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