Qualifying Final, 2023
Collingwood vs Melbourne
Thursday 7 September
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 92,636
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Collingwood | 4.2 | 5.3 | 9.4 | 9.6.60 |
| Melbourne | 1.0 | 2.4 | 4.9 | 7.11.53 |
Collingwood win by 7 points
Goalkickers: Bayley Fritsch 2, Tom McDonald 1, Alex Neal-Bullen 1, Kysaiah Pickett 1, Joel Smith 1, Tom Sparrow 1
Milestones:
Last game
Angus Brayshaw
Michael Hibberd
In their first final Collingwood since 1989, Melbourne started underdogs against the minor premiers. Their attack failed them early, with the only scoring shot of the first quarter from a downfield free kick after Angus Brayshaw was knocked out by an attempted smother from Brayden Maynard. Brayshaw later retired as a consequence of the collision. Maynard was referred to the AFL Tribunal but cleared.
Melbourne's defence held up for the next three quarters but a burst of goals during the third term left the Pies 28 points ahead at the last change. They dominated the final term but were inaccurate when presented chances, with both Tom McDonald and Bayley Fritsch missing easy shots. The margin was reduced to seven points with time left, but a Kysaiah Pickett snap that went out on the full gave the Pies a chance to run the clock down and go straight to the Preliminary Final, leaving the Dees playing the next week to avoid a second consecutive straight sets exit.
Best were Gawn, Petracca and Oliver. Bailey Laurie replaced Angus Brayshaw in the first quarter. Jacob van Rooyen was suspended for a week for striking.
Lists
Tribunal
Media
afl.com.au - 07/09/2023
Links
Demonblog match review