Ladder-leading Magpies given major scare by Eagles

Oliver Caffrey | June 28, 2025

Expected to obliterate West Coast, premiership favourites Collingwood had to wait until the final quarter to make sure of a 29-point win.

The bottom-of-the-ladder Eagles travelled to Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Saturday night as the rankest outsider of the season.

With a 1-14 record and missing a stack of experienced talent, West Coast led the red-hot Magpies at quarter-time and half-time.

But Collingwood managed 8.5 to 2.4 in the second half, setting up the 13.10 (88) to 8.11 (59) win in Brody Mihocek’s 150th game.

Collingwood’s seventh straight win was probably their least convincing of the season, often outworked around the contest.

“We knew what was coming,” Magpies coach Craig McRae said.

“Watching their last month, you look at the work of their score against, and for last month, they hung in there.

“They’ve been really competitive, and we knew that was going to be the case.

“The last things I said to the boys (after talking to them post-game), we came here for four points. We didn’t come here for style points.”

Only the Eagles’ lack of polish and experience stopped the result from being even closer.

Forward Jack Williams sprayed a set shot from 35m out at the start of the final term that would have reduced the margin to four points if he had slotted it.

That poor finish came after Williams had inexplicably decided to launch a kick from West Coast’s defensive 50 in the dying seconds of the third term, landing straight in the lap of Collingwood superboot Dan Houston.

As he often does, Houston kicked truly from outside 50m to give the Magpies a major boost on the stroke of three-quarter time.

Eagles coach Andrew McQualter was hesitant to be critical of Williams.

“Clearly, Jack would like his time again in the defensive 50, but he’s probably not in that position too often,” McQualter said.

“But probably not going to concentrate too much on those little moments, because there’s lots of errors throughout a game of footy, and it’s about moving on and what you can do next.”

Nick Daicos, who went without a hard tag after tactics to quieten the Magpies superstar became a major story during the week, was typically influential with 34 touches and a classy running goal.

Veteran defender Jeremy Howe was superb, cutting off a number of West Coast forward entries.

Liam Baker was the Eagles’ most prolific ball-winner with 35 possessions, while Brady Hough impressed with 27 touches and a goal.

Both teams had an eye-catching debutant, with highly touted Collingwood forward Charlie West slotting a goal with his first kick, before being subbed off in the final quarter.

Jobe Shanahan looks capable of filling the role of injured co-captain Oscar Allen, who is set to join the Brisbane Lions in the off-season.

A rangy key forward, Shanahan’s first goal came from a tricky set shot.