Geelong confirmed its place in the annals of modern day football by winning its third premiership in five seasons courtesy of a gutsy 38-point grand final win over Collingwood at the MCG.
The Cats lost key forward James Podsiadly to injury half-way through the second term whilst facing a 16-point deficit, but managed to battle their way to a tense 18.11 (119) to 12.9 (81) victory on the back of tremendous performances by Tom Hawkins and Norm Smith medallist Jimmy Bartel.
The triumph hands Geelong its ninth VFL/AFL premiership just a season after being discounted as an AFL contender following an unceremonious thrashing by the Pies in the 2010 preliminary final and the subsequent departures of superstar midfielder Gary Ablett and mentor Mark Thompson.
But under new coach Chris Scott, a talented list laden with now three-time premiership stars (a first for any Geelong player) regrouped with a much-needed injection of youth to lose just three games on its way to the 2011 flag.
"It's just credit to the group, their belief and strength and character is unbelievable," Cameron Ling told Channel 10 after captaining the oldest premiership-winning side in 67 years.
"I feel I am honoured and lucky to be playing with these guys. I'm playing with some of the greatest players of all time.
"They're just mentally tough. They're so competitive, they never give up and have that inner belief that they can do it."
Scott, a two-time premiership player with the dominant Brisbane Lions side in the early 2000s, becomes the first coach to win a flag in his debut season since Alan Joyce achieved the feat with Hawthorn in 1988.
In contrast, AFL icon Mick Malthouse was denied a fairytale chance to hoist a fourth premiership trophy in his final game as a senior coach and announced he will not be part of Collingwood in any position in 2012.
Hawkins took the game by the scruff of the neck after the Cats trailed by three points at half-time, booting three goals in the third quarter and consistently outmarking All Australian opponent Ben Reid to give Geelong a vital target on half forward.
Steve Johnson overcame a long week of speculation over his knee injury to kick four goals while Joel Selwood and Bartel played crucial parts in overcoming the dogged Pies.
Bartel in particular filled the gaping hole left by Podsiadly in the Geelong forward line, his superior overhead marking ability helping him to three goals, six marks and 26 disposals.
"This one is pretty sweet after everyone wrost us off," Bartel said.
"We knew if we kept grinding away, and kept playing the game at the contest, we backed ourselves to get over the top of them."
Ling did an outstanding job limiting the influence of Brownlow medallist Dane Swan, while the Geelong defence recovered to negate the threat of Travis Cloke despite the Collingwood big man bagging three majors in the first half.
Magpies guns Scott Pendlebury and Dale Thomas accumulated 33 and 31 disposals respectively and Andrew Krakouer was at his elusive best in a three-goal performance.
But Collingwood missed the influence of some of its lower profile and younger contributors whilst being forced to carry injured pair Reid and ruckman Darren Jolly, who were clearly not at 100 per cent fitness.
The grand final triumph capped a brilliant finals series from the Cats which included impressive wins over both Hawthorn and West Coast.
The Magpies, whose only three losses this season tellingly came at the hands of the Cats, faced the same two opponents but were clearly held back by their less convincing path to the decider, and for the fourth match in a row were held to 12 goals or less.
Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell said Geelong was clearly the better side on the day and his side wasted early chances to build a match-winning lead.
"Grand finals are renown for that. The team that takes its opportunities wins," he told reporters.
"We got to three goals up and let them back in with some easier goals."
"We know how good we are as a group, we know what we can achieve," added Maxwell after saying Leigh Brown was the only retiring player from the list.
"We have to make sure we know how much it burns, make sure it hurts."
Despite the soggy, cold conditions both sides delivered a high standard, free-flowing encounter that matched the blockbuster billing of a final featuring the competition's two best sides.
Travis Varcoe kicked the opening goal of the game after just 11 seconds but the Cats' early advantage was cut to just one point at quarter-time.
Collingwood's chances of winning back-to-back premierships for the first time in 75 years were lifted when the Pies booted three straight goals at the start of the second term to take an 18-point lead - their biggest advantage of the game - while Podsiadly was carried out of the game with a dislocated shoulder.
But the Cats, led by some inspirational work by the likes of Selwood and Bartel, managed to close the margin to 9.3 (57) to 8.6 (54) at the long break.
Collingwood briefly reclaimed a narrow lead in controversial fashion when Sharrod Wellingham's long-range kick scraped the post but was still given a goal in a similar scenes to Hawkin's famous poster in the 2009 grand final against St Kilda.
Geelong kept its composure however, kicking five-goals-to-two in the premiership quarter, hassling the weary Pies out of the contest as the hulking frame of Hawkins this time took the grand final centre stage for a different reason.
Maxwell yelled a passionate three-quarter time address to his charges with Malthouse by his side, but the Pies were unable to reel in a seven-point deficit against the ferocious Geelong pressure.
The reigning premiers were kept goalless while cool and stylish finishes by Varcoe, Bartel, Johnson and Ling iced the contest for Geelong well before the final siren.
Geelong: 18.11 (119) - S Johnson 4, J Bartel 3, T Hawkins 3, T Varcoe 3, J Selwood 2, C Ling, M Duncan, M Stokes.
Collingwood: 12.9 (81) - A Krakouer 3, T Cloke 3, S Sidebottom 2, B Johnson, L Ball, L Brown, S Wellingham.
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia, collingwood-3066, geelong-3220 First posted October 01, 2011 17:24:59
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