With tears in his eyes, coach Mick Malthouse celebrated one his greatest
triumphs as Collingwood scored a dramatic three-point win in Friday
night’s AFL preliminary final at the MCG.
The defending premiers
qualified for next weekend’s grand final in the most dramatic of
circumstances with a stunning victory over Hawthorn.
Trailing by
17 points at three-quarter time, Collingwood kicked five goals to
Hawthorn’s two in the final term to win 10.8 (68) to 9.11 (65).
Chris Dawes and Travis Cloke kicked three goals each for Collingwood while big man Lance Franklin booted three for the Hawks.
Magpies
wingman Dale Thomas produced a stunning tackle on Hawthorn small
forward Cyril Rioli in the middle of the ground in the final minute of
the match to seal the win.
But Collingwood, who will play Geelong
or West Coast in the decider, face injury concerns over ruckman Darren
Jolly and key defender Ben Reid who were hampered by leg injuries.
Malthouse,
who is stepping down at the end of the season, showed great emotion in
the coach’s box as his side fought on against the odds to rescue victory
from an almost impossible position in front of 87,112 roaring fans.
The Hawks kicked 4.7 (31) to Collingwood’s 3.5 (23) in a tense first half.
The
Magpies were relying heavily on back pocket Leon Davis who helped limit
the damage with 19 possessions and nine rebound-50s out of defence in
the first half.
Early goals in the third term to Brent Guerra and
Sam Mitchell gave the Hawks a 21-point advantage after Collingwood
skipper Nick Maxwell made a crucial error in defence.
Dawes booted his second major eight minutes into the third term.
Cloke also kicked his second goal as Collingwood briefly fought back.
But Rioli to dribbled through a goal at the 20-minute mark as the Hawks went into three-quarter time with a 17-point break.
With
only five goals on the board in the first three quarters, Collingwood
kicked the first goal of the final term as Dawes booted his third and a
long effort by Leon Davis at the eight-minute mark lifted the Magpies to
within two points.
A captain’s mark and goal from Hawthorn’s Luke Hodge just a minute later halted Collingwood’s comeback.
But
while Hodge was heroic for Hawthorn, so was Collingwood’s tough
midfielder Dane Swan, whose goal drew his side within four points of the
Hawks.
Cloke took a massive pack mark and scored his third goal at the 19-minute mark to sensationally put the Magpies back in front.
But
with four minutes left in the game, Franklin dribbled an amazing goal
through from the boundary line as Hawthorn reclaimed the lead, only for
Luke Ball to put Collingwood back in front.
Midfielders Swan and
Scott Pendlebury were dominant for the Magpies while defender Chris
Tarrant did well on Franklin, with Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis two of
Hawthorn’s better players.
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