The air is always fierce when you watch the Black and White enter the battle for a top four spot. Especially when that battle is against last year’s grand final contenders.
In an incredibly magic performance by Collingwood, Port Adelaide was left powerless – not unlike their premiership efforts in ’07. The sweet sound of 31 points at final time threw the Magpies faithful into finals frenzy, ready to tackle Sydney for fourth spot the next week.
It was a stunning team effort that reminded us all just why we are good old Collingwood forever. Neon Leon lit up the Magpies with 28 magical possessions and a sizzling goal to seal the deal in the fourth term. Travis Cloke was all sorts of accurate booting four goals, while other boys such as Dane Swan dominated throughout with a vicious competition against Kane Cornes and three sensational goals.
In a relatively uninspiring start to the game, the Power took seven minutes to manage their first goal – which was quickly replied to by Travis Cloke and later Josh Fraser. The home side managed to fire one back, but weren’t ready for the 10-minute domination the Magpie were about to unleash. Marty Clarke and Cloke tallied two goals between them, and a controversial decision to allow a late advantage after umpires called a free kick led Dale Thomas through the big sticks.
By the time the margin reached 19 points, the Power were looking embarrassed – lucky for them, two Magpie errors slipped the quarter time margin back to five points. An unhappy Mick Malthouse greeted the mistake makers after he’d banished them to the bench.
The second term commenced with Power’s Ebert goaled immediately after the break, but was unaware the power they were about to lose.
Ryan Cook coolly slid a set shot through to regain the lead, and although he’d been knocked down by a Sherrin straight to the face, Jack Anthony shot back with a remarkable six pointer - definitely a kick in the face to a struggling Port!
We watched in admiration as the black and white boys threw the lead out to 25 points. However no lead is a certainty when playing away from home. The Power hit back and hit back hard. Shane Wakelin, on his 250th game, made a crucial error deep in Port’s goal resulting to a major. By halftime, Port had brought the game back to just seven points, keeping the faithfuls on the edge of their seats and causing some nervous breakdowns to fans watching at home.
The third quarter brought us the Swan show, with a phenomenal run from 50 which opened the scoring after nine minutes. Jack Anthony was quick to kick Port in the face again with a thrilling kick from deep in the pocket, before Swan set Cloke up for his third. Swan had the better of Cornes for most of the day and stamped his foot on the contest when he out marked his opponent and scored, taking the lead to 22 points.
By the time the fourth quarter was under way, Magpie fans were screaming for their boys to finish the home side off. After a tight five minutes that looked like it could swing either way, and then it happened – Neon Leon lit a fuse that sparked a six-pointer, which then led to John McCarthy’s explosive match-winning goal.
A final score of Collingwood's victory read 16.10 (106) to 10.15 (75).
Port’s power had been snatched from them, only to lead the mighty black and white into the Swans’ pond to fight for our rightful fourth spot the following week.
Season that was: Magpies overcome
Season that was: Pies pounce Cats
Season that was: Burns bows out
Season that was: Pies outclass Swans
Please note: the views expressed in the above article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Collingwood Football Club or employees of the club.
