Collingwood nearly became the third losing grand finalists in a row to have more scoring shots than the AFL premiers.
Goalkicking, always important, has become a critical feature of the premiership decider.
It was the only facet of the game that stopped Collingwood from killing off Saturday’s epic match by halftime.
In the second term, they incredibly had 21 inside 50s to only four for St Kilda.
Collingwood’s 24-point lead at the main break should have been much, much more.
Indeed, accuracy in front of goal has been the only knock on the Magpies during their impressive season.
The minor premiers appeared to have taken care of their collective “yips” when they blew away Geelong in last Saturday’s preliminary final.
But the malaise returned with a vengeance in the grand final.
When defender Harry O’Brien kicked his booming goal 25 minutes into the second term, the Magpies were 7-6, 22 points up and on their way.
By the time Leon Davis tried to make amends for another quiet grand final with his great snap eight minutes into the final term, their scoreline was 8-13.
They finished with 9.14 to 10.8.
Just as significantly, St Kilda kicked three critical goals in the first term when Collingwood had them under a lot of pressure.
The goalscorers were Stephen Milne and Adam Schneider – two of their prime offenders when inaccuracy cost them in last year’s grand final.
Captain Nick Riewoldt, who can be suspect on a set shot, put through the third goal after missing only moments before.
In an historic quirk, poor goalkicking was also a feature of the other two drawn grand finals.
Essendon kicked 7.27 to Melbourne’s 10.9 in 1948, with the Demons easily winning the replay.
In 1977, North Melbourne scattered 9.22 – Arnold Briedis kicked 0.7 – and Collingwood were also wasteful with 10.16 before the Kangaroos won a week later.
Tactically, the main feature of the draw was St Kilda’s shock decision to leave out Ben McEvoy and go with only one recognised ruckman.
That gamble, based on a need for more run, appeared to backfire horribly when No.1 ruckman Michael Gardiner limped off in the second term.
But Justin Koschitzke and Jason Blake filled the gap admirably and the Saints actually won the hitouts, 45-39.
Another factor that the two teams will dissect was the ability of an opposition defender – Nick Maxwell for Collingwood and Sam Fisher for St Kilda – to play a crucial sweeping role.
St Kilda tried several measures to stop Maxwell going up as a second man against Riewoldt and Fisher also demanded closer attention from Collingwood.
As well as catching their collective breath and trying to regroup mentally, the two teams have much to analyse ahead of next Saturday.
Collingwood players such as Travis Cloke, Chris Dawes and Jarryd Blair should also have extra goalkicking practice.
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