COLLINGWOOD has continued its winning streak over the Sydney Swans with a thrilling 23-point win in a Saturday night encounter at ANZ stadium.

Leon Davis with a game-changing three-goal final quarter helped see off the Swans after Collingwood lost Scott Pendlebury and John Anthony to injury earlier in the night.

The Magpies have won the last six against the Swans, including the last three at this venue, and after taking slender leads into the first two breaks weathered a Swans storm in a frenetic third quarter before steadying in an exciting final term with four goals through Leon Davis (three) and Alan Didak to secure the points 9.12 (66) to 13.11 (89).

In Mick Malthouse’s milestone 600th VFL/AFL game as a coach, Didak was brilliant in a four-quarter performance, racking up more than 30 possessions and two goals.

Heath Shaw and Nick Maxwell were influential and an even spread of scorers included Harry O’Brien with his first of the season and two to Shane O‘Bree.

With only four points separating the seventh-placed Magpies and the Swans in 11th on the ladder, it was a tight first quarter with the Pies taking a two-goal lead into the break.

In a controlled performance, Collingwood ball magnet Dane Swan (seven possessions) and Didak (nine) led the way after the Magpies lost prime mover Scott Pendlebury after just two minutes with a left knee injury.

Collingwood’s defensive zone worked well work in squeezing the space in the centre corridor while getting back in numbers as defensive bulwark Simon Prestigiacomo maintained a tight rein on Barry Hall in a high-pressure opening quarter.

Didak was everywhere and it was his tackling pressure that won back possession early in the second term resulting in O’Brien finding space just outside the forward arc before marking and booting a set shot for his first six-pointer of the season.

Big Josh Fraser sharked the ball brilliantly in the Swans defensive 50 before snapping home as the Magpies maintained a two-goal lead at the main break after two intense quarters of tough footy.

It was a frenetic, high-quality third quarter, with Swan’s snap right on the siren edging the Magpies back into the lead after the Swans’ four-goals-to-two quarter got them back into the game.
 
The third term was footy at its best as both sides threw themselves into the contest.

Didak got Collingwood on the scoreboard early but the loss of Anthony with injury on top of the earlier loss of Pendlebury hurt the Magpies. Anthony at least was able to return to the fray in the last quarter.

Hall was on fire and the Swans defensive unit spoiled intelligently and tackled ferociously to edge the lead before Swan’s vital snap right on the siren handed Collingwood a three-point lead going into the final term.

Davis with three goals, one from a crucial 50m penalty against Ted Richards, gave the Magpies enough of a buffer and Didak with his second of the night was enough in front of 41,042 fans.

Collingwood now looks ahead to playing struggling Fremantle at the MCG next Saturday.

Sydney Swans 2.2 5.3 9.6 9.12 (66)
Collingwood 4.2 7.7 9.9 13.11 (89)

GOALS
Sydney Swans: Jack 2, O'Keefe 2, Hall 2, Goodes, Moore, Barlow
Collingwood: Davis 3, Didak 2, O'Bree 2, Dick, Brown, Anthony, O'Brien, Fraser, Swan

BEST
Sydney Swans: O'Keefe, Kirk, Jolly, Richards, Roberts-Thomson
Collingwood: Didak, Swan, Shaw, O'Brien, Prestigiacomo

Injuries
Sydney Swans: McVeigh
Collingwood: Brown (knee) replaced in selected side by Wood, Pendlebury (medial ligament)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Stevic, Chamberlain, Meredith

Official crowd: 41,042 at ANZ Stadium

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs