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Collingwood staff, players and fans were left in tears by the dramatic one-point preliminary final loss to Sydney that ended their season in 2022.
And former coach Nathan Buckley took the loss hard as he revealed he was left feeling a “little bit raw”.
The Magpies trailed by 23 points heading into the final term and almost pulled off another miracle when Steele Sidebottom brought Collingwood within three points with less than three minutes on the clock.
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But they ultimately fell short in the dying seconds as they crashed out of the finals race.
Best on Ground host Mark Howard said it was obvious Buckley was still “invested” in the club as he had “never seen” the former Pies mentor “so invested” in a match.
“I haven’t known how to feel the last 10 minutes,” Buckley revealed on Best on Ground.
“I thought boys were amazing, the club has been amazing all year.
“I can see some Collingwood fans with tears in their eyes and I feel that. There was a sense of destiny about the group this year and they didn’t quite get there.
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“For the Collingwood faithful, its just a little bit raw.
“The script and the story of the year continued right to the death.”
Buckley said his immediate thoughts were with the Magpies’ veterans post-match.
“I feel for (captain Scott Pendlebury) Pendles, (Jeremy Howe) Howey, (Steele) Sidebottom, these guys – the clock ticks and it runs out.
“It takes a lot of work to get to where they got to. You don’t automatically get back there.”
The Magpies were the story of the year in 2022, after marching from 17th last year to finish inside the top four.
That top four finish included a stunning 11-game winning streak – with nine of those victories coming by less than two goals.
But a qualifying final loss to Geelong in the first week set the Pies up for a massive away clash with the Swans at the SCG on Saturday night.
And they coughed up their worst first half of the season in the preliminary final, as the Swans piled on 73 points in two quarters.
Buckley said he wouldn’t have been “surprised” to see the Pies snatch the win at the death, but admitted Sydney had “earnt” their grand final berth.
“The two teams that did (make the grand final) have been the best teams throughout the year. It’s going to be a cracking grand final,” he said.
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