SUMMARY

Collingwood returns to September after winning 12 of its final 13 games of the home and away season to secure fourth spot. Taylor Adams looms as the only player returning from injury, with the Magpies vice-captain set to play for the first time since hurting his groin in round 20. Geelong arrives at the start of another finals series on the back of a 13-game winning streak, finishing two games clear on top of the ladder. Jeremy Cameron, Rhys Stanley and Mitch Duncan all missed round 23, but all three are set to play. Cam Guthrie hurt his shoulder in the that game but is good to go. 

Where and when: MCG, Saturday, September 3, 4.35pm AEST

WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR? 

Round 3: Collingwood 13.13 (91) lost to Geelong 16.8 (104) at the MCG

Before Collingwood clicked into gear under new coach Craig McRae, it almost stunned Geelong early in the season. The Magpies booted nine third-quarter goals to lead by 30 points at the final change, before the Cats steamed home, kicking seven final-term goals to none with Jeremy Cameron booting six majors in a dominant display. Only one team banked the points that night, but Collingwood fans didn't leave disappointed. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Geelong

Jeremy Cameron earned Therabody AFL All-Australian selection for the third time last Wednesday night after a brilliant second season at Kardinia Park. But the Coleman medallist arrives at the start of September with some concern regarding his fitness after straining his hamstring in round 22. The 29-year-old has been cleared to play, but he has history of hamstring issues at Geelong. Hopefully, this one is behind him. 

Collingwood

While the Cats had five players named in the All-Australian side, Brayden Maynard was the only Magpie to be picked in the 22. The 25-year-old is the match-up no one wants from Geelong. Maynard's versatility could see him used on anyone from Jeremy Cameron to Tyson Stengle to Patrick Dangerfield if he plays in attack. The defender's style stacks up in finals, just like it has in big games at the MCG in front of 70,000-plus this year. Collingwood has played in front of the five biggest crowds of 2022.  

WHAT THE COACHES SAID 

Chris Scott on Collingwood:

Different teams challenge you in different ways.

Collingwood just happen to be really good at that situation (close finishes) and the best practice is in the moment, in real games with a lot at stake and they have been playing with a lot at stake for at least the last month, probably longer than that so they've had the perfect practice in that moment.

We've worked as hard as we can within our training system to be on the same page and know what we're trying to do in those scenarios.

Craig McCrae on Geelong:

It's going to be a massive challenge. They're in great shape.

They’ve won 13 games in a row, they're going to have everybody available, they’re two games on top of the ladder, have huge experience on their list – a lot of shared experience. It's going to be a massive challenge.

Anytime you step over the white line there’s an element of competitiveness that you need to bring your best and I would have thought this is going to be a real red hot game for the very start.

GEELONG has won in the first week of finals for the first time since 2016, denying Collingwood by six points in a thrilling, brutal encounter to book a home preliminary final at the MCG.

The Magpies were the masters of the tight finishes in 2022, winning nine games by single digits – and 11 by less than 12 points – but it was Geelong who stood up at the death.

CATS v MAGPIES Full match coverage and stats

Chris Scott's men have now won fourteen straight games after the 11.12 (78) to 10.12 (72) win at the MCG put them just one victory away from playing in another Grand Final.

Gary Rohan was the hero for the Cats, hauling in a colossal pack mark and subsequent goal to put the Cats in front late in the final term, before Jack Crisp levelled the scores with less than three minutes to play.

After a scrappy passage from the ensuing kick-in, Jeremy Cameron delivered a dagger through Magpie hearts when he fired a ball deep inside 50 to Rohan, who fed the ball to an unmarked Max Holmes for the match-winner from inside the goal square. 

After waiting 12 months to show that he can handle the searing pressure of finals football, and overcoming an injury interrupted season, Rohan was one of the most influential players on the ground, finishing with an equal game-high three goals. 

Cameron showed no sign of the hamstring issue that kept him out of the Cats' round 23 clash with West Coast, also booted three goals to go with his 17 disposals in a brilliant display.

After the first two games of September whetted the appetite for the most highly anticipated fixture of the weekend, 91,525 people – the biggest crowd since the 2019 preliminary final between Richmond and Geelong – crammed into the MCG to see one of the games of the season. 

And the game delivered from the opening bounce until the final siren. 

After leading by 14 points at quarter-time, a point at half-time and seven points at the final break, Jordan De Goey put the Magpies 12 points up three minutes into the fourth quarter with a clinical finish on the run and all the momentum was with Collingwood. 

But just when it looked like Craig McRae's fairytale first season in charge of the Magpies was going to continue, Geelong found a way to win a game they looked like losing for large chunks. 

Jordan De Goey (26 disposals, two last-quarter goals) and Scott Pendlebury (34 disposals) were outstanding for Collingwood, while Joel Selwood (25 disposals) and Tom Atkins (23 disposals) were important as the Cats gained the ascendancy around the contest in the decisive final quarter.

Despite Geelong's superiority across the home and away season again – the Cats finished with the double chance for the 13th time in 16 years – it is all about what happens in the most important month of the football calendar. The Cats had won only seven of 22 finals since the last time they went all the way in Scott's first season in 2011. 

Make that eight now, after ending a first week of September hoodoo in the process.

GEELONG                    1.3       4.7       7.10     11.12 (78)
COLLINGWOOD          3.5       4.8       8.11     10.12 (72)

GOALS
Geelong:  Cameron 3, Rohan 3, Close 2, Hawkins, Duncan, Holmes
Collingwood: De Goey 2, Johnson 2, Crisp, J. Daicos, Elliott, Hoskin-Elliott, Lipinski, Mihocek

INJURIES
Geelong: Kolodjashnij (knee)
Collingwood: Adams (groin), Johnson (thigh)

SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Mark O'Connor replaced Jake Kolodjashnij in the second quarter 
Collingwood: Nathan Kreuger replaced Taylor Adams in the fourth quarter

Crowd: 91,525 at the MCG