Collingwood vs Brisbane promises to deliver a big game on Saturday as first faces second in a grand final for the first time since 2014.
This will be the third time that the two teams play this year, but neither of their previous results suggests who will win on Saturday having been played at Marvel Stadium and the Gabba, with Brisbane winning both games by an average of 28 points.
This game will ultimately be decided by key matchups, with the ruck battle and how Collingwood's defenders hold up under Brisbane's forward pressure both looming as critical battles.
In Round 5, Collingwood entered the game without a genuine ruckman as Dan McStay was left as the No.1 ruck. Oscar McInerney capitalised to be one of Brisbane's best with 18 disposals, 11 clearances, and 43 hitouts. Brisbane's forwards were also on fire, with Charlie Cameron kicking six goals, Cam Rayner booting four goals and Eric Hipwood and Joe Daniher both kicking two apiece as Collingwood's backline struggled to contain one of the league's most potent forward lines.
Round 23 was a more impressive game from Collingwood, despite being without Nathan Murphy for a chunk of the game while not having Darcy Moore down back, sticking it to the Lions until the fourth quarter when they just seemed to run out of puff. McInerney once again dominated the ruck, despite coming up against both Mason Cox and Darcy Cameron this time, with 16 disposals, 41 hitouts, and five clearances to arguably be Brisbane's best.
Collingwood's defence struggled once again, with Jeremy Howe having to swing forward to create scoring opportunities. Hipwood and Daniher both had three goals, whilst Cameron put another four goals next to his name.
A matchup which hasn't previously happened but certainly could on Saturday is Josh Dunkley tagging either Jordan De Goey or Nick Daicos. After doing the job on Patrick Cripps last weekend, it is likely that Dunkley will be sent to curb the importance of two of the Pies' most integral players. Given how crucial his work around clearances is to Collingwood, De Goey would be a big scalp.
Another factor heading into Saturday is finals experience. Steele Sidebottom and Scott Pendlebury are arguably two of the most important players on the ground, having both played in the 2010, 2010 replay, 2011 and 2018 deciders. For Brisbane, none of their players have ever participated in a grand final in Brisbane colours, which is why Josh Dunkley, Charlie Cameron and Lachie Neale's grand final experience at other clubs is crucial to guiding their less experienced players.
With Collingwood and Brisbane both fielding near-fully fit teams for Saturday, how does each player fare heading into the game? We've ranked all 44 players in terms of importance based on previous performances against the other team, key matchups and finals experience heading into the big dance.
All 44 2023 AFL Grand Final players ranked on importance:Â
- Jordan De Goey
- Charlie Cameron
- Brayden Maynard
- Isaac Quaynor
- Oscar McInerney
- Mason Cox
- Harris Andrews
- Darcy Moore
- Joe Daniher
- Billy Frampton
- Nick Daicos
- Scott Pendlebury
- Lachie Neale
- Steele Sidebottom
- Josh Dunkley
- Keidean Coleman
- Tom Mitchell
- Jack Crisp
- Zac Bailey
- Darcy Cameron
- Jeremy Howe
- Dayne Zorko
- Bobby Hill
- Nathan Murphy
- Brandon Starcevich
- Brody Mihocek
- Jamie Elliott
- Ryan Lester
- Beau McCreery
- Eric Hipwood
- Josh Daicos
- Cameron Rayner
- Hugh McCluggage
- Jack Ginnivan
- Lincoln McCarthy
- Darcy Gardiner
- Jarrod Berry
- Darcy Wilmot
- Conor McKenna
- Oleg Markov
- Callum Ah Chee
- Jaspa Fletcher
- Will Hoskin-Elliott
- Deven Robertson
