Pies win extraordinary contest

Collingwood 24.12 (156) def. Carlton 17.10 (112)

Collingwood has kept itself in the frame for a top four spot after eventually seeing off a dogged Carlton by 44 points at the MCG in one of the most attacking and free-flowing contests of the season.

Any suggestion of Carlton “tanking” for the top draft pick was dispelled as the Blues shot out to an early lead, but after one of the most controversial and action-packed quarters in recent history, Collingwood came out calmer and classier to deservedly take out the points.

Collingwood’s Alan Didak and Carlton’s Brendan Fevola and Jordan Bannister are all on report, with Didak expected to receive a hefty penalty for his crude hit on Heath Scotland in the second term which sparked the game into a frenzy.

Anthony Rocca was the leading goal kicker on the ground with six majors, while Scott Burns and Chris Egan booted three apiece. Simon Prestigiacomo did well on Fevola, while Didak had 26 touches and two goals to go with his likely suspension.

Fevola and Eddie Betts got three goals each for the Blues, while Kade Simpson was sensational with 30 quality possessions. Captain Anthony Koutoufides had one of his better games for the season, gathering 28 possessions and kicking a goal.

One late change was made, with important Carlton midfielder Nick Stevens a late exclusion for Adrian Deluca, who added some height to the Blues’ lineup.

There were a lot of notables heading into today’s game, with Carlton tall Lance Whitnall the third player to reach 200 games this weekend, Didak playing his 100th game, Carlton youngster Brad Fisher taking part in his 50th game and Paul Bower making his debut for the Blues.

Carlton got off to a flying start with four of the first five goals to shoot out to a 16-point lead early in the term.

It was the Blues who controlled the play, but it was their errors rather than good play from Collingwood that got the Pies back into the game, with Didak and Egan bridging the gap to three points.

But Carlton steadied with three of the last four goals of the term, while Collingwood wasted several chances in front of goal, and the Blues went into the first break with a 14-point advantage.

The second term started poorly for the Magpies, with young forward Travis Cloke forced off for the rest of the game (and perhaps subsequent weeks) with a shoulder injury from when he was driven into the ground in a tackle.

Things appeared worse for Collingwood when Simpson kicked a running goal to put the Blues up by 21 points, but the game was about to changed by a series of extraordinary events.

After Rocca got his second goal, all hell broke loose when Didak ran right through Scotland when he should have tackled; an incident that left Scotland with a smashed nose and off the ground in a groggy state, though he would later return.

While Whitnall and Andrew Walker remonstrated heavily with Didak, Betts kicked one of the goals of the year to restore the Blues’ 21-point lead.

Rocca steadied for the Pies with his third, but when Didak missed a running snap the game again descended into high drama.

Whitnall continued his personal vendetta with the Collingwood forward, and umpire Darren Goldspink gave the Pies a free kick in front of goal due to Whitnall’s treatment of Didak. After Burns slotted the resulting free kick, Goldspink amazingly gave the Pies another free kick in front of goal after Bannister put Brodie Holland down further up the ground.

With the margin reduced from 17 points to a mere four without the ball being bounced in the middle, Carlton had lost its momentum and Collingwood were on the march.

Collingwood slammed on the next three goals to race out to a 16-point lead, and while Fevola kicked two majors in the latter stages of the term to try and steady for the Blues, Nick Maxwell and Holland also kicked goals to put Carlton 16 points behind at half-time.

While Carlton fought hard, they never regained the lead as Collingwood came out of the tumultuous second term the more composed.

It was goal-for-goal for most of the third term, but Carlton looked like they were about to seize control when Whitnall marked close to goal, but his left-footed shot from an angle to put Carlton within two points flew out on the full, and Ben Johnson goaled on the rebound to put the Pies up by 14 points.

The Magpies booted three of the next five to head into the final change 21 points to the good, and it was always going to be tough for the Blues to get back into the game from there.

They made it tougher by squandering chances in front of goal early in the final stanza, with Collingwood piling on four final-quarter goals without reply to run out convincing victors and condemn their bitter rivals to a likely wooden spoon.

The Blues will try and haul themselves off the bottom of the ladder when they take on Sydney at the SCG on Sunday, while Collingwood will look to head into the finals with some confidence when they play the Kangaroos at the MCG, also on Sunday.

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