And then there were two.
Just like in 2002 and 2003, Collingwood and Brisbane will play in the AFL Grand Final.
Along with that, it was upset in a memorable Brownlow Medal count with Lachie Neale taking the honours becoming the 16th dual winner to take Charlie home.
As always, a five-leg multi of hindsight is good to go in the little blog that can 5 Lessons Learned.
(1) Remember who dishes out the votes.
Not even Lachie Neale expected to win his second Brownlow medal, it was a thrilling count with an upset result.
If you ask any Ladbrokes Punter who took the now dual Brownlow medalist at $13, they’d be up and about.
However, while there is much conjecture about some of the votes that were and weren’t awarded, you need to remember that the umpires are the ones who give them out.
These people see football differently.
I’ll leave that up for interpretation as to what one may think about the umps ability to give out votes, however, how boring would Brownlow night be if it was actually the best player winning every year?
That award already exists, it’s called the AFLPA VIP Leigh Matthews Trophy.
This is the Brownlow and counts like last night is what makes it great.
(2) Close call Pies can do it again.
If there’s one minute to go in on Saturday’s Grand Final and Collingwood is up by a goal or trailing by under a kick, you’ll know they’ll find a way to win.
It has been the case all season, as it was for most of 2022.
The Pies were able to reverse the one-point loss in the Prelim against the Swans, for an epic one-point win over the Giants the following year.
Friday night’s prelim against GWS was as on-brand as a Collingwood match as you would see.
In the second half, Collingwood trailed the Giants by 17 points and went an entire hour without kicking a goal.
All of a sudden, a five-goal to-one blitz in 12 minutes late in the third quarter, with just the one in the final term to put the Pies in front as yet again, Mason Cox played a vital role in a preliminary final.
In the end, Collingwood won by a point, making it two finals wins by a total of eight points to make it to the Grand Final and it was the seventh out of nine finals the Magpies have been involved in decided by less than three goals.
Close games and Collingwood are the norm.
Four out of the last six Grand Finals have been blow outs, but having the Pies involved means there’s every chance neutrals watching won’t be subject to one on Saturday.
There have been close Grand Finals involving Collingwood heartbreak, if they can reverse a one-point loss in a prelim, they can remove any trigger of Collywobbles that we saw in 1966, 1979, 2002, and 2018 on Saturday afternoon.
(3) Lions look primed
An up and about Carlton kicks five unanswered goals in the first quarter?
Not a problem when you’re the Brisbane Lions playing at the Gabba.
The Lions managed to get the game back on their terms in the second quarter, before setting sail for a Grand Final berth in the second half full steam ahead.
On form, the Lions look the better team in recent weeks than Collingwood but will go into Saturday’s game as the $2.10 underdogs at the time of publishing.
Many would put Brisbane’s poor MCG record as a factor as to why the Lions open as underdogs heading into that one day in September, but if they are to shake it off (they did actually win a final at the MCG last year) doing it in the Grand Final would be a pretty good time to do it.
Having won their past six against the Pies and both encounters against them this season (24 24-point win in Round 23 at Marvel and a 33-point win in Round 4 at the Gabba), Chris Fagan and his men can take in a lot of confidence that they can go all the way.
(4) Big Big heartbreak
The look on Toby Greene’s face said it all.
With the game right in the balance until the very last seconds, a one point loss resulted in a heartbreaking loss for the orange team.
GWS managed to get out to a 17-point lead early in the third quarter, but just couldn’t maintain their frantic pace allowing the Magpies to a fast finish to defeat them by a point.
That last frantic minute was as hectic as anyone would find in a game of footy.
For Toby Greene, he played arguably the best game of his career, just to fall short of another tilt at a Grand Final by a singular point.
Coming from 16th in 2022, to one point away from a spot in the Grand Final the next year is quite the achievement.
The Giants are an unbelievably talented team.
They will be back.
(5) Blues be proud.
When Carlton kicked the first five goals of the Preliminary Final, the thought of a Pies v Blues Grand Final started to get real.
It was an electrifying start, but the Blues were outclassed by the Lions going down by 16-points at the final siren.
While they did not go all the way, Carlton’s 2023 season will be one remembered and cherished by the Blues faithful.
Their post-bye turnaround and never-say-die attitude was something to behold and admire.
The long-lost swagger not seen around Lygon Street and Princes Park for over 20 years was back.
Carlton will be hurt by the loss, but has become a scary prospect and many Blues fans will be very curious to see what the odds will be for the Baggers to be flaggers in season 2024 when the first futures market comes out next week.