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The invincibles are no longer and the Cats are the only undefeated team in the AFL. Geelong started better, faded ominously and then scrambled to a three-point win against Collingwood in the match of the season so far.
The Cats kicked 8.17 (65) to the Magpies’ 9.8 (62) in a match both teams played as though it was a grand final.
On a night when they banned cars from the car parks and the temperature dropped to a single digit before the opening bounce, more than 80,000 people came to the MCG to see a match that was more slog than spectacle.
But one that was well worth the effort.
Both teams ran onto the ground undefeated and both began as though they were scared of losing.
The Cats state of mind was reflected in the eight behinds they registered with their first eight shots at goal.
It took 26 minutes before Mathew Stokes steered through their first goal 26 minutes into the first quarter.
At least they gave themselves chances.
Collingwood had only two shots for the quarter and went to the break 14 points down.
They then turned it almost completely around.
Geelong kicked only a solitary point in the second term – three successive shots at goal went out on the full – and Collingwood kicked 4.3, arriving at half time with all the momentum and an 11-point lead.
The match then descended into a sometimes sloppy, sometimes spectacular and always gripping struggle in which Geelong ended with a James Podsiadly goal two minutes from the end.
As Collingwood defeats almost always are, this one will be received with glee by every other AFL fan but their own.
This time it seems almost justifiable.
The Magpies had played their first six matches as though they were unbeatable and had threatened to stifle the rest of the season.
Now only Geelong is without a defeat in 2011, and no-one really thinks that will last too long.
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