How Chris Scott, Oisin Mullin and the Geelong Cats hold the upper hand over Nick Daicos and the Collingwood Magpies
This was a different beginning.
The coin toss took place indoors an hour before the game.
Theme songs to accompany the running players were replaced by nightclub tunes.
Smoke poured into the ether, lights flashed, and the audience cowered in fear.
But then Oisin Mullin found Nick Daicos, Ed Allan stood next to Bailey Smith and Mark O’Connor crossed to Jordan De Goey and when the ball was lobbed into the air everyone realized that for all the hype nothing had changed.
Geelong, who have beaten every team except Hawthorn this season, were too good for Collingwood, who drew with the Hawks and won against the Crows, to miss 11 games against teams in the top eight.
The Magpies may have sat above Geelong on the ladder but their run of form was worse. This fact was revealed when the game was put on sale early.
Geelong came out on top with a goal scored inside the first two minutes with a great mark from Shannon Neale. After 39 minutes, Geelong scored nine of the first 10 goals and took a 48-point lead.
The Cats played fast and wide, spreading the ball to the MCG’s end points where they found time and space. They knew Collingwood could repulse the attacks if they were slow, so they decided to go hard and fast. When they turned the ball over they were quick to counter attack; Creative players such as Gryan Miers and Shaun Mannagh were happy to make things up as they went along.
Shining like a dashboard on a late-night drive, Ollie Dempsey kicked two goals in the opening quarter as Geelong dominated Collingwood in the air and on the ground. Former Magpie Ollie Henry and Neale were a handful for their rivals; Collingwood senior Jeremy Howe was the only player who could withstand their blitz.
Mullin stifled Daicos, who was unable to break through the Cats’ defence, who found no room to explode from contests and could be vulnerable if the ball moved without pressure. It was a great battle in which Daicos and Mullin refused to give up.
“It’s actually a mental battle to see who surrenders first. So it’s just [about] “It’s a bit of a stubbornness,” Mullin told Fox Footy.
Even without Max Holmes, the Cats’ midfield of Smith, Mullin, Tom Atkins and James Worpel looked stronger than Daicos, Allan, Ned Long and De Goey.
But Collingwood, under Craig McRae, is not giving up. If they couldn’t move the ball easily, they would make it difficult for the opponent. So they threw themselves at the Cats, tackling them hard and releasing the ball through pressure. They kicked five goals in a row and put roadblocks on Geelong’s attacking avenues.
They took the lead for 40 minutes but it was a very difficult task. McRae said he was proud of their effort but knew deep down he was struggling as he told the players on the bench how good it would be to come from eight goals down to win if they could do it.
They narrowed the gap to 16 points and forced Worpel to take action in case of stoppage time. The former Hawk, who struggled to win games until the Cats had suffered five straight defeats, rose up during crucial stoppages and retook the Cats’ territory.
He showed himself to be more than just a free agent adding depth, cementing a stoppage win that ended with the ball finding its way to Jack Martin, another former free agent signing, inside 50 points. Martin broke his goal drought more consistently.
This was crucial because Collingwood had already lost Harry Perryman to a hamstring injury and needed everything to go right to pull off a miracle. It didn’t happen. Howe broke his arm just before three quarters.
Suddenly it feels like that kind of year for Collingwood.
The Magpies didn’t get any closer the rest of the night; While Daicos found room at times when Mullin left his side and handed over to Smith – it was a bold move if ever there was one.
Dan McStay continued his strong form with five goals. Collingwood won the free-kick count handsomely, which led to another refereeing sermon from Chris Scott, but the Magpies forward had little support elsewhere.
Having missed Jeremy Cameron and Patrick Dangerfield, Geelong found support in all the right places; Their second win over the Magpies in 2026 confirmed their place above the table.
The Cats are now fifth and have a sneaky chance of breaking into the top four.
Collingwood is ninth, with a gap between them and 10th.
But Hawthorn and the Brisbane Lions will need to find their feet on the ground with a trip west to play in the West Coast before finishing the match.
Their supporters will be hoping to hear their theme song again before the year is out because a night that started differently ended much the same way: Geelong proving too good for Collingwood in 2026.
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