In a tweet
A lot can happen in a half of football.
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) May 20, 2017
That one hurts.#AFLPiesHawks #StrongAsOne pic.twitter.com/1bXIUaY0Y5
The Rundown
With Collingwood and Hawthorn having won two and three games respectively before this Round 9 clash, this game was set to have huge ramifications regardless of the result.
The Hawks burst out of the blocks, kicking the first six goals of the game to take a 36-point lead into the first break.
Hawthorn extended the margin to as much as 43 points in the second quarter before Collingwood began a spirited fight back.
That fight back was underlined by a third quarter performance in which Collingwood kicked 5.5 to the Hawks’ solitary point to draw the scores even before the final term.
The Pies continued their run in the final quarter, piling on another four goals to come away unlikely 18-point victors.
The Star
Despite playing on the losing side, Hawk Tom Mitchell was the story of the night, finishing the game with a club-record 50 disposals.
With 22 of these touches being contested, Mitchell was clinical in the contest, also adding eight marks, eight tackles and five clearances to his memorable night.
Read: Hodge mentors young defence
The Moment
With a minute to go in the third term, the Pies were launching yet another forward foray in what had already been a dominant quarter.
A scrappy ball bobbled inside the centre square as Pie Alex Fasolo pounced and, spying teammate Daniel Wells 20 metres in front of him, punched the ball in his direction.
The ball sat perfectly for the former Kangaroo, who handed off to a running Darcy Moore who booted home the Pies’ eighth goal of the game.
As commentator Luke Darcy said, “everything is going right for the Pies”, a sentiment that summed up what had become a disastrous collapse by the Hawks.
The Coach
"We did a lot right in the first half, so that was pleasing. We stuck to our plan really well and got ourselves in a winning position, then forfeited it in the second half," Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said.
"Some of that is credit to Collingwood, but we moved the ball, when we had our opportunities, in a manner that fuelled some of Collingwood's rebound.”
COLLINGWOOD 0.1 4.6 9.11 13.12 (90)
HAWTHORN 6.1 10.4 10.5 11.6 (72)
GOALS
Collingwood: Elliott 3, Moore 2, Maynard, Greenwood, Treloar, Howe, Crisp, Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Smith
Hawthorn: Sicily 3, Breust 3, Puopolo 2, Shiels, Vickery, McEvoy
BEST
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Howe, Adams, Treloar, Moore, Smith
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Puopolo, Shiels, Smith, Breust, Burton
INJURIES
Collingwood: James Aish (fractured cheekbone)
Hawthorn: Tim O'Brien (hip) replaced in selected side by James Sicily, Kaiden Brand (illness) replaced in selected side by Kurt Heatherley, Paul Puopolo (knee), Jack Gunston (knee/ankle)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Rosebury, O'Gorman
Official crowd: 54,252