YOU WOULD think, after 334 games, Steele Sidebottom had experienced it all.
But he might not have had a five-minute spell quite like Friday night's final moments.
First, there was the low. A high ball, a dropped mark, and the image of Joel Freijah racing clear and slamming through the resultant running shot to draw a fighting Footscray level.
But then, the high. The types of which he and teammate Scott Pendlebury – playing a record 308th game together as teammates – have seen their fair share of. A stoppage, a snap, a game winner. Job done, again.
Sidebottom's effort, which came with just a tick over three minutes remaining, proved the decider in Collingwood's tight and tense 10.16 (76) to 10.10 (70) victory, breaking the hearts of a brave but bruised Footscray.
Led by Sam Darcy's heroics, the Bulldogs – hoping to celebrate 100 years in V/AFL competition by honouring its past greats – instead had to settle for the consolation of an evening where it ushered in its next one.
Darcy was simply fantastic, kicking four goals from 15 disposals and eight marks in a herculean display. Some other famous Footscray names, like Liberatore and West, had contributed as well. But it proved fruitless amid Sidebottom's heroics.
His old mate Pendlebury, with 26 disposals to his name, made his mark on the thrilling encounter as well. His new mate, Nick Daicos, was just as good on an evening celebrated with 39 disposals and nine clearances.
For as much as the Dogs scrapped and clawed, the game had just about always ebbed Collingwood's way. Even though it took the Magpies 20 minutes to register their first score – falling 22 points behind in the opening term – Craig McRae's side still held a fair slice of control in terms of both territory and momentum.
They eventually found parity, breaking even in the opening minute of the second quarter, before Darcy's stranglehold over the match begun. After taking three big contested grabs in the first term alone, he then kicked consecutive goals – taking his tally to three at half-time – to claw back a sense of stability for the Dogs.
But it was a feeling that would quickly begin to evade both teams. On one side of the half-time interval, Dan McStay butchered a simple 15m pass to Tim Membrey in the goal square when he should have shot himself. Frustrations were shared equally by the Dogs, though, with even Darcy missing two routine efforts on the other side of the break.
With just eight points separating the two sides heading into the final term, a sprinting Bobby Hill looked to have broken the game open when he races onto Mason Cox's pass and slammed through on the run. But there was more Footscray fight to come.
Bailey Williams denied a certain McStay sealer with a lunging effort on the goal line, before Freijah converted from Sidebottom's error to put the match in the balance. But it wouldn't be the last of Steele. His match-winner, and three minutes of desperate Magpie mayhem later, and the game was Collingwood's.
308 not out
A unique record was set on Friday night, with Collingwood greats Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom running out together for the 308th time. It broke the longstanding V/AFL record for the most games as teammates, pipping Adelaide premiership pair Andrew McLeod and Tyson Edwards. Friday night proved there could be many more to come, as well. Pendlebury was at his composed best and helped the Pies etch a foothold in the match throughout the first half, while Sidebottom also chipped in with moments reminiscent of why he is one of the club's best big-game players including a sharp and timely goal right before the three-quarter time siren.
FOOTSCRAY 3.4 6.7 7.9 10.10 (70)
COLLINGWOOD 2.4 5.8 8.11 10.16 (76)
GOALS
Footscray: Darcy 4, McNeil, Vandermeer, Harmes, West, Liberatore, Freijah
Collingwood: Schultz 2, Hill 2, Sidebottom 2, McStay, Elliott, Houston, McCreery
INJURIES
Footscray: Nil
Collingwood: McInnes (knee)
SUBSTITUTES
Footscray: Baker (replaced Jones at three-quarter time)
Collingwood: Long (replaced McInnes in the first quarter)
Crowd: 78,027 at the MCG
