A close grand final does not a classic make

Let’s get something straight from the outset – this was not one of the great grand finals.

Just because a grand final is close, it does not automatically assume classic status. The game certainly picked up in the second half, but the first half was an error-riddled, poorly skilled display that in no way, shape or form showcased the best of our great sport.

The match will go down in history for Collingwood going onto lose after kicking the first five goals of the match. But almost all of these goals were as a direct result of unforgivable West Coast errors.

The Eagles, in particular, were nervous starters. There were dropped chest marks, shanked kicks, players falling over, collisions between their own and umpteen fumbles. Many of these led to that Collingwood run of goals.

The Pies finishing in front of goal was supreme in that first term, it must be said.

Travis Varcoe nailed the first, a beauty after some hard running, similar to what he did in 2011. Jaidyn Stephenson set the MCG alight with his pace and instincts to kick the next two.

Superstar Jordan De Goey did some dancing and snapped through a lovely curler. When Will Hoskin-Elliott nailed one from a tough angle, it looked like being Collingwood’s day.

The second quarter was high on intensity and pressure, but low on skill and creativity. There is nothing wrong with this, but in order for a match to earn the highest acclaim, it needs to have it all, not just the first two. We need to see the best teams and players rise above the pressure.

It was 20 minutes before the first goal, to noted game-breaker de Goey. If there was any doubt that he was made for the big stage, he put those thoughts to bed this finals series with 12 goals and a number of big moment plays. He proved himself again by rising above the ordinariness of the second term.

Jordan De Goey (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

The second half was when the grand final finally reached some heights, and the difference between the first half and the third term was best represented by opposition key forwards Jack Darling and Mason Cox.

Darling was the dominant key forward in the competition in the first half of 2018 but was best remembered for a dropped chest mark in the 2015 grand final against Hawthorn. Cox was coming off one of the best finals from a key forward this decade after his superior aerial display against Richmond in the prelim.

To halftime, there was no doubt that Darling and Cox were the two worst players on the ground. Everything Darling touched turned to rust, while Cox was being shifted off the ball too easily and complaining about it.

In the third quarter, to their eternal credit, both players responded. They each kicked a goal, but they both started marking everything that came in their area and imposing themselves on the contest. Darling ended with a game-high four contested marks, while Cox took three of his own.

Nathan Vardy of the Eagles contests a ruck with Mason Cox of the Magpies (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Media/Getty Images)

The third quarter was more of what we expect from a classic grand final, and in truth, it was where West Coast started to break Collingwood. Elliott Yeo started to exert his considerable influence on the match.

If this grand final is remembered for anything from an Eagles perspective, it will have to be their resilience. To come back from five goals down is spectacular enough, and speaks to their collective character and belief.

But what often happens in these situations is the team that has mounted the comeback either draws level or hits the lead, which takes everything out of them, and the opposition then kicks away.

When the Pies kicked two goals in two minutes to open the last quarter, it looked like a familiar story would play out again. But no-one told West Coast.

The only way the Eagles were going to win was by clawing their way back, and so they did – inch by inch. Scott Lycett and Nathan Vardy as a ruck duo took the points over Brodie Grundy, and Vardy had his marquee moment when kicking an important goal from long range.

By now, it was clear that West Coast were winning the arm wrestle, but the question was whether they’d be able to convert their dominance to goals and find their way in front by the end.

Every premiership needs to have its signature memory. Leo Barry’s mark is always at the front of these conversations. Cyril on the wing in ’08. The Matthew Scarlett toe-poke. Heath Shaw’s smother. Jarryd Roughead’s bone-crunching tackle on Daniel Hannebery.

Dom Sheed’s goal to put West Coast in front in the dying minutes instantaneously joined this collection of plays and moments. Even though he is a left-footer, he was on the right side, the angle couldn’t have been any more acute.

Dom Sheed of the Eagles (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Most players in that situation would have opted for a play-on and snap, but Sheed backed his skills with the drop punt, and his kick was home off the boot.

It was a defining moment to cap off a fine finals series for Sheed, especially remembering that he was dropped mid-year. To bounce back from that disappointment to average 29 disposals, 15 contested possessions and seven clearances a game in the finals, and a place on the podium in Norm Smith medal voting was special indeed.

The 2018 decider certainly had the most thrilling finish of any grand final since the 2010 draw between Collingwood and St Kilda. If the quality and highlights of the second half had been replicated in the first, then we could be comfortably declaring it one of the all-time greats.

Unfortunately, the first half had too much poor play, with most of the defining moments being mistakes or errors. Eagles fans won’t care less of course, and nor should they. But for the rest of us, there is nothing wrong with holding the match to a higher standard.