It was as tense and difficult as everybody anticipated, a soccer match produced and directed by Collingwood coach Craig McRae, the person who earned his nickname ‘Fly’ from film character Marty McFly, and located a method to produce thriller after thriller in 2022.
This was probably the most thrilling of all, a heartbreaker that left Collingwood followers holding their heads in shock earlier than melting in tears and disbelief. It was a sense Magpie followers know too nicely, younger, or previous, a Daicos or a Moore, the crushing weight of actuality that befalls all of them too repeatedly.
On this night time the Magpies performed with dare and desperation in entrance of 45,000 foes and mates till the ultimate credit rolled when the Swan who loves the highlight most, Tom Papley, put an unlikely premiership simply past Collingwood when he marked and kicked a objective 16 minutes into the ultimate quarter of the preliminary.
Jack Ginnivan and Nick Daicos.Credit score:AFL Photographs / Getty Photos
At that time Collingwood have been surging having someway stayed upright like Monty Python’s Black Knight character because the Swans tried to kill them off however that objective put them 20 factors up, a bridge too far.
Once more they got here with objectives to Brody Mihocek, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Steele Sidebottom to attract the margin again to beneath a objective and the ball was rushed by the Magpies’ objective with three seconds remaining, to lastly finish the cost one level brief.
It was frenetic and loopy and becoming of a season that offered extra thrills for Collingwood followers than may an acrobat with a loss of life want.
The moments the Magpies will remorse have been apparent with champion midfielder Scott Pendlebury, who was sensible all night time, certain to rue his resolution to handball to John Noble quite than kick lengthy to Mihocek, a name that opened the door for Papley.
They are going to remorse the opening after they stalled on the beginning line and the Swans jumped them with the opening 4 objectives of the match to create a lead they by no means misplaced.
The following signal they have been wobbling on the tightrope they’d walked all season got here 26 minutes into the second quarter.
