IT HAS been almost 34 years since Collingwood and Carlton met in a game that means this much. That's how long it has been since the traditional rivals faced off in a final. 

It is hard to believe the Magpies and Blues haven't met in September since the 1988 qualifying final. But this is as close as it gets without being a final, in arguably the biggest game between the two sides since then.

If Carlton is going to return to the finals for the first time since 2013, the Blues will need to win at the MCG on the final day of the home and away season. 

The Magpies must win to finish with a double chance in September. There is big, and there is season-shaping on the final day big. 

A touch over 83,000 people flocked to the MCG in 1988 and 80,627 were there in round 11 when the Magpies prevailed by four points. Carlton is forecasting for a crowd between 80,000 and 85,000, while there is a hope inside the MCC that the attendance will surpass the 84,205 that turned up on Anzac Day – the biggest crowd this season.

Michael Voss' side was cruelly prevented from qualifying for September when Kysaiah Pickett snapped a goal with 11 seconds to play to lead Melbourne to a had-to-see-it-to-believe-it victory at the death last Saturday night. 

Now the side which started a new regime under Brian Cook, Luke Sayers and Voss 8-2 is facing the heartbreak of watching on again for the ninth year in a row. It needed to win one of its final four games. It has used three lives and only has one left. 

Collingwood has more on the line than just dancing on Carlton's grave. After the Magpies' 11-game winning streak ended at the SCG on Sunday, Craig McRae's side must win if it is going to finish in the top four.

This famous rivalry dates back to 1897 when the two suburban clubs met for the first time at Princes Park before facing off again at Victoria Park months later. 

Since then, they have met in six Grand Finals (1910, 1915, 1938, 1970, 1979 and 1981) and 16 other finals. 

They hate each other and always have.

"Isn't it amazing we haven't played a final against Collingwood since 1988? That's just unbelievable," Carlton legend Stephen Kernahan told AFL.com.au this week. 

"One thing is for sure when it came to Carlton many years ago – '86 was my first year – I don't think people mean to do it, but you certainly understand very quickly that you've got to perform and play well against Collingwood and Essendon no matter where you are on the ladder. 

"They're the two clubs Carlton have a hatred of; they're the two match-ups we were always told you've got to play bloody well against. It was ingrained into me and it's been ingrained into the players of today as well."

Collingwood premiership captain Tony Shaw grew up in a Magpies zone in the '70s when the rivalry was even more linked to where you lived.  

"I was in the Reservoir area and if you went across the railway line you were in Carlton area and if you went across the street you were in someone else's area. It was all zoning back in those days, but it was more for us the neighbours were the real rivals. That was part of it. We had respect for them, but we just played against them in big games," Shaw said this week. 

LADDER PREDICTOR Where will your club finish?

Shaw played in the Grand Final loss to Carlton in 1981 – the last Grand Final between the two sides – under Tommy Hafey and is still rueing that loss in front of 112,964 people. 

"We had a bit of an issue just prior to three-quarter time when one of our committee men had a go at one of our players. I won't name names, but it was a little bit of a distraction. Not to say we should have won it, but we went to the well a fair few times in that era and just couldn't get it done," he said. 

"Maybe we weren't good enough. Tommy trained us up really well. In the end, we just couldn't get it done. Maybe we weren't talented enough. I hate losing any game, let alone to Carlton. That really hurt. If we're not playing finals, the next best thing is to beat Carlton."

Carlton has been in the top eight since the opening Thursday night of the season when it beat Richmond for the first time in round one since 2012. It has spent five rounds in the top four, but could finish the weekend outside the eight. 

Kernahan, who won two premierships and two All-Australian selections across 251 games in navy Blue, believes his old side has made inroads in 2022 but missing out on finals would be a setback after a blistering first 10 rounds under Voss. 

"Look, no one is happy if you miss out on finals from 8-2. I don't think anyone is going to be happy with that. But certainly from where we were last year, I remember with two or three rounds to go we got beaten by North Melbourne by 15 goals or something horrendous, so that shows you there has certainly been some growth. I don't think anyone is satisfied if you've been in the top eight for the whole year and miss finals," he said.

"I was proud of their effort on the weekend. To have three midfielders out against Melbourne who are one of the best sides in it, I thought we kept coming and should have won that game with three minutes to go. From a Carlton point of view, and from an ex-player, it has been a lot better going to watch us this year than it has been in the last few years."

Collingwood was the other club that made mass change at the end of last season after favourite son Nathan Buckley departed following 24 years in black and white. McRae became senior coach almost 12 months ago to the day, joined by former senior coaches Justin Leppitsch and Brendon Bolton to rejuvenate a football department and side that had plateaued after falling agonisingly short in the 2018 Grand Final. 

Shaw, who coached the Magpies between 1996 and 1999, has enjoyed watching his old side rise from the canvas after finishing 17th last year – the lowest in the club's history – to emerge as a premiership threat under McRae's watch. 

"It has been sensational. It was a bit of a downer against Sydney, but I think they will find out a few things. If you're going to lose, you want to make sure you learn from it and I think they will learn from a few things that happened in the game," he said. 

"You'd love to be top four, so they've got to win against Carlton. If they do win, Carlton doesn't play finals. I don't think they'll worry about Carlton not playing finals, it will be about making sure they give themselves the best chance of qualifying top four."

It is still hard to believe there hasn't been a final between these two sides since 1988. Sunday will mark the biggest occasion between these sides since then. There is only one place to be.