Luke Ball - 7
Spent a fair amount of the game doing battle with former teammate Lenny Hayes, who was awarded the Norm Smith Medal in the first grand final. Quelled Hayes' influence on the contest and managed to pick up 25 possessions of his own.

Dayne Beams - 4
Spent most of the game floating across half-forward, but didn't have much impact.

Jarryd Blair - 3
Attacked the ball when he went near it. Will be the hard one to remember when trivia buffs are trying to name the 2010 Collingwood premiership team in a few years' time.

Leigh Brown - 5
Didn't get a lot of the ball, although he made his presence felt with a few bone-jarring tackles. Played his part when required in the ruck.

Nathan Brown - 8
Repeated his heroics from the first grand final by putting in another great performance on star forward Nick Riewoldt. Was helped by St Kilda's penchant for high up-and-under kicks into its forward line.

Travis Cloke - 5
Was set to kick opening goal of the game until Scott Pendlebury gave away a free kick off the ball. Looked too strong for Zac Dawson whenever the ball went near him, but luckily for the Pies his wonky boot wasn't required for a lot of the afternoon.

Chris Dawes - 7
Had the better of his battle with James Gwilt and was the best of Collingwood's tall forwards. Soccered through the Magpies' crucial first goal of the third quarter, which extended their lead to 33 points. Kicked another one early in the final term to start the celebrations for the black and white army.

Alan Didak - 6
Broke free to kick the first major of the second quarter, then incited Lenny Hayes to swing a few punches at him late in the term as the Magpies took control. Kicked an extraordinary goal midway through the third quarter, which had the Collingwood supporters on their feet.

Tyson Goldsack - 4
Came on and off the bench. Having taken Leon Davis' place in the side, he spent quite a bit of time up forward. Kicked the first goal of the game after rated being a 100-1 chance to do so.

Ben Johnson - 5
Provided plenty of dash off half-back, although his skills were a bit ragged at times. A premiership is great reward for one of the few Magpies who was part of the grand final defeats in 2002 and '03.

Darren Jolly - 8
Pushed forward early to expose his inexperienced oppenent, Ben McEvoy. Took a great diving mark 21 minutes into the second quarter, then put through the goal and extended Collingwood's lead to 27 points. One of the recruits of the year.

Brent Macaffer - 5
Kicked two goals and looked dangerous every time the ball went near him. A great effort to transform himself from a fringe player into a premiership player.

Nick Maxwell - 7
A typically reliable and composed game from the Collingwood skipper. Showed his versatility by picking up Brendon Goddard when key Saint went forward, then manning up on the much taller McEvoy at full-back early in second half. Kept running hard until the final siren.

Harry O'Brien - 7
Had the jitters last week, but was dominant in the opening term this time around. Played on Stephen Milne and Andrew McQualter at times and gave them a bath. Went forward and kicked a goal in the last term, which produced one of the loudest roars of the afternoon.

Scott Pendlebury - 9
Was all class. Another player who was quiet in the drawn grand final then came good in the replay. Finished the match with 29 possessions to be Collingwood's leading ball-winner. Also laid 11 tackles.

Ben Reid - 5
Lined up at full-back on Justin Koschitzke andplayed a big role in the Magpies keeping the Saints to only one goal in the first half. Hobbled off with a knee injury 25 minutes into second quarter, but came back late in the game.

Heath Shaw - 8
Started the game as the loose man in defence, dropping back in front of Nick Riewoldt. Played his role in the side wonderfully with 28 disposals and laid a memorable smother on Riewoldt at the 20-minute mark of the first quarter, when the Saints skipper played on from one metre out.

Steele Sidebottom - 9
The occasion didn't overwhelm the youngster who came out guns blazing from the first bounce. Won the 50-50 contests and was dangerous all over the ground. Finished the game with 25 disposals and two goals and was one of the Pies' best.

Dane Swan - 7
Started off quietly but worked his way into the game in the second half. Was the Pies' leading tackler alongside Scott Pendlebury with 11 tackles and really applied the pressure on the St Kilda midfielders. Finished with 26 touches and chipped in with a goal in the third term to put the Pies 46 points up.

Dale Thomas - 8
Another youngster who starred on the big stage. Followed up last week's blinding first half with a terrific four-quarter display. Showed great desperation down back and was the Pies' third highest disposal winner with 27 touches.

Alan Toovey - 6
Showed good endeavour but probably didn't use the ball as well as his coach would have liked. Pressure was terrific and he finished the game with nine tackles, the second most of all the Magpies.

Sharrod Wellingham - 8
Struggled to find space last week but it was a different story this time. He ran hard all day and used the ball cleverly by foot. Presented well up forward, kicking two goals.

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

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