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Young Magpies prove their finals pedigree

Roar Guru
6th September, 2008
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Collingwood’s September credentials were proved beyond doubt today by a storming 31-point victory over Adelaide in an AFL elimination final full of twists.

The young Magpies started brilliantly to lead by 13 points at quarter-time but had to pull back a 24-point gap in the second term before breaking away to win 19.11 (125) to 14.10 (94) in front of a nonplussed crowd of 37,685.

They will now face the loser of tomorrow’s qualifying final between Geelong and St Kilda, and will enter that match full of belief in their ability to put on a performance under pressure.

Collingwood’s sense of team will also be strengthened by the fact they made do without injured captain Scott Burns and Anthony Rocca plus suspended duo Heath Shaw and Alan Didak.

“Not everyone is able to, after they have played finals football, say ‘I played okay’,” Magpies coach Mick Malthouse said.

“Our playing group know without a shadow of doubt (that they can).”

Small forward Paul Medhurst was sublime for the visitors, receiving plenty of assistance from Scott Pendlebury, Nick Maxwell, Shane O’Bree and the mercurial Dale Thomas.

Unheralded pair Chris Dawes and John Anthony kicked three goals each for the ‘Pies.

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By contrast Adelaide, despite shading the visitors for experience, were set on their collective backsides by the pressure brought to bear.

Scott Stevens (six goals) played out of his skin for the Crows, while Andrew McLeod, Nathan Bock and Robert Shirley also worked hard.

“Both sides on paper looked reasonably similar but apart from probably the second quarter we weren’t able to assert ourselves … I thought they were pretty dominant for three quarters,” coach Neil Craig admitted.

“They slowed us really well, so that’s something we need to look at, and I thought around the stoppages they were better, and we’ve just got to find a way of going forward better.

“We go forward but we just haven’t got a good enough system to be able to hold up under the real pressure so while it’s been a reasonably productive year we’ve got a lot of work to do to get up to the top sides in the comp.”

On a pristine afternoon, Adelaide had to be wary of Collingwood’s ability to spring out of the gates away from home.

Awareness, though, does not equal prevention and, as if by clockwork, the Magpies produced a trademark opening to silence the home crowd and place seeds of doubt in Crows’ minds.

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They were fortunate to be as close as 13 points at the break – requiring Tyson Edwards’ surgical post-siren set shot from the pocket to get there.

Needing simply to win more of the ball, Adelaide began to do so by getting McLeod involved.

Up forward Stevens had the quarter of his life, firing through three goals to make it four for the half and it took a pair of opportunist efforts by Dane Swan to limit the lead to 12 points.

There was little discernable breeze but the scoring (northern) end had been established and kicking with it in the third the Magpies made their break.

Winning the ball as conclusively out of the middle as it is possible to do, Collingwood fired countless attacks into what became a punchdrunk Crows defence.

Maxwell’s roost from well outside 50m provided the start and a six-goal term was given the perfect conclusion when Thomas weighed in with a party trick torpedo off one step on the siren to give Adelaide a 20-point gap to make up in the last.

Stevens bobbed up once again for goals five and six to pull them within seven points with plenty of time remaining, but a few flashes of brilliance from Medhurst and a sure finish by Irishman Marty Clarke saw the Magpies home.

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