THE exciting finish to Friday night's Grand Final rematch between Collingwood and Geelong did not mask the frustrations of an error-ridden first half for Magpies coach Nathan Buckley.

The Magpies led for most of the night and managed a 12-point win despite Geelong leveling the scores inside the final two minutes.

But Buckley said one of the main reasons the Cats clawed their way back into the match was their ability to make Collingwood pay for their skill errors by getting the ball back inside their attacking 50.

"You know how dangerous a side like Geelong can be when you turn the ball over in that part of the ground. They've got the width of the wings, they've got enough room between their own goals to find some depth as well," Buckley said.

Not that the Cats were without their own skill errors - a scoreline of 11.18 telling the story of wasted opportunities.

"The first half was probably turnover after turnover and was a bit to and fro in that regard," Buckley said.

"In the end we needed to find our composure with the ball in that front half of the field, find the right option and finish a bit better. Ultimately, in the last two minutes in particular, we were able to do that."

While others around him made mistakes, classy midfielder Scott Pendlebury was dangerous with just about every one of his 30 touches, four of which were goals.

The most pleasing aspect of Pendlebury's game for his coach was his willingness to get himself into the match when at times it looked as if he would struggle for opportunity.

"His game was exceptional," Buckley said.

"I didn't think he had the game on his terms at any time, which when you see his output, sounds counter-intuitive because his ability to influence the game was massive, especially in that last quarter. I really think he had to grind this performance out, which is the sign of a very good player."