Jack Ginnivan act comes to light after epic Collingwood victory

In the midst of a much-maligned AFL season at times, Collingwood's Jack Ginnivan needed only one moment to show exactly why his Magpies teammates have backed him to the hilt.

The Pies pulled off a thrilling final quarter comeback against the Blues on Sunday to painfully deny them a spot in the finals, with Carlton falling behind on percentage to the Western Bulldogs.

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Collingwood pulled ahead with less than two minutes to play thanks to a terrific goal from Jamie Elliott, one of five unanswered Magpies goals in the fourth quarter as the Blues agonisingly failed to convert their own chances.

While much of the attention has focused on Collingwood's sensational run in the second half of the season, as well as the brutal fashion in which Carlton's finals hopes were snatched away, few noticed it was a crucial play from Ginnivan which freed up Elliott to score.

Magpies captain Scott Pendlebury looked to find Ginnivan at half-forward, but by letting the ball bounce over his head and shepherding Carlton defender Adam Saad, Elliott subsequently had the time and space to send Collingwood fans into raptures.

Elliott made a beeline for Ginnivan immediately after slotting the deciding goal, and continued to shine th spotlight on the controversial forward in his post-game comments.

“To be honest, That last play, ‘Ginni’, to be able to box out his man — it doesn’t happen without the other boys,” he told Channel 7.

“I’m just on the end of it. It’s special. Wow. That’s awesome.”

Ginnivan's play didn't go unnoticed by AFL obervservers and fans either.

The Herald Sun's Jay Clark was quick to note how Ginnivan had set up the play.

“Jack Ginnivan has copped plenty this year. But is this the block of the season on Adam Saad? Clever player. What a season he’s had," he wrote on Twitter.

Collingwood's sensational run into AFL finals punctuated by Blues win

The Magpies will enter the finals after winning 12 of their last 13 games, having kept their extraordinary record in close games alive.

After finishing 17th last season, Collingwood will have a double chance in the finals in Craig McRae's first year as coach.

"I just can't believe, I really can't, we've found another way to win," said McRae, who was seen wildly celebrating Elliott's match-winning goal.

"There will be a footage of me getting carried away on the bench.

"I tell my players to live in the moment, so I''ve got to do that and role model that.

"I like to be really measured when things aren't working for us and then show the emotion when things are. I was celebrating like the fans were."

The Blues started in nervous fashion and missed easy shots as Collingwood's pressure overwhelmed them.

Carlton rebuilt, however, and their 8.3 was the first time since the famous 1970 grand final they had kicked eight goals in a third quarter against Collingwood at the MCG.

Ultimately, though, it was not enough, as Collingwood secured fourth place and a tantalising qualifying final at the MCG against minor premiers Geelong .

"Even when they (Collingwood) started to close, I still felt quite confident we could still get it done, but just not for long enough," Voss said.

"We've probably shown we're somewhere between seven and 10 (on the ladder). Well, that's not where we want to be, we want to be better than that.

"The reality is we're not here just to make finals, we're here to be a top-four footy club and we want to be sustainably great."

With AAP

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