3 minute read

Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom, the two most experienced players in the grand final were massive as Collingwood held on against the Brisbane Lions.

Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom are, to borrow a line from Allan Jeans, very good drivers in heavy traffic.

The legendary AFL coach used that quote to compliment Gary Ayres, a five-time premiership player and two-time Norm Smith medallist.

In the MCG furnace on Saturday, Pendlebury and Sidebottom delivered as they have so often for their second premierships.

Pendlebury was massive, especially in the frenetic second half, directing his teammates and setting up play.

Significantly, his centre clearance midway through the last quarter ended up with Jordan De Goey, who snapped the goal that put Collingwood back in front.

Sidebottom fittingly kicked the goal two minutes later - a 50-plus metre bomb - that would end up ensuring the win and he was poised all day on a wing.

It was thought the 29C temperature might play to Brisbane's advantage.

Surely, in Pendleburys' 383rd game and Sidebottom's 309th, the two most experienced players on the ground might run out of legs.

Instead, they only became more significant as the game progressed.

"Pendles' last quarter was something else and his composure when everything else was starting to fatigue," said coach Craig McRae.

"The organisation - when we get behind with five minutes to go, we flick a switch and go into a phase of our ball movement, that we take more risk, and he just orchestrates it.

"You can't buy experience on grand final day. Those two in particular have been remarkable for our group."

McRae added Pendlebury had set three personal bests in the gym, at 35, over the past three weeks.

"It's all about getting better every day. Our oldest player is getting better every day and (he's) an incredible role model for the rest of us," McRae said.

Obviously in a grand final decided by less than a goal, it came down to moments.

Collingwood, now renowned for their poise in close games, were better when it counted.

"In the end, it was an incredible management of moments," McRae said.

But they did their best to botch it, spraying 12.18 as Brisbane kicked 13.8.

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan was left lamenting Collingwood's ability to kick goals when they really counted, especially after the siren at the end of the first and second quarters.

Then, late in the third term, Norm Smith Medallist Bobby Hill had a shot at goal after Collingwood had sprayed five behinds for the quarter.

Instead, he passed short to Pendlebury - who, of course, kicked a goal to put them back in front.

Hill was crucial, his four first-half goals the poise Collingwood badly needed.

"He was on fire, wasn't he? He did a great job," Fagan said of the Magpies small forward.

Brandon Starcevich went onto him at half time and Hill did not kick another goal, but his contribution was colossal.

McRae noted that Hill benefited from Collingwood ironing out their ball movement, especially going into attack, after only managing a collective 17 goals in their previous two finals.

"Clearly, we moved the ball differently and that was the whole theme of the week - let's not do what we did the week before," he said.

"(Bobby) was running the same patterns last week and we just didn't kick it to him. He was there waiting for it."

Not surprisingly, Collingwood had 57 inside 50s to 43. But importantly, they out-tackled Brisbane 72-53.

The Magpies' pressure was relentless and in the end, that and experience proved the difference.