Buckley, De Goey savour Magpies AFL win

What does a contested ball count of plus 22 in the final quarter of a tense AFL match say?

It tells Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley his side wanted it more when it mattered.

And it’s the chief reason the under-pressure coach was delighted to record an eight-point victory over West Coast on Sunday at Etihad Stadium.

The Magpies never looked likely winners; not when Jack Darling’s goal from point-blank range put the Eagles 24 points up early in the last quarter.

Then came Collingwood’s surge.

Adam Treloar had 12 final-quarter touches, Jordan De Goey kicked two goals to finish with a career-high four, and Brodie Grundy dominated the stoppages.

It was enough for the Magpies to run over the top of West Coast, with Buckley savouring the contested ball number most of all.

“That’s a really strong measure of want,” he said.

The sixth-season coach said it was “right up there” for enjoyable wins as Magpies boss.

Buckley said he was pleased to see the hunger return after four straight losses at the MCG over the last month.

“It says (the players have) got a will to compete and clearly a will to win. It hadn’t been missing for long, probably three weeks.

“You need to maintain the rage through a full four quarters to earn a win against any opposition (and) … we were able to stay with it long enough.”

For De Goey, it might just have completed a transformation from bad boy to match-winner.

De Goey missed the opening six weeks of the season after lying about a hand injury, sustained in a pub fight and not playing with his dog as he originally stated.

On Sunday, he was sent forward by Buckley in the absence of injured forward Darcy Moore and thrived.

De Goey is yet to poll a Brownlow vote in three seasons but should have earned his first at Etihad Stadium.

“He’s tracking relatively well after a hiccup,” Buckley said.

“It can happen in a hurry for him. He can become real good real quick. But he could also become a fringe player real quick.

“It’s all a matter of how much work he’s prepared to put in. He’s made all the right decisions since pre-season.”

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!