From 17th to a premiership?
AFL greats believe Collingwood can go all the way in 2022 after its 20-point semi-final win over Fremantle that saw the Magpies advance to a preliminary final showdown with Sydney at the SCG.
Collingwood’s shock rise from the bottom two back into flag contention under first-year coach Craig McRae has been arguably the story of the season including an 11-game winning streak and unprecedented amount of close triumphs.
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And while acknowledging he still has Geelong and Sydney as the two favourites for the flag, Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd believes the Pies have all the tools to lift the cup on the last Saturday in September.
“I think they (Collingwood) can win it,” Lloyd said on Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Show.
“I wouldn’t be shocked if they won the premiership now.
“I don’t think Brisbane can win it, but any of the other three it would not surprise me if they won the flag.”
Dual All-Australian Kane Cornes admitted he’d been a “slow burn,” but was also now buying into Collingwood’s premiership credentials after another strong performance against the Dockers.
“I haven’t been fully embracing their forward line just with the personnel they’ve got down there — they really don’t have a key target in their forward line, not many have won it without a key position player in their forward 50,” he said.
“But they’re so even, they don’t rely on any one player, so perhaps that’s been a strength of theirs.
“I think they can win it too, but having said that I still think Sydney will start red-hot favourites and rightly so. They’re a really dangerous proposition at the SCG and Collingwood got a glimpse of that a number of weeks ago in the home and away season.
“It’s still Geelong and Sydney out in front and then Collingwood third.”
Indeed, an SCG showdown with the Swans looms as perhaps the Magpies’ biggest challenge yet given the last time the teams played at the venue last month, it ended Collingwood’s 11-game winning streak.
But now just one win away from a grand final, McRae, who’s long preached to not look too far ahead, said his side is eyeing the top prize.
“We’re here to win it. One more game and you’re in a grand final,” McRae told reporters after Saturday night’s win over Fremantle.
“We’re here to win this thing and we’re going to work our butts off to get better every day to give ourselves every chance.
“We’ll set ourselves up sand we know what’s coming up in Sydney, but we’ll give it our best shot.”
Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley, who departed the club midway through last season after guiding it to a grand final and preliminary final over the last four seasons, believes his former side will be full of belief ahead of the interstate trip.
“The Pies will fear no one, and going up to the SCG and playing Sydney over the years as a player and a coach has never been a concern,” he said on Fox Footy’s Best on Ground.
“In fact for a large part of my time it was a club that we felt we had a really good record against. Going to the SCG will be something this team will look forward to, it should be a cracking match.
“They’re in good shape to go up to Sydney.”
Buckley also admitted that he “missed” being part of the club during such finals runs as these, but gave huge praise to McRae and what his team has pulled off.
“You pretty much miss it from first siren to last siren — this is the time of year you want to be involved in,” he said.
“Obviously I’ve got a really strong association with these boys, so to see them go about their business the way they are is awesome.
“You always love to be involved with something that’s working really well, but they’re making their own way. Craig McRae, his coaching staff, the football program that are in place — some that have been there for a long time, and some that are new — are doing this all in this 2022 campaign which has been brilliant to watch.”
St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt thinks the Magpies fully deserve their spot in next weekend’s grand final qualifier after their fairytale run in 2022 — a run that’s even made rival fans warm to the club other supporters notoriously love to hate.
“I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I’m really pleased they’re going through to a preliminary final, and I genuinely am!” The five-time All-Australian declared.
“I just feel like the story this year from Collingwood and what they’ve been able to dish up, they’ve just been so great to watch.
“Whether you support them or you don’t you can’t have helped been fixated by what they’ve been doing on the field. So to have gone out in straight sets I don’t think would’ve done the story justice.
“So we get another week, and you’re right, they shouldn’t fear anyone. Because really it’s taken the best team in the competition by a mile all year in Geelong to knock them off in a close game.
“Other than that no one else has been able to withstand the tidal wave of Collingwood’s spirit this year.”
Collingwood faces off with Sydney next Saturday at the SCG at 4.45pm AEST.
