COLLINGWOOD has pulled off a football heist with a gutsy three point win to book a Grand Final place next week.
The disjointed Magpies looked down and out before staging a last quarter fightback to overrun Hawthorn at the MCG.
The Hawks seemed home when they took a 17 points lead into the final term.
After three quarters of tough, relentless struggles to score, the contest blew open in the thrilling last quarter when both teams held the lead.
Collingwood seemed like to steal it when Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes both goalled from set shots.
And then Leon Davis, thrown forward in a desperate move, snapped another.
When Cloke goalled after a pack mark, the Magpies had hit the front for the first time with 10 minutes left.
But the Hawks refused to yield and Lance Franklin conjured an amazing goal from the boundary line as the ball slithered through to regain the lead.
Still the Magpies came again and Luke Ball's long shot found the target to put them in front with 2.39 left on the clock.
Exhausted players threw themselves in desperation at the "hot'' ball in those frantic final minutes, but the fresher Magpies were able to hold on.
It was a gut-wrenching loss for the gallant Hawks as much as a tribute to the Magpies never-quit spirit.
Hawthorn stunned Collingwood with the ferocious pressure to take an eight point lead into half-time.
The Hawks revelled in their underdog status to unnerve the surprisingly hesitant Magpies.
In a defence-dominated contest, Hawthorn looked dangerous on the burst with its high-possession style.
Key forwards Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes looked threatening on the few occasions Collingwood was able to bomb the ball forward.
But those forays were rare with the Hawks' pressure on the ball-carrier forcing errors from normal sure-handling Pies like Scott Pendlebury and Leon Davis.
Hawks ace Lance Franklin, waging a stirring duel with Chris Tarrant, used his ground-level smarts to boot their only two goals in a tight second quarter.
The attack on the ball and player in possession had the big crowd at fever-pitch and the question being asked at the main break was whether Hawthorn could maintain its admirable intensity through the second half.
And the Hawks controlled the ball for large slabs of the game with a calm and calculated possessions game.
They launched attacks off half-back by switching play and then ran and carried to put the heat on the Magpies backline.
Four Talking Points with Michael Horan
1. Noise cost Hawthorn its early lead when defender Brent Guerra couldn't hear a call to come back on the mark. A 50-metre penalty put Travis Cloke at point blank range for the Pies first goal.
2. Buddy Franklin's first telling touch turned to gold when a gather and handball set up a Paul Puopolo goal right on the quarter-time siren to give Hawks a one-point lead at the first change.
3. Dayne Beams had a nightmare game, going to the three quarter-time break with just two handballs and not a single kick to his name. He was duly subbed out, giving Alan Didak a long awaited run.
4. Leon Davis, after three quarters and 20 possessions at half-back, ignited the Pies' crowd when a long left-footed snap made it two goals in a minutes to whittle the margin to four points, only six minutes into the last term.
Votes - Mark Robinson
5. Dane Swan. Thirty-two touches, kept Magpies alive in middle two quarters, and had a game-high 18 contested possessions.
4. Jordan Lewis. Harder than a goat's head, his reputation is enhanced this September.
3. Travis Cloke. Outnumbered, he was not outplayed. Eight inside 50s as good as his 11 marks and three goals. Enormous in final quarter.
2. Sam Mitchell. Quick hands and quick brain kept Hawks moving for three quarters.
1. Luke Ball. Harder than a cat's head. Won some huge contests and did not waste it.
Goals: Collingwood: C Dawes 3, T Cloke 3, D Jolly, D Swan, L Ball, L Davis. Hawthorn: L Franklin 3, B Guerra, C Rioli, J Lewis, L Hodge, P Puopolo, S Mitchell.
Best: Collingwood: D Swan, T Cloke, L Ball, C Tarrant, S Pendlebury, N Maxwell, J Blair, L Davis. Hawthorn: J Lewis, S Mitchell, L Hodge, P Burgoyne, T Murphy, G Birchall, B Sewell.
Injuries: Collingwood: B Reid (groin) D Jolly (thigh). Hawthorn: Nil. Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Shaun Ryan, Simon Meredith, Scott Jeffery, Brett Rosebury.
Official Crowd: 87,112 at MCG.
THE contract for the grand final we had to have is almost complete, but only after an epic escape by Collingwood in a heart-stopping preliminary final against Hawthorn at the MCG last night.
Twenty-one points behind in the third quarter - but morally twice that in a torrid, low-scoring clash - somehow the Magpies clawed to a three-point win.
The last action of the match characterised it. Hawk Cyril Rioli was slipping the pack and making for vacant goals, but Dale Thomas summoned up an effort that even he might not have known he possessed, to lunge and lay the winning tackle. More than 87,000 howled, half in agony, half in exultation.
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If, as expected, Geelong beats West Coast this afternoon, the final will be between the best team of the year and the best team of the last five years. What the Magpies will have left for it is problematic. Ruckman Darren Jolly and all-Australian defender Ben Reid both played out the game under the duress of injury. Last year, the Magpies romped into the grand final. This year, they crawled into it. The crusade goes on.
A preliminary final is about getting in while you can. An incident late yesterday afternoon clogged the roads around the MCG, stalling movement into the ground. ''Seriously bad traffic!'' tweeted Collingwood midfielder Sharrod Wellingham at 5.15 pm. Some of his teammates already were on the broad sward, casually barrelling torpedo punts at one another, washing off their excess of nervous energy.
Hawthorn put on the September style. Its cheer squad came in gold jackets, either to pay tribute to retiring president Jeff Kennett or provoke Joffa, the Collingwood cheer squad's totemic leader. Either way, it worked to set the terms. By night's end, all knew, there could be only one gold jacket.
Collingwood's thrusting start was halted by an injury to Reid late in the first quarter. Suddenly, the Magpies' backline lost its customary authority and the Hawks' forwards assumed it. Reid resumed, but as a ghost. Hawthorn turned the screws and Collingwood grew ragged and jittery, a pale imitation of its supreme mid-season self. It began to stall late in the home-and-away season, and still was spluttering last night. It needed a good shove.
Two artful Lance Franklin goals consummated the new shape of the match. In Rioli, the Hawks had the X-factor that Collingwood lacked, a player who with one twist of his hips can make redundant all the planning and speculation. Collingwood is best when the contest is a grind. Hawthorn made it more about possession, axiomatically nine-tenths of the law.
The Hawks' quicksilver, hand and foot denied Collingwood even a sight of the ball in some passages; Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge didn't just handle it, they manipulated it. Moreover, the Magpies obliged them, repeatedly kicking the ball into the maw that was Hawthorn's defence.
Vignettes were telling. Thomas flew alone for a mark and did not lay a hand on it. Back from two weeks suspension, he did not look rested so much as cobwebbed. Skipper Nick Maxwell mistook a shriek for a whistle, stopped, was tackled and penalised; a goal ensued. Only some chewy-booted kicking at goal by the Hawks spared Collingwood; how it would return to haunt them. The Collingwood fans mustered a booming chant. This time last year, it was a victory trumpet. Last night, it had a plaintive edge. Then it stopped altogether.
Down and sprawling, the Magpies somehow rallied. Leon Davis, also an all-Australian defender, reprised his old guise as a goalsneaking forward. Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes grasped big marks. Dane Swan, already at the game's highest level, lifted again. Gut, will and pumpkin hearts told now. Hawthorn buckled slightly with mistakes at each end.
Franklin made himself an exception to all rules, skittering a kick from the boundary line to snatch back the lead. From the Magpie fans, there was no chant now; what breath they had they held. But Luke Ball, the hardest nut, snatched it back, and in the nick of time. Hawthorn, so gallant, had no more.
Collingwood averages 118 points a game this season. Last night, it kicked 68. It was enough - just.
The Good Sport
Pre Match. Friday Nght MCG The Creeping Tipster Returns To joffasfrontpage and Says.. B: Alan Toovey, Ben Reid, Harry O’Brien HB: Nick Maxwell, Chris Tarrant, Heath Shaw C: Dayne Beams, Sharrod Wellingham, Dale Thomas HF: Ben Johnson, Leigh Brown, Alan Didak F: Steele Sidebottom, Travis Cloke, Luke Ball Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Andrew Krakouer Inter: Leon Davis, Jarryd Blair, Chris Dawes, Dane Swan Emer: Tyson Goldsack, Cameron Wood, Alex Fasolo
In: Ben Reid, Dale Thomas Out: Alex Fasolo, Tyson Goldsack (both omitted )
Collingwood V The Dawks. The Hawthorn Cheersquad prepare for Friday Nights Prelim against The Mighty Magpies with TV in hand so they can catch up with all the latest from Sesame Street WOW! COLLINGWOOD could not be in better shape ahead of the preliminary final against Hawthorn, Pies coach Mick Malthouse declared.
The Pies moved to full strength with the inclusion of All-Australians Dale Thomas and Ben Reid at the expense of Alex Fasolo and Tyson Goldsack. The Hawks named an unchanged line-up.
"We've had a lot of changes ... through the year and we've managed well to hide the fact we were hurting from players out injured or suspended," Malthouse said.
"We kept that focus away from anyone, particularly the media, which may have painted a different picture for us," Malthouse said.
"We knew as a match committee what we faced and we stayed very positive to make sure they (the players) didn't focus on who wasn't playing, so that's been a bonus.
"The bonus is we've got them back and they've all played football. We've had a week off to up-train some and down-train others."
The Hawks stand between Malthouse and his men playing for back-to-back flags.
While the Pies are in the same position and have taken the same route as last season - a top-four finish and a week's rest before the preliminary final on the back of a qualifying final win.
"We've been there and done it, although there are some who haven't and they've come to this football club with a massive hunger for wanting to get there and we know we're not there yet," Malthouse said.
"Those players have kept their focus. I'm talking about Leon Davis, Andrew Krakouer, Chris Tarrant.
"Leon is his 14th season, Chris his 12th and their hunger has been profound to the point where our younger players feel an obligation to them and haven't allowed (the success of) last year get in the road.
"I've told them, 'don't tighten up, you're not defending anything'."
"That was 2010, you're not defending 2010, no one can take that off you."
MICK Malthouse won't let the emotion surrounding what could be his last AFL game as Collingwood coach distract his players on Friday night.
The career of one of the AFL's greatest coaches could come to an end if the Pies fall to Hawthorn in the cut-throat preliminary final.
But the Pies' mastermind has not mentioned his personal circumstances to his players.
Collingwood vice-captain Scott Pendlebury said Malthouse would not consider using his potential exit as a motivating factor for his troops.
"Not at all. Knowing Mick he wouldn't even think of it," Pendlebury said.
"He is one of the most selfless people I have ever met.
"He's not going to turn it into something about him."
Malthouse, who has coached 652 AFL/VFL games for Collingwood, West Coast and Western Bulldogs, is second behind legendary Pie boss Jock McHale for most games coached.
He will hand the reins to Nathan Buckley at the conclusion of the Pies' bid for back-to-back premierships.
The club will be bolstered by the return of All-Australian pair Ben Reid and Dale Thomas for the Hawks' clash.
Ex-basketballer Pendlebury said Malthouse had played an integral role in his football development.
"He's been enormous for my footy career," he said.
"He gives me confidence to go out there and play on instinct and he's been a massive part of why I am playing footy now." COLLINGWOOD defender Chris Tarrant will adopt a realistic approach if he's again assigned the task on Lance Franklin on Friday night.
Tarrant, the likely match-up for Hawthorn’s ace goalkicker, knows Franklin will win his share of the ball regardless of the Magpies’ defensive tactics for the preliminary final.
On what to do if isolated one-out on the powerful Coleman Medalist, Tarrant said: "I don't know if I want to tell you that. I'm sure if Buddy reads the papers, so I don't want to let him know.
"Look, the thing is, you're not going to win every one (contest). That's just the way it is when you play on a great player.
"He's going to take a few marks and have a few shots. That's just the way it's going to be and you try to influence most of those contests as best you can.
"There's this thing (perception) that I've got a really good record on Buddy. But I haven't, I've only played on him twice now.
"The first time we had a good contest and the last game we won quite easily."
Franklin kicked only one goal when Collingwood beat Hawthorn by 41 points at the MCG in Round 15, the result another credit to Tarrant’s resolve to push his way into the Magpies’ defensive unit following a premiership season.
"I honestly thought to break into the side was going to be quite tough. They had a very settled back six last year, obviously, coming off a premiership," he said today.
"My goals were getting back to pre-season early and being one of the fittest there and to really show the other defensive guys that I was keen to take one of their spots.
"That's just the competitive nature of me and it helps drive everyone else showing that someone is trying to push everyone along as well. I think I did that.
"I started off a little slower, finding my feet with the rest of the guys and as the year has gone on, I've really felt comfortable in my position.
"I had a rest a few weeks ago for the Perth game. Then I rolled the ankle two weeks ago and sat out the second half there as well. Other than that slight ankle strain, the body has been really good."
Tarrant will meticulously study Franklin’s performances over at least the past month despite not watching the Hawks win against Sydney last Friday night.
"To be honest, I didn't see much of the game. I only watched a little bit of the game. I had more important things to do. But I'll definitely go through the tape this week," he said.
"There's always a system with their whole forward structure. Our defensive structure is very much run as a system and we don't rely on too many one-on-ones (contests).
"It's going to be more than just the defenders playing on the forwards this week. It's dominated through the midfield on who's getting on top and dominating those forward entries. We're just hoping our midfield is on top early."
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