Collingwood have won their first AFL final in four years, claiming the impressive September scalp of Sydney by 38 points at the MCG.

The grand finalists of the past two years had no answer for the Magpies' intensity and flair in their elimination final, as Collingwood won comfortably 18.17 (125) to 13.9 (87).

Collingwood could end the seasons of the last two premiers in successive weeks, as they will now go to Perth this Friday night to play injury-ravaged West Coast in a semi-final.

It is Sydney's worst season since they failed to reach the finals in 2002.

Magpies key forward Anthony Rocca recovered from a potentially-serious knee injury just before half-time and was best-afield with six goals.

Collingwood's tall forwards dominated, with Sean Rusling and Travis Cloke kicking three goals apiece.

Mirroring Collingwood's round-21 win over Sydney at the same venue, Swans utility Adam Goodes was easily his team's best player.

After dominating most of the first half, Collingwood had a two-fold scare just before the main break.

Sydney kicked the last four goals of the half - including one to Jude Bolton after the siren - to reduce the margin to 10 points.

Just as Bolton was having his shot, two Collingwood trainers were helping Rocca off the field.

The Magpies key forward had hyper-extended his left knee in a marking contest moments before.

While Sydney kicked the first goal of the second half to reduce the margin to four points, Rocca was able to return to the field to start the third term.

His booming shot from 50 metres and a tight angle at the three-minute mark of the third quarter was a badly-needed goal for the 'Pies.

That killed Sydney's challenge and it started a five-goal surge through the quarter for Collingwood.

Rocca book-ended the run of goals, also kicking his fourth at 24 minutes to give the 'Pies a 33-point lead.

As he lined up for his fourth, Sydney were taking Barry Hall and Michael O'Loughlin from the field and this was symbolic of the night.

While Collingwood's key forwards dominated, Hall was again out of form and the Swans failed to consistently take the ball into attack with system.

To his credit, O'Loughlin worked hard despite his lack of opportunities and finished with four goals.

Another feature of Collingwood's game was their ferocious tackling, which was particularly prominent as they dominated in the first term to lead by 31 points.

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse praised his many younger players who were in their first final.

"I didn't actually go through who hadn't played in a final - I know there's a lot who had one or none," he said.

"I'm not too sure what holds you in good stead, the occasion, the experiences that you've had ... sometimes you need some freshness, they don't really know what it's like and they bring a different feel to the game, to the arena.

"Most of the young blokes handled themselves pretty well."

At the other end of the spectrum, veteran Rocca produced a game that drew strong praise from his coach.

"He was terrific, Anthony - that's one of his better games for the year," Malthouse said.

"He was very, very good - I don't know about his knee, it must be okay."

But Malthouse would read nothing into next Friday night, despite the Eagles' well-documented injury problems.

"We've won three or four (on the road) and the one we lost was against West Coast," he said.

"We don't assume anything - we know they're going to be a good football side ... and we know they're also reasonably hardened.

"We know that each game is a different game, different strategies, different game plans, different grounds - this will be another test, a good test."

Sydney coach Paul Roos said post-match that Hall would soon undergo surgery to repair a groin tendon.

"Hally, he's been carrying significant injuries for the back end of the season - I guarantee he's going to be better next year than what he was certainly in the back half of this year," Roos said.

He also bemoaned Sydney's poor use of the ball, with turnovers killing the Swans when the game was still close.

"Their pressure was really good from the start, but certainly we didn't help our cause," he said.

"You can't give easy goals away in any game, let alone a high-pressure (final) - so we certainly got them off to a good start.

"They came ready to play and they thoroughly deserved a pretty comfortable win."

© 2009 AAP
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