Collingwood fans, all hope is not yet lost with the Pies still in the equation to play finals footy — ignoring that they need a series of unlikely results to go their way in the last round of the regular season.
After an injury-riddled Carlton outfit defeated West Coast on Sunday, the Magpies, sitting 10th, are four points and 10.6 per cent behind the Blues in the all-important eighth spot.
Craig McRae’s side is one of four teams who could finish the home and away season on 52 points. However, Collingwood’s percentage of 100.1 is less than that of Carlton (110.7), Hawthorn (111.8) and the Western Bulldogs (123.8) with a game still to play.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae Getty
This situation leaves the Magpies requiring a miracle on grass this weekend — but where there is a desire, there is a path.
Firstly, if the Pies beat the Demons by a significant amount on Friday night and the Blues succumb to the Saints on Sunday afternoon before the Power defeats Freo in the final game of the round, the Magpies sneak in.
The exact margin needed to “do a Bradbury” on Carlton and the other teams depends on Collingwood tallying a combined 200 points in their win over Melbourne and Carlton’s loss to St Kilda.
This means that if the Pies beat the Demons by 100 points and the Blues lose to the Saints by 100, a finals berth is still on the cards.
On Nine’s Eddie and Jimmy podcast, Jimmy Bartel told Eddie McGuire that the latter’s beloved Pies need to “win by 180 points and hope a couple of teams lose” to finish in the top eight.
Requiring a huge winning margin over the Dees, Bartel hopes McRae will instruct his team to attack the scoreboard.
“I actually want to see ‘Fly’ McRae go, ‘Let’s try and kick 200 points,” he said.
“I actually want to see him come up with a game plan [to kick 200 points].
“I know you’ll say, ‘No, show discipline, you’ve got to pay respect’. I want total disrespect from Craig McRae this week.
“I want him to go, ‘Nope, we might actually try to run with three defenders and just plough everyone forward’, because it would be entertaining to watch.
“Show me every harebrained idea you’ve got in your book.”
With a grin, McGuire added: “If your job is to make the finals and you’ve got to win by 180 points, you’ve got to come up with something to win by 180 points”.
Melbourne hosts Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night.
