“Sometimes a player like that can just produce a moment of absolute individual brilliance that not many else can.”

Collective Collingwood hearts sunk when Lance Franklin kicked a miracle goal late in the 2011 Preliminary Final, giving Hawthorn the lead back with less than four minutes remaining.

All the pressure was on the Pies. As both the reigning and minor premiers, the expectation was on them to make yet another Grand Final.

And as Buddy’s brilliance encapsulated the MCG, Pies star Luke Ball couldn’t help but wonder if his side wasn’t going to get the chance to defend their crown.

“I think Buddy had been pretty well held by Taz (Chris Tarrant) up until then and it wasn’t a night for key forwards,” he recalls.

“When he kicked that, I was thinking ‘oh well, if that’s what’s going to beat us then sometimes you’ve just got to tip your lid and say too good’.

“Sometimes a player like that can just produce a moment of absolute individual brilliance that not many else can.”

But there was still time, and he quickly snapped back into gear.

Ball’s moment came in the form of a stoppage masterclass – kicking a goal that was unlikely to some, but to him a reward for hours of hard work.

“Probably even my own teammates and coaches and certainly opposition players who I know think that I couldn’t do that again if I tried,” he says.

“But those are the sorts of things that you do practice at training.

“It’s impossible to replicate a game situation, but they are the things that you practice before and after training just in case you get that opportunity.

“Whilst I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, I think I probably had a quick look at the goals before throwing it on the boot.”

While the Pies had now regained the lead, there was still ample time for another Hawthorn goal, meaning they needed another hero.

Enter Dale Thomas.

With under a minute to go, Hawks livewire Cyril Rioli found himself in possession of the ball and with the last moments of the game in his hands, until Thomas came out of nowhere.

That was his moment, and one that didn’t quite register until after the fact.

“I honestly don’t remember a heap, just that the last 45 seconds of the game there was a stoppage and I think Jordan Lewis handballed it out to Cyril Rioli and I had a little bit of momentum coming up from half forward and was able to mow him down,” Thomas says.

“You don’t understand the gravity of it until that siren goes and it was thankfully only 40 odd seconds later, but the fact that is if they had of got it and gone forward it was a pretty open forward line.

“They had Buddy one out with Tazza down there, so I’m sure Tazza is very grateful that I made the tackle so he didn’t have to go around chasing Buddy for too much longer.”

Ball wasn’t far away either, as the two eventual heroes shared the spoils.

“I was right there, the ball actually falls out of my hands as he affects the tackle,” he remembers.

“Daisy was a brilliant player and everyone associated the highlights and the high marks with him, but he was as good a tackler and pressure player as well.

“I think he had a massive night on that front that night and given the player that he ran down was pretty handy, that was obviously a big moment.

“It was probably going to be their last crack at it so he would say he was the hero that night with that tackle.”

The game had been iced and the win secured, sending Pies fans into raptures.

And just as they were on the same page that night, the pair still are to this day; both in awe of the atmosphere at an MCG Preliminary Final.

“I think Prelim finals are the loudest you can get, it’s die-hard fans and it makes for an unbelievable spectacle and generally they’re pretty close games,” Thomas says.

And for Ball: “Prelims do seem to be pure crowd support and the pinnacle of the game. That’s as loud an atmosphere and experience as I think I’ll have.”

“Prelims are great, but a Prelim Final for Collingwood goes to another level.”

For all the latest Finals’ news, videos, events and more, visit the Finals Hub.