In an early contender for game of the year, Collingwood trailed Sandringham by 46 points at half time, kicked eight goals to nil to lead by six points at three quarter time, and then went down by 11 points in a seesawing final term.
Collingwood was well served by key forward Jackson Paine who had 21 disposals at centre half forward. Tom Young and Marley Williams were prolific all day while star forward Alan Didak kicked the first two goals of the afternoon and went on to gather 18 possessions.
The VFL-listed Sam Williams, Rob Cathcart, Lachlan Wallace and Ricky Ferraro were all excellent in various roles.
Click here to view all the photos of Didak, Wood and more from Collingwood's VFL encounter with Sandringham on Saturday, and scroll down to view all the other goals kicked by AFL-listed Magpies.
Collingwood 3.3 5.3 13.10 16.16 (112)
Sandringham 5.2 12.9 12.10 18.15 (123)
Goals
Collingwood: Didak 2, Witts 2, Mooney 2, S.Williams, Hellier, Paine, Boland, Ferraro, Ceglar, M.Williams, Cribbin, Elliott, Stubbs
Sandringham: Saad 3, Dunell 3, Coleman 3, Archer 3, Cook 2, Siposs 2, Ray, Ross
Best
Collingwood: Witts, Wood, Paine, M.Williams, Elliott, Hellier
Sandringham: Shepheard, Ferguson, Curren, Peake, Siposs, Dowler
Player-by-player review from Defensive Development Coach Anthony Rocca
4. Alan Didak (18 disposals, 2 goals): Started the game really well. Kicked a couple of really good goals to set us up early. Every minute that he plays is beneficial to his endurance and intensity to get back in the AFL system.
15. Jarrod Witts (13 disposals, 2 goals): That was his best game this year. His intensity was great. His run from the contest allowed him to gather the footy.
19. Cameron Wood (14 disposals, 22 hitouts): Was in the same boat as Witts. Need him to get more of the uncontested ball. Covered the ground OK.
25. Tom Young (20 disposals): 20 possessions is his minimum at this level. He needs to really impact the game.
29. Jonathon Ceglar (11 disposals, 1 goal): Was better this week. Marked the ball well and was lively in the forward line.
33. Jackson Paine (21 disposals, 1 goal): Really good. His game could have been excellent if he kicked straighter (1.3).
35. Jamie Elliott (15 disposals, 1 goal): Quiet for the first half but came on in the second. Every time he gets the ball he does something with it.
38. Peter Yagmoor (16 disposals): He is a great kick of the footy and showcased it last weekend.
43. Trent Stubbs (14 disposals, 1 goal): Played on the wing and was really good from a defensive standpoint.
45. Lachlan Smith (10 disposals): Played back. He started to shut down their key forward in the second half, which was crucial to the comeback.
46. Marley Williams (19 disposals, 1 goal): He is a ball winner. In that third quarter he was one of the players who got us going.
47. Michael Hartley (9 disposals): He was disappointed with his performance and will be looking to rebound next week.
48. Caolan Mooney (14 disposals, 2 goals): Always lively and continuing to learn.
49. Paul Cribbin (6 disposals, 1 goal): Played wing and back. To his credit he ran hard all day.
50. Shae McNamara (12 disposals): Played at halfback.
51. Kris Pendlebury (18 disposals): As a deep back to have 18 possessions is a huge return.
53. Jack Hellier (17 disposals, 1 goal): Ball magnet who needs to work on his usage.
57. Matthew Boland (12 disposals, 1 goal): Seems like he was a bit quiet even though he hit the scoreboard four times.
58. Lachlan Wallace (19 disposals): He ran with Saad at times.
64. Ricky Ferraro (14 disposals, 1 goal): Is one of our loudest leaders out there. Didn’t have the impact on the scoreboard he has had in previous weeks.
65. Rob Cathcart (19 disposals): Played through the middle.
68. Sam Williams (21 disposals, 1 goal): Played his role through the middle.
