Defensive work early pays later dividends
Collingwood strangled Fremantle in the first half with its full-ground defence, the Dockers unable to move the ball with any speed or purpose down the field. In the few times Fremantle did manage to get it into attack, one of Jeremy Howe, Darcy Moore or Nathan Murphy picked off the ill-directed kick. It meant the Dockers were unable to take advantage of the undersized Howe against Rory Lobb, with Lachie Schultz (two goals and one assist) the most dangerous forward in the first half.
Jamie Elliott is built for finals
Luke Ryan had his hands full with Elliott throughout the match, doing incredibly well to limit his impact to 2.2. The dynamic Pie was key early as his side piled on early pressure, kicking his goals either side of quarter time to help pull out to what was ultimately a match-winning lead. Elliott's busyness meant Ryan was also limited in how much drive he could provide from defence, contributing to the Dockers' stagnant ball movement down the field.
After nine behinds, it could only be Jack
Collingwood started the match in scintillating fashion, piling on six straight goals before recording its first blemish in the second term. Then seemingly out of nowhere, things weren't quite going to script for the Magpies. While the Dockers struggled to make their own impact on the scoreboard, the Pies just could not build a match-winning lead to save themselves. They kicked nine straight points before the antagonistic Jack Ginnivan – the main character in so many Collingwood games this year – put an end to the rot with a successful snap. Ginnivan booted three goals for the match and his every move was greeted with rapturous cheers.
MAGPIES v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats
No Adams, no issues
There were a few questions around how Collingwood's midfield would cope without the industrious Taylor Adams, who suffered a complete rupture of his adductor in last week's loss to Geelong. The Pies brought in Trent Bianco to add some flexibility to the wing, allowing Josh Daicos and Steele Sidebottom to spend some time inside if required. Jack Crisp (24 disposals, six clearances, two goals) was excellent in the middle, as were usual suspects Jordan De Goey (24 and six) and Scott Pendlebury (24 and five).
Thanks for the memories, 'Barra'
The Fremantle loss signalled the end of the career of one of the club's all-time greats in David Mundy. Several weeks ago, the evergreen 37-year-old announced he would retire at the end of the Dockers' season. The midfielder retires with 376 games to his name after an incredible 19 seasons on Fremantle's list, his final game coming in front of the second-largest crowd the club has played in front of (a raucous 90,612) and kicking a goal in the last quarter. He hangs up the boots with the respect of the entire AFL competition, having performed strongly till the very end.
HARD LESSON LEARNED Young Dockers can take plenty from their season