COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES EQUALLED an Australian Football League record on Saturday with their 16th premiership after outlasting a Brisbane Lions outfit containing Tyrone’s Conor McKenna in front of 100,000 fans at the MCG.
In a pulsating grand final, the AFL’s most famous team hung on to record a thrilling victory, 12.18 (90) to 13.8(86), and claim their first title since 2010.
“It was just incredible. It was fun to play,” Magpies captain Darcy Moore said.
“Brisbane were unbelievable and kept coming at us. I’m lost for words.”
SWEET 16!
— AFL (@AFL) September 30, 2023
Flagpies baby 🤩#AFLGF pic.twitter.com/geZ3q5zGbV
With temperatures hovering around an unseasonably warm 30 degrees Celsius in Melbourne, it was one of the hottest ever grand finals in a competition that started in 1897.
In a free-wheeling contest, a contrast to traditional dour deciders, the teams played aggressively to trade goals in a frenetic first half and defy the oppressive conditions.
A goal from Jack Crisp after the siren gave the Magpies a six-point half-time lead.
Their buffer was reduced to four points at the last break and the game slowed as nerves set in.
The Magpies appeared to seal the victory with a goal to Steele Sidebottom, only for Brisbane’s Joe Daniher to respond and set up a nerve-jangling final minute.
The Magpies survived to exact revenge for grand final defeats to the Lions in 2002 and 2003.
They tied with fellow Melbourne-based powerhouses Carlton and Essendon with the most championships in the competition’s history.
Defeat for Brisbane and Tyrone star McKenna means that Kerry’s Tadhg Kennelly remains the only Irishman ever to win both an All-Ireland and an AFL title.
