Confidence might just take Collingwood all the way in 2022

MELBOURNE — It was hardly surprising that after three quarters of dominance, Collingwood was outscored by Fremantle in the final term of its 20-point semifinal win.

Given just how many times the Magpies have had to fight to the last second for the narrowest of victories this season, the five-goals-plus advantage they held for most of the second half was the stuff of luxury. In the final 30 minutes, Collingwood dared to dream of an unlikely preliminary final against Sydney, and the prospect of one more victory landing them on the Grand Final stage, amazing in itself given the turmoil which had gripped a whole club for much of 2021, culminating in its lowest-ever ladder position of 17th.

But a playoff for a Grand Final berth is just deserts. Much like last week’s gallant loss to flag favourite Geelong, this finals performance from the Pies underscored their bona fides as a serious flag threat.

Collingwood seized the initiative. It strangled the life out of Fremantle early, forcing the Dockers to go wide and slow to a static forward set-up.

It organised its defence brilliantly through the agency of the likes of Jeremy Howe and Darcy Moore. They rebounded quickly and directly with devastating effect, a simple methodology which yielded four goals before the Dockers knew what had hit them.

Jamie Elliott of the Magpies celebrates a goal. Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

And this time, unlike last week’s amazing comeback against the Western Bulldogs, Fremantle wasn’t going to be allowed even a sniff until it was much too late, the eventual margin flattering to say the least.

Apart from the brilliant defence, Collingwood had winners everywhere. Jordan De Goey, who has now played two ripping finals in as many weeks, an absolute star, with hard running, superb ball use and sharp shooting near goal.

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Jack Crisp’s running in straight lines through the middle of the ground constantly had Fremantle grasping at jumpers disappearing in the distance. And up forward, Jack Ginnivan and Jamie Elliott were the livewires the Dockers badly needed but sorely lacked.

While some of Fremantle’s exciting youngsters like Michael Frederick and Brandon Walker appeared to seize up a little under the spotlight, Collingwood’s, in contrast, seemed to relish the occasion, the Daicos brothers, as per usual, racking up touches and using them with effect.

But it was the senior hands really leading the way, skipper Scott Pendlebury effortlessly peeling off handballs to teammates running past, while Crisp was a running machine, his first term in particular devastatingly effective.

Truth be told, Fremantle really didn’t help itself much either, turnovers and fumbles at the most inopportune of moments costing the Dockers dearly not just in terms of territory, but on the scoreboard.

Those turnovers were the source of four of Collingwood’s six first half goals, and both the Pies’ second term majors were the result of Fremantle clangers.

Elliott’s second goal came after a costly ill-directed attempt to centre the ball in defence from the Dockers’ Heath Chapman. Walker, meanwhile, was having a bit of a personal nightmare in that second quarter. In the space of only a few minutes he gave a free kick away for kicking out of bounds on the full, then penalised for holding the ball after he’d dragged it in. There was a costly fumble, then a dropped mark.

Jack Ginnivan celebrates a goal with Josh Daicos. Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Perhaps the only thing saving Fremantle from an irretrievable defecit come half-time was Collingwood’s second-quarter inaccuracy, a term of complete dominance yielding only 2.6, after the Pies had booted 4.0 in the first.

Indeed, the Magpies added nine behinds in a row after at one stage being six goals straight. Yet even when Griffin Logue kicked the first goal of the second half to reduce the gap to 24 points, there was no real sense that Fremantle was about to mount any sort of game-threatening comeback.

And when Ginnivan, then Brody Mihocek, corrected Collingwood’s wonky radar with goals, the gap blew out to the best part of seven goals. Barely a minute before the final break, the unmistakable “Collingwood” chant broke out in the stands, filled with more than 90,000 people, and that was essentially that.

To its credit, Fremantle, even knowing the gig was up, didn’t drop its bundle, adding five goals in the last quarter after managing just four for the previous three terms.

Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw continued to rack up the touches, 66 between them. Lachie Schultz had almost single-handedly kept Freo in touch early on. Luke Ryan was staunch in defence.

And of course, there was the departing warrior David Mundy, whose 376th and final AFL game was capped off appropriately with a beautiful running goal.

His chairing from the ground and the guard of honour formed by players from both teams was a lovely conclusion to an evening in which Fremantle might have been beaten but certainly wasn’t bowed.

As for the Pies? Well, this amazing story rolls on at least another week. Yes, they were beaten comfortably by Sydney just one month ago. But this is a side riding high on confidence, belief and with the smell of something pretty incredible in its nostrils.

It’s intoxicating stuff. And it’s pretty hard not to get swept up in it all.