But regardless of all the clichés you hear at this time of year that relate to ‘preparing for round one’, it should be noted that Collingwood was able to nudge its way into the record books at Metricon Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Down by 41 points at half time, the Magpies staged a comeback that sits third on the list of the club’s all time wins from a half time deficit.
The 41-point margin sits behind only the 52-point deficit against St Kilda at Victoria Park in round 10, 1970, and the 46-point margin against Richmond at the MCG in round 20, 1978 among Collingwood’s greatest half time comebacks.
Granted, of course, that this match won’t be etched into the record books due to its status as a pre-season game. But if the Magpies are to find themselves in a similar position later this year, they could do worse than to remember whatever coach Nathan Buckley said to them in the change rooms during the half time break on Sunday 2 March 2014.
Collingwood’s greatest comebacks from halftime deficits
| Score | Deficit | Venue | Year |
| Collingwood 14.23 (107) def. St Kilda 15.10 (100) | 52 points | Victoria Park | Round 10, 1970 |
| Collingwood 19.9 (123) def. Richmond 16.13 (109) | 46 points | MCG | Round 20, 1978 |
| Collingwood 16.15 (111) def. Gold Coast 14.13 (97) | 41 points | Metricon Stadium | Practice Match, 2014 |
| Collingwood 13.18 (96) def. Geelong 13.10 (88) | 37 points | Kardinia Park | Round 15, 1973 |
| Collingwood 14.14 (98) def. St Kilda 12.8 (80) | 36 points | MCG | Round 9, 2001 |
| Collingwood 14.9 (93) def. Footscray 14.5 (89) | 35 points | Western Oval | Round 8, 1978 |
| Collingwood 20.15 (135) def. Adelaide 14.8 (92) | 30 points | Etihad Stadium | Round 9, 2011 |
| Collingwood 20.14 (134) def. Melbourne 12.10 (82) | 30 points | MCG | Round 17, 1997 |
All statistics in this article are sourced from the wonderful AFL Tables website.
