The show rolls on. 

Collingwood's fairytale season under first-year coach Craig McRae has at least another chapter after the Magpies dispatched Fremantle by 20 points on Saturday night to progress to a preliminary final date with Sydney at the SCG next weekend.  

Just 12 months after finishing 17th with just six wins, the Magpies dusted themselves off after last Saturday night's heartbreaking loss to Geelong to progress to the second-last weekend of the season after the 11.13 (79) to 9.5 (59) win at the MCG. 

MAGPIES v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats

A preliminary final berth wasn't on Collingwood's radar when it travelled to Perth at 4-5 to face Fremantle on a Sunday night in May. The Pies got going in the wet that night, winning 11 on the trot and have only lost twice since then. Now they are one of only four teams still alive.

After a week of doubt surrounding the availability of Jordan De Goey, the out-of-contract star backed up his standout qualifying final performance with another box office display. 

This time, the 26-year-old shook off any concerns regarding the state of the shoulder he injured against the Cats, impacting from the opening quarter to the last, finishing with 24 disposals, 13 contested possessions, 12 score involvements and a goal.

While De Goey had a major say in an even performance, Jack Crisp was equally as important through the middle of the ground, cutting the Dockers apart with 24 disposals, six clearances, 602 metres gained and two goals. 

Collingwood couldn't have started much better, kicking the first four – and only four – goals of the opening quarter, converting them without a blemish to lead the Dockers by 23 points at the first break. 

Jack Ginnivan soccered a ball off the ground for the opening goal within 60 seconds, wheeled to the corner post like he was sprinting towards the Kop, sending the faithful into an early frenzy. Brody Mihocek snapped a second from the pocket, before De Goey and Jamie Elliott hit the scoreboard.

But given what happened this time last week at Optus Stadium, no one inside the MCG was writing off the Dockers at that point. Justin Longmuir demanded a response at quarter-time and the Dockers instantly responded. Lachie Schulz clamped John Noble in a tackle and converted the shot from 20 metres out to put Fremantle on the board. He snapped a second from the behind post after two more Collingwood goals, just keeping them in touch. 

But it felt like Collingwood's night when Ginnivan earned a high free kick and celebrated with the supporters crammed into the Shane Warne Stand. Collingwood extended its lead to 28 points by the main break and should have been further ahead, kicking 2.6 in the second quarter. 

The Magpies kicked eight behinds in a row from the 14-minute mark of the second quarter to the moment Griffin Logue kicked Fremantle's third goal in the eighth minute of the third term.

When Ash Johnson missed a golden opportunity to respond moments later, it was nine consecutive behinds for the Pies. It took something out of nothing from Ginnivan to finally break the run. He would finish with a third on another memorable night for the pesky small forward. 

From 6.0 to 7.12, it was only Collingwood's wastefulness in front of goal that kept Fremantle's season alive in the second half. But when Crisp and De Goey linked up through the middle and Mihocek kicked his second, the deep, ethereal Collingwood chant reverberated around the MCG. It was all but over. 

Fremantle recovered from 41 points down to stun the Western Bulldogs at home in the elimination final, but lightning wouldn't strike twice. Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw and Blake Acres were all busy, while David Mundy's 376th game – eighth most in VFL/AFL history – would mark his last game with a vintage goal running towards the city end of the ground. 

More than 90,000 people packed into the MCG to break the record for biggest week two crowd of all-time featuring a non-Victorian side. The previous record between these two sides was half that. 

The last four times the current reigning Monarch passed away while still in power, Collingwood progressed to a Grand Final. Now they are one win away, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

COLLINGWOOD        4.0     6.6     8.12     11.13 (79)
FREMANTLE     0.1      2.2     4.4     9.5 (59)

GOALS
Collingwood: Ginnivan 3, Elliott 2, Crisp 2, Mihocek 2, Cox, De Goey
Fremantle: Logue 2, Schultz 2, Walters 2, Frederick 2, Mundy

BEST
Collingwood: Crisp, De Goey, Pendlebury, N.Daicos, Howe, Ginnivan
Fremantle: Serong, Brayshaw, Ryan, Schultz, Acres

INJURIES 
Collingwood: Nil
Fremantle: Acres (knee)

SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Josh Carmichael (unused)
Fremantle: Bailey Banfield (unused)

Crowd: 90,612 at the MCG