned two Copeland votes in the process.
Late inclusion Shannon Cox impressed team mates and fans and through his platy earned a spot in the side for the rest of the season.
Wanting to prove their dedication to a finals campaign, the Magpies kept going hard. A little too hard may have been the case for skipper Scott Burns, who had to miss the final term with a calf injury.
Collingwood headed into the main break with a stranglehold on Sydney, leading by 45 points.
The boys had run hard in the first half and many wondered if they had enough legs to carry them home.
Kicking the first four goals of the third term quickly dispelled that thought and a lead of 68 points was enough for Joffa to take out the gold jacket.
Late in the third term the Magpies had a momentary lapse, allowing the Swans to take the margin down to 55 points from two late goals.
Josh Fraser pushed on, keeping Magpie fans on the edge of their seats with the first exciting goal of the final quarter. By this stage, many Swans fans had left the ground knowing that the black and white army had well and truly overtaken.
In what was an astounding finals effort, the Pies and their faithful marched into September on a high.
Winning 18.10 (118) to 10.13 (73), the Pies made certain they weren’t going to be taken lightly in September.
