AFL flag favourite Magpies cruise past Dockers

Shayne Hope | July 16, 2023

Craig McRae has hailed Collingwood’s growing ability to change gears mid-game after a half-hour blitz paved the way for a comfortable 46-point win over Fremantle.

The Magpies’ high-energy brand was on full show during a 10-goal second quarter which laid the platform for the 18.5 (113) to 10.7 (67) triumph at the MCG on Saturday.

The result kept Collingwood (15-2) on top of the ladder and has all but ended Fremantle’s (7-10) faint finals hopes.

Adding to the Dockers’ woes, they lost No.1 ruckman Sean Darcy (ankle) and young defender Brandon Walker (knee) to injuries during the third quarter.

Taylor Adams (23 disposals, seven clearances, two goals) and Darcy Moore (19 touches, 11 intercepts) were Collingwood’s most influential players when the game was up for grabs early, but the premiership favourites had a raft of contributors.

Brownlow Medal fancy Nick Daicos (36 disposals, seven clearances, one goal) was prominent, as was brother Josh Daicos (31, seven, one), while Jordan De Goey celebrated his 150-game milestone in style with 26 touches.

Jamie Elliott (four), Ash Johnson (three), Dan McStay and Adams (two each) all kicked multiple goals as the Magpies racked up a triple-figure score for the seventh time this season.

“We want to be exciting to watch and hard to play against,” Collingwood coach McRae said.

“I don’t like the word perfect … but that (second quarter) is as close to what our DNA looks like in terms of all facets of our game.

“We had high pressure, we had good contested ball and we won a lot of the territory. So there was a lot of stuff there that makes us feel like we’re on the right track.”

Collingwood led by five points early in the second term when they flicked the switch, rattling off eight consecutive goals in 23 minutes to break the game wide open.

They piled on 10.1 to 2.1 for the quarter, with Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir conceding the Dockers “totally lost our way”.

“Not only did they beat us on the inside, they got us on the outside,” Longmuir said.

“We put our backs under a lot of pressure and when we’ve been under the pump this year – at stoppage, in particular, and in the midfield – we haven’t been able to get field position through our ball movement.

“It felt like we pretty much played the whole quarter in our back half, which creates a lot of opportunities for the opposition. They dominated us.”

Fremantle star Darcy hobbled off during the third term and play was held up for several minutes after Walker landed awkwardly in a marking contest.

The 20-year-old looked in extreme pain before being taken off the field on a stretcher.

Collingwood were commanding 47-point leaders at that stage and the break in play took even more sting out of the contest.

Jaeger O’Meara (30 disposals, 10 clearances) and Andrew Brayshaw (30, seven) fought hard for Fremantle, young midfielder Neil Erasmus (26, five) showed promise and Josh Treacy kicked three goals.