Ahead of the opening bounce of the final term in their Australian Football League clash, Collingwood Magpies already banked on a familiar Carlton Blues collapse to turn their 18-point deficit around. That confidence, forged from Carlton’s well-documented history of surrendering leads late in matches, was front and center of Collingwood’s three-quarter time huddle, where players and coaches explicitly highlighted the Blues’ trend of letting strong positions slip away. What followed was a thrilling, momentum-shifting final quarter that delivered one of the most dramatic wins of the 2025 AFL season so far.
Fuelled by a masterclass performance from young star Nick Daicos, Collingwood piled on seven unanswered goals in the final stanza to claw their way back into the contest, sneaking across the line with a narrow five-point victory. Speaking after the match, Magpies head coach Craig McRae opened up about the tactical and mental framing that shaped the comeback, revealing his side entered the final quarter questioning whether Carlton could maintain their intensity across all four quarters.
“We spoke about playing the full minutes right in front of us,” McRae told reporters post-game. “They’d been in front most games, I think Carlton have been in front for four of the five. We were questioning whether they could do it for four quarters and that’s the evidence they put in front of everyone. We want to play it out, you’ve still got to take your chances, make the most of it.”
The catalyst for Collingwood’s stunning turnaround was Daicos, who put on a clinic in the final quarter, racking up 13 disposals and slotting a spectacular freakish goal that shifted the entire energy of the match. The young star played every second of the final term, and finished the match marking his 100th AFL game with a career-defining performance that drew high praise from his coach.
“He’s a remarkable talent, we didn’t want to get him off in the last quarter (and) he played 100 per cent game time I am pretty sure,” McRae said. “He does some remarkable stuff, that first goal in the fourth quarter when he just runs contest to contest to contest and ends up in the goalsquare. 100th game, if you break the stats down they’re pretty amazing, not many players can do that in a game.”
Even with the dramatic comeback, McRae cautioned against overconfidence, noting his side still has areas to improve ahead of coming fixtures: “I am not naive to think we don’t still have work to do.”
For the Blues, the result extends a worrying early-season slump that has cast doubt over their 2025 campaign. The collapse marks yet another late-game lead surrendered by Carlton, leaving the side with just two wins from their opening six matches. For Collingwood, the crucial win keeps the club firmly in contention for a top-eight finish, keeping their postseason hopes alive heading into the middle phase of the regular season.