Collingwood have extended their dominance of Carlton to six straight games, downing their arch-rivals by 21 points in an MCG blockbuster to supercharge their finals hopes.
In another tense battle between the famous foes, the Magpies always had an answer for the injury-hit Blues to prevail 14.6 (90) to 10.9 (69) on Saturday night in front of 83,885 fans.
Carlton hit the lead midway through the third quarter after booting three-straight goals, but Collingwood responded immediately and never gave up their advantage again.
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It was a fifth straight win this season for the Magpies, putting them in seventh and in the box seat to at least secure a wildcard spot.
Collingwood haven’t lost to Carlton since 2023 and now are just one shy of equalling their best winning sequence against the Blues, set back in 1897-99.
“Collingwood v Carlton is the worst rivalry in the league,” Magpies premiership player Dane Swan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“It hasn’t been one for years. Both teams have to win every now and then for it to be a rivalry. It’s quite sad that Carlton fans think they can beat us.”
After seven straight wins under caretaker coach Josh Fraser, the Blues have crashed to two consecutive defeats following a thumping loss to Hawthorn last week.
Fraser is yet to declare if he will go through the process to find the Blues’ permanent senior coach, with the last fortnight hindering his chances.
“As soon as expectation comes and they have something to play for the Blues crumble,” Swan added.
“Hopefully Frase can get rid of those demons so Collingwood-Carlton can be a rivalry again and both be up the top again.”
Pies superstar Nick Daicos didn’t quite agree, saying the Blues made it “super tough”.
“Frase has got them all pumped up and in really good nick,” he told Fox Sports.
“It was a tough game, really hard-fought and glad to get the four (premiership) points.”
Daicos was typically explosive and influential with a game-high 36 possessions.
“I want the ball in my hands and I feel like a Carlton-Collingwood game, there’s nothing bigger,” he said.
Scott Pendlebury also still relished the winning feeling even after racking up his record 27th win over the Blues from 35 matches.
“It’s obviously one that we love to try and get — to get two wins over the Blues throughout the year pleases a lot of Collingwood people,” he said.
Carlton were dominant at clearance early in the match, but Collingwood defended exceptionally and moved the ball superbly inside-50 to catch the Blues off guard.
Not only did Carlton have to overcome recent history against Collingwood, they were two players down for most of the second half.
Harry McKay’s night ended after just 10 minutes following his knee knocking into teammate Sam Walsh.
The one-time Coleman medallist tried to come back on the ground, spending an extended period on an exercise bike, but was instead ruled out at quarter-time.
After just six possessions and time spent on the wing, Adam Cerra was ruled out of the match in the third quarter with hamstring tightness in a continuation of his soft-tissue problems.
Veteran forward Tim Membrey kicked a game-high three goals, all his majors coming at vital moments for the Magpies.
The only concern for Collingwood was defender Isaac Quaynor going off to be assessed with an arm injury in the final term.
But Quaynor was able to return to the ground in the final minutes.
Carlton’s prime movers — captain Patrick Cripps (30 touches, two goals), Sam Walsh (25, one) and Jagga Smith (29, one) — were all impressive, the Blues just had too many passengers.
— with 7NEWS
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