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On a Friday night match that nobody expected to be close, 54,790 spectators filed into the MCG stands.
It was the highest home and away crowd that Adelaide have played in front of ever, but one of the modest crowds for the mighty Collingwood to play in front of at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
As Collingwood were buoyant after last week’s cruel murder of the Blues. They ran out onto the hallowed turf around ten minutes before the first ball was bounced, looking to comfortably beat the disappointing Crows who had gone down to the below-par West Coast Eagles at home by a measly goal.
As both of the teams slowly trotted onto the green turf that is the MCG grass, I sat in the stands, diagonally above the Crows cheersquad and just in front of corporate boxes in the third tier of the Great Southern Stand.
The siren then sounded and the dream midfield that Collingwood had been waiting for since Round 2 last year in Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan, Luke Ball and Dayne Beams were all close to the centre of the ground.
They were up against the three Adelaide hard-nut midfielders in Scott Thompson, Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane.
After a timid opening, the umpire awarded one of seven free kicks to nil to Adelaide, as Tom Lynch strolls into the open goal, as the first goal goes to the man who booted ten against GWS earlier this year, and Ben Reid’s early opponent.
After a great mark but a shocking kick to young ruck star Jarrod Witts, super kick Clinton Young bangs it in long and hard to a one-on-one to the young ruck’s advantage, as he takes a giant leap and clunks another mark.
Witts went back and slotted from 25 metres out. But that didn’t stop the gallant Adelaide, who continued their fast start as Dangerfield sets up the dangerous Porplyzia in the square, who out-marked the disappointing Heath Shaw.
He went back and kicked the Crows second. He marked again minutes later in the same spot as Shaw was nowhere to be seen, leading for him to be dragged off the field as the sneaky number 40 booted another goal.
Youngster Jarryd Lyons then lined up the goals and kicks another from 40 metres out, and the Crows were up four goals to one.
Shaw then came back on, only to fling his arm high in a shepherd for his captain, giving away the free kick as Lyons kicked another, much to Shaw’s displeasure.
But continuing on from his 41 possession game from last week was the superb Dane Swan, who fought hard to get it out of the centre and received the handball from 200-gamer Luke Ball before going all the way from outside 50 metres, in what was his 13th disposal for the match already.
Dangerfield then made his way back on after Dwyer seemed to hurt the ‘Danger’s’ shoulder in a bumping contest.
Just before the siren, young defender Ben Sinclair made the terrible mistake of kicking the ball right down Lynch’s throat, who splits the middle after the siren, leaving Collingwood behind by 25 points at the first break.
The same thing happened last week, but the margin was not as large as it was then.
Bucks pumped the players up and out went a determined Magpies outfit, with Ben Reid going forward as I suggested in the preview of the game.
He immediately made an impact as the ball flies into his arms. He confidently went back and slotted the ‘pill’ straight through the big sticks. Reid starred again with another mark and goal, this time from further out.
Minutes later he did it again, but the ball banged the post in what was a sickening noise for Magpies supporters.
Lynch then kicked another long bomb through for the Crows, before Swan’s great running capacity showed as Krakouer sold the dummy but then jad the kick smothered as Swan collects from Hudson and wheeled around to kick a creative left foot snap to Krakouer again.
The ‘MCG specialist’ as commentator and ex-Magpie Brian Taylor calls him, sells some more lollies to Crows defenders before finally sending the ball through in what is a terrific piece of play for the mighty Pies.
Minutes later Cloke seemed to out-mark two Adelaide players, but before he could firmly stop the juggling and catch the ball, Krakouer swoops and snapped through another, as the Pies narrow the margin even more.
Instead of tagging Dangerfield, Macaffer played forward for the night and he slid through another as the Pies are nearly in front.
Great Adelaide pressure in attack led Porplyzia to kick yet another, but Collingwood finished off well with Krakouer floating through a third and Cloke beat four Crows in the goal square to take a miraculous mark, as he has a word to the umpire after he booted it through.
At half time, the Pies were in front by four points after an amazing second quarter comeback.
After ten minutes without a goal in the third quarter. A chain of Collingwood’s linking handballs led to Macaffer, who drilled the goal from 25 metres out.
200-gamer Ball then intercepts a handball from Wright and bangs the ball on his boot, as the ball bounces through for a unlikely goal for some milestone magic.
Cloke marked strongly but the umpires snatch it off him as the Magpie army boos as one for a few minutes, but the Pies intercept again and Sidebottom ran through the middle with a couple of bounces before banging through another goal in what looks like a procession for the Magpies.
Cloke then missed a handball directed to Beams, but Marley Williams ran past and booted through a fantastic goal.
Lynch then floated through another long distance goal before Lyons received a free kick and ran around to get the goal from 50 metres, and the margin is only 13 points at three quarter time.
An interesting stat is that if champion midfielders Pendlebury and Swan get over 30 possessions each, then the Magpies will always win comfortably.
But as both went over the 30 mark, Adelaide stormed back into the match in the last quarter, with Douglas and Lynch kicking great goals.
The next piece of play can be summed up by one famous sporting quote: “Cometh the moment, cometh the man.”
That is for Dane Swan, as he tapped the ball out in front of himself before running onto it and snapping it through on his left as the measly crowd for the Pies erupts.
As the Pies look for a sealer, Pendlebury’s 37th touch is a beauty as Seedsman barrelled through the MCG wing before getting it to Pendlebury, who banged it through on his left just like he did against Carlton in Round 2 and Geelong early last year.
The crowd is lifted to their feet as they realise they are home.
Cloke has kicked 1.4 up until that stage, but he marked a moment later and continues his up and down night with a goal, before registering another behind to take his tally to 2.5 for the night.
In the latter moments of the fantastic Friday night match, the comeback midfielder in Beams sent a long handball wide to Pendlebury, who doesn’t even think about using his natural foot as his right foot kick floated through in what is the ultimate sealer.
But the crowd still don’t like a couple of free kicks payed against Cloke in the dying minutes, as the umpiring damages the finish for Collingwood supporters as the siren sounds with the Pies winning by 27 points, the scoreboard reading 111 to 84.
After an up and down night, the Pies stretched the gap at the end in what is eventually a comfortable win in Ball’s 200th game and Sidebottom’s 100th.
With the O’Brien controversy behind them, the magical midfield is back and the Pies are ready to play Gold Coast and then GWS before taking on Essendon in there charge for a top-four spot, with Adelaide’s final chances all but diminished.
Go the Pies!
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For somewhere between two and three and a half quarters, depending on how generous you want to be, Adelaide didn't do a whole lot…
Hopefully Jake Soligo doesn't keep it in there for too long!
Why wasn't Brandon Zerk-Thatcher right on the line?
