The Suns had stunned the football world.
While it was understood that Gold Coast posed a serious challenge to the ladder-leading Magpies on Friday night, being a genuine top four contender and playing on home soil, no one could have predicted the levels to which they obliterated Collingwood's star-studded lineup in the first half.
As the siren sounded to signify the main break, Gold Coast led by 35 points (43-8) and were yet to concede a single goal. It marked the first time since 2021 that Collingwood had been held goalless in a half and the first time since Round 4 2012 that a team on top of the ladder had failed to kick a six-pointer in the opening two frames of play.
So, what went wrong?
"I just didn't love our mids at times tonight," Magpies coach Craig McRae said post-game.
"I didn't think we worked hard enough to contest, didn't get our hands dirty enough. That would be disrespecting Gold Coast, if you watch it back they were dominant around contest and clearance in that first half.
"The Suns intensity around the ball was way better than ours. The clearance score was -8 to us at halftime. You allow a team like Gold Coast to get their pressure up and their energy around the ball up and the crowd roaring, you go down at half time with a hefty margin."
McRae is, of course, spot on. Gold Coast set the tone from the first bounce by winning four of the first five clearances and moved the ball clinically from their defensive half to launch scoring chains. The Suns were lethal from stoppages, winning the clearances 14-7 in a destructive second quarter and scoring 39 points from stoppages for the match.
Matt Rowell was virtually untouchable in the first half too, charging through congestion to win the football and damaging the lack of pressure from his opponent with clearance after clearance, inside 50 after inside 50. His 32 disposals, 12 clearances, nine inside 50s, and 13 tackles were game highs and ensured the Suns held on to win as Collingwood shook off its lethargy in the second half.
Inaccuracy will also haunt the Magpies in what was ultimately a very winnable game, with their ladder-leading safety net falling to six premiership points.
However, McRae relished the defensive effort from his troops, holding Gold Coast to just 69 points for the game and six scoring shots in the second half, which played a role in their ability to regain the lead during the fourth quarter.
"The game can be pretty simple, we kicked 8.6 from set shots and 0.4 on the run," McRae said.
"Late in the game, we had a couple of chances to really add the pressure, and we didn't take them. Leigh Matthews used to say, 'When you miss, it puts the pressure on the next person. When it's 0.9, there's a lot of pressure.'
"Our average points against is about 68, 69 points, and we kept the Suns to that tonight. You'd argue that other parts of our game didn't quite execute, including our set-shot kicking and goals on the run.
"You can either focus on the first half or the second half, and I think as a group, we were rapt with the second half and the fight. We kicked 55 points in the second half, but we took a long time to kick a goal... I loved the energy of the game and the buildup of the game. It was definitely a game of two halves, and our inaccuracy really hurt us."
Collingwood and their midfield group have an opportunity for redemption with another tough midfield battle looming, the Magpies welcoming Fremantle to the MCG next Sunday.
