“DON’T MAKE me cry," Mick Malthouse joked as he prepared to address the media after Collingwood's stunning three-point preliminary final win against Hawthorn on Friday night.
With the gut-wrenching roller-coaster ride at the MCG ultimately delivered Malthouse one last week in charge of the Magpies and another shot at premiership glory, the coach was overcome by emotion as the final siren sounded.
The Pies looked shot as the Hawks' relentless pressure forced them into uncharacteristic fumbles and poor decisions.
Lance Franklin appeared to deliver the killer blow with his miracle goal late in the game, with Malthouse admitting the final frantic minutes were a blur.
"I thought [Hawthorn] controlled the game," Malthouse said.
"But we didn't let them go, and I reckon that's testament to the leadership group.
"We dug deep at three quarter-time, and thought if we could sneak one back early it might just rattle them. If we could get a couple, it might just drag us back again.
"There were a couple of tackles made by blokes who had no right to make them because they were out on their feet. There were blokes out there who did something pretty miraculous, and you can't help get emotional about it because they're just wonderful players.
"It was one of those times where if it went the other way, that's my last game."
Malthouse conceded there was an element of luck in the win that came on the back of a Luke Ball goal from a stoppage with under three minutes remaining.
Although the coach was proud of his players' determination to stay in the contest, he lamented their inability to handle the pressure on the ball carrier and the extra man behind the ball that Hawthorn was able to muster.
The bruising game took a toll on the Pies, with Darren Jolly (thigh), Ben Johnson (calf) and Ben Reid (groin) all struggling at various stages.
"We're very hopeful they'll be right, but they were hampered tonight," Malthouse said.
"The good thing about it is that we have nine other players training who are all ready. Two missed out by the luck of the draw in many respects.
"We will cover any eventualities that may exist and train those players up accordingly.
"This game here will do some [players] the absolute world of good. You can't help but get a fair bit out of this. They'll be alright."
Collingwood now has the opportunity to win back-to-back premierships for the first time since 1936, which he said was testament to his players' ability to adjust to the evolution of the game.
"The game has shifted, there's no question about that. Are we better? We've had to adjust to the shift," he said.
"We were pretty good at what we did last year. We created some uncertainty, and all of a sudden there's new methodologies of getting the ball out. There's marks that weren't taken [being taken now].
"If we stayed the same as what we were last year we wouldn't be where we are [now]. There's no question about that.
"That's what's great about this game. It waits for no one. Just when you think you've got it licked, it comes back and kicks you square in the butt."
