GEELONG is into its first grand final since 1995 after defeating a gallant Collingwood by five points at the MCG last night.
Ninety-eight thousand and two fans, almost to a man, woman and child supporting one of the combatant teams, had their hearts in the mouths throughout a gripping last quarter. Travis Cloke goaled at the start to put the Pies back in the lead, then Geelong seemed to have taken over with consecutive goals to Cam Mooney, Steve Johnson and Paul Chapman.
Collingwood would not die, however. Cloke goaled again at almost the exact halfway point of the term, then missed another chance straight after.
Alan Didak outran his opponent to goal and bring Collingwood within five points again.
Once more Geelong seemed to have clinched it when Brad Ottens and Gary Ablett worked a beautiful goal from a boundary throw-in, but after almost 10 minutes of stalemate, Anthony Rocca was paid a free kick as Matthew Scarlett and Tom Harley double-teamed him in a marking contest.
He was unable to take the kick, but Paul Medhurst somehow wobbled a nervous shot through from 30 metres.
There was just under a minute left at the re-start, but Collingwood was denied the clearance needed to get quickly into attack and the Cats were home, but minus a few of those precious nine lives.
The two teams had been locked in a desperate struggle with a quarter to play. A goal from a quiet Mooney in the dying seconds of the third term gave the Cats their slim lead.
Mooney kicked accurately around his body after James Clement had been penalised for deliberately knocking the ball out of bounds. He had no other option as Mooney bore down on him with no Collingwood teammate able to lend a hand; unfortunately for Collingwood, the umpire had no option either.
Geelong had added an inaccurate two goals seven for the term, actually falling behind when Medhurst snapped his second goal of the game mid-way through. There were not too many easy shots, though Brad Ottens missed a set shot from 35 metres out at the start of the term, then James Kelly missed an open goal soon afterwards.
With that let-off, Collingwood closed the gap with a Leon Davis goal and then proceeded to dominate a lot of the play from that point on. Martin Clarke continued his grand game and Nathan Buckley found plenty of the ball in the back line.
Desperate tackles and smothers from both sides now became the norm. You had to do something extra to be noticed, such as when Joel Corey lunged across Chris Bryan as the big man charged goalwards and not only effected a smother, but came up with the ball and passed accurately to a teammate upfield.
Geelong led by five points at half-time, early and late surges by the Magpies bringing them back into the contest.
Collingwood kicked the first two and last two goals to win the quarter after the Cats had slammed on three unanswered goals mid-way through to lead by 17 points and look like they were taking control.
Clarke was brilliant throughout the term. He was shifted on to the dangerous Matthew Stokes, who had kicked three goals in the first term. Not only did Clarke diminish Stokes' output, but he got plenty of the ball himself and his run helped set up Sean Rusling for the first goal of the quarter.
Minutes later, Medhurst kicked one from outside 50 off not much more than a step and Collingwood had hit the front. Dale Thomas just missed with another shot from almost 50 metres out on the boundary and all the momentum was now with the Pies.
Geelong was galvanised into action. Matthew Scarlett ran forward off Rocca again, but missed an open goal from 40 metres out. After 13 minutes, it was the Cats' first score of the quarter. Then Johnson, well held by Clement up until this point, got two goals in a row. The first came when Jimmy Bartel's well-weighted pass plopped onto his chest 40 metres out, and then he ran on to a knock-out from a boundary throw-in to add another.
Max Rooke sneaked down the open side of the ground to mark unopposed 30 metres out and suddenly Geelong had scored three in a row and was 17 points up, the biggest lead of a tight game.
Collingwood would not let up. Didak created a goal out of nothing, trapping the ball with one hand, tapping it onto his right foot and somehow getting enough forward momentum on the ball to lob it through from the goal square.
Then Rusling out-bodied Josh Hunt to kick his second for the quarter and the teams went to half-time with less than a straight kick separating them.
Collingwood started the match better, Scott Burns snapping the first goal from a ruck contest in the forward pocket after Rocca had already missed a difficult set shot from the boundary 15 metres out.
Nervous Geelong fans looking for unfavourable omens may well have thought they spotted one with Scarlett conceding an undisciplined free to the Collingwood power forward after appearing to be upset not to have got one himself.
Such fears were quickly dispelled as Geelong settled and started to move the ball into its attacking 50 with precision. Stokes got the Cats' first goal after one shot had rebounded off a pack and then Shane Wakelin accidentally kneed teammate Tyson Goldsack in the head as both dived towards the loose ball.
Chapman then passed beautifully to Ottens for another goal. Stokes added two more by quarter-time as Collingwood could manage only a Shane O'Bree goal by way of reply.
O'Bree marked 80 metres out but was given a 50-metre penalty after Joel Selwood was judged not to have been in the contest when he made body contact.
Collingwood started without Josh Fraser, who missed his second successive final with a back injury. His place in the side was taken by Bryan, so the Magpies went in with the same 22 that beat West Coast after extra-time in last week's semi-final.
GEELONG 4.4 7.6 9.13 13.14 (92)
COLLINGWOOD 2.5 6.7 9.8 13.9 (87)
GOALS Geelong: Stokes 3, S Johnson 3, Mooney
2, G Ablett, Ottens, Rooke, Kelly, Chapman. Collingwood:
Medhurst 3, Cloke 3, Didak 2, Rusling 2, Burns, O'Bree, Davis.
BEST Geelong: Bartel, S Johnson, Ottens, G Ablett,
Scarlett, Kelly, Corey. Collingwood: Clarke, Buckley,
O'Bree, H Shaw, Swan, Cloke.
INJURIES Geelong: S Johnson (shoulder).
Collingwood: Fraser (back) replaced in selected side by
Bryan.
UMPIRES: McBurney, McLaren, McInerney.
CROWD: 98,002 at the MCG.
THE MATCH BY NUMBERS
1st Quarter
Stokes BOG with 7 disposals, 3 goals
Geelong 48 handballs to Collingwood's 21
2nd Quarter
Johnson BOG with 10 disposals, 2 goals
In the first 10 minutes Collingwood won the 50/50s 15 to 5
3rd Quarter
Ottens 4 marks, 2 scoring assists.
Geelongs scoring accuracy only 25% to Collingwood's 60%
4th Quarter
Ablett BOG with 11 disposals 4 clearances
