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Nick Riewoldt says Collingwood should have suffered “a 10-goal defeat” judging by Friday night’s stats, but they just keep finding a way to win and now sit equal top of the table.
Against Melbourne at the MCG, the reigning premiers won every statistic except tackles and goals on the night – finishing +93 in disposals, +22 in contested possessions, +20 in clearances and +24 in inside 50s.
The Demons had 10 goals to half time and were sitting pretty with a 17-point lead.
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But the “ridiculously efficient” Collingwood would not be denied a remarkable 11th straight victory – the first time they’ve achieved the feat in almost 60 years.
“It is crazy stuff,” Fox Footy’s Garry Lyon praised.
“This football club, what they are doing here now is just one for the ages – I can’t remember anything like it.
“All of the figures we could throw at you, they shouldn’t have been close but they’ve come from behind again … and they’ve come up and won.
“You could be forgiven for thinking … ‘we’d drop one sooner or later’. But nup. They refused.
“The best part may still be to come.
“They are on a journey; it’s got a movie written about this – the scenes we are about to witness.”
Remarkably, the Magpies had 21 scoring shots from just 41 inside 50s, and kicked an accurate 15.6.
Nick Riewoldt was full of praise for the way Collingwood ground out the win.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said.
“Inside 50, contested possession, clearances and all the numbers you go on when you are thinking about an indication on who will win the game – Collingwood should have lost by 10 goals!
“Their efficiency kept them in it.
“These last gasp wins are built on the belief that’s garnered from the weekend before.
“The professionalism, they were so disciplined in those last minutes, they just sucked the oxygen out of the game.”
Fox Footy’s Jonathan Brown said the 11th win shows it’s “not luck now” while Nathan Buckley warned the Pies best was still to come.
“The scary thing is there is so much upside with this team. If they get contested ball and clearance on a level pegging, as they did in the second half, their transition balance at the moment is dominant compared to the rest of the competition,” he said.
“We talk about the best sides’ bottom six needing to be good – (Josh) Carmichael’s playing well, (Nathan) Murphy, (Ash) Johnson, (Beau) McCreery, (Jack) Ginnivan and (Trent) Bianco, who came on as the sub – those players are all making contributions.”
Collingwood are now one game clear of Melbourne in second spot, and have matches to come against Sydney and Carlton before their finals charge.
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