Geelong and Collingwood are set to meet once again in a finals series in what will be a mouth-watering qualifying final.

And if history has anything to say, they could very well meet once again in the decider.

Both sides have recorded a win streak of 11-plus this season. Of the previous three times two teams did so in the same year, twice they played in the Grand Final.

The last time this happened was 2011, and it was the Cats and Magpies

Collingwood and Geelong will meet for a record 26th time in a final, with quite an eventful history. The Hoops have the edge over the Woods on the last day of the season with a 4-2 record, while for prelims it's the other way, 6-3 in the Woods' favour.

The finals ledger sits 13-12 in Geelong's favour, will they get two steps ahead of Collingwood in the qualifying final this week or will the Pies equal the ledger?

Ahead of the next chapter in this storied finals rivalry, we take a look back at five of the very best finals clashes between the two Victorian clubs.

1930 Grand Final

Collingwood 14.16 (100) defeated Geelong 9.16 (70)

Collingwood were looking to win their fourth successive premiership, but standing in their way was Geelong.

The previous week, the Cats comfortably defeated the Pies in the prelim final by 26 points, but because of the Argus finals system, they had another shot at making history,

It was always going to be a difficult task, a strong Geelong team that defeated you just the week prior, and to make matters worse, their legendary coach Jock McHale was seriously ill at home.

Things looked dire for the Woodsmen at the main break, sitting 21 points down after a strong opening half by the Cats.ย 

There was no McHale to rally them to a win like the three previous years.

Instead, long-time administrator and former player Bob Rush took the reigns, and it was up to him to rally the team.

A third-quarter turnaround saw Collingwood kick 8.1, including four goals from Gordon Coventry, to a single behind from Geelong.

Domination in the premiership quarter (hence the name) lead to a fourth straight flag to Collingwood, the first, and only, time this has happened.

1937 Grand Final

Geelong 18.14 (122) defeated Collingwood 12.18 (90)

Regarded as one of the greatest grand finals in V/AFL history, the 1937 decider was highly anticipated well before the opening bounce.ย 

Geelong finished the season first, while Collingwood were third, having lost two of their last three home and away games.

Despite the slump in form, the Magpies won their two finals, looking reminiscent of the four-peat era.

The match lived up to the hype, in front of a then grand final record crowd of 88,530, the two sides presented an exciting attacking brand of footy.

Neither team played poorly, until the final quarter at least. A nine-goal first quarter, with the Pies kicking six, was exhilarating by all accounts.

The Magpie Army were sure their side was claiming a third straight flag that day.

The half-time scoreboard of Collingwood 8.10 (58) to Geelong 8.5 (53) said otherwise, and showed that the game was up for grabs for either team.

By three-quarter time it truly looked to be anyone's game as scores were level at 80 a piece.

However, after three closely fought quarters, the Cats tapped into unbelievable form, holding off the Woods with a six-goal-to-one final term.

Many called it "the greatest Grand Final" in the history of the league and to this day it's considered one of the purest displays of football in a grand final.

1980 Preliminary Final

Collingwood 13.15 (93) defeated Geelong 13.11 (89)

Geelong claimed the minor premiership in 1980 and heading into finals were an odds-on favourite for the flag.

Finals were played between the top five, so as first placed, the Cats earned a bye in week one.

Collingwood would narrolwy beat North Melbourne in an elimination final and follow that up by thrashing Carlton in a semi-final.

Geelong would play a semi-final against Richmond, a hard-fought four-goal loss.

So that set up the Pies vs the Cats, winner to play the Tigers in the grand final.

A lot went wrong for Geelong that day.

Before the game, Robert Neal was a late out with a hamstring injury, John Mossop played in the twos despite being named for the prelim, and Sam Newman was omitted despite being listed to play.

In the first quarter champion full-back Gary Malarkey dislocated his shoulder, severely dampening the Cats' chances.

Tough, torrid and bruising were words used to describe this game, with the Pies one step ahead of Geelong throughout the match.

Geelong rallied in the last, kicking 4.3 to the Woods' 1.5, just falling short by four points.

The next week, the Tigers demolished Collingwood by 81 points, perhaps leaving fans of the Cattery to wonder if they would have put up a better fight.

Collingwood and Geelong met once again in a prelim the next year, another close affair that saw the Pies win by seven points.

2007 Preliminary Final

Geelong 13.14 (92) defeat Collingwood 13.9 (87)

Between 1981 and 2007, there was little else between these two rivals.

26 years meant a generation of fans were going to finally see a Geelong and Collingwood final.

Again minor premiers, the Cats were favourites, but a plucky Collingwood, who had beat the two previous premiers in Sydney and West Coast, were up for a fight.

Magpies ruck Josh Fraser was a late out, so stand-in ruck combination Guy Richards and Chris Bryan had to go up against Brad Ottens.

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Ottens would be judged best afield with 23 disposals, 24 hit-outs and a goal, with Geelong too strong but failed to truly put away the resilient Magpies.

In front of 98,002, a bigger crowd than the grand final, the Cats held on to win by five points.

This game would prove to be Nathan Buckley's 260th and last of his decorated career.

The Cats went on to beat Port Adelaide the next week by a record 119 points, leaving Pies fans wondering what if they had the chance to play the Power.

2011 Grand Final

Geelong 18.11 (119) defeat Collingwood 12.9 (81)ย 

The first grand final played between the two in 58 years, played between the reigning premiers and the best side of the past five years.

Collingwood were looking to win back-to-back flags for the first time in 75 years, while the Cats were aiming for a third in five seasons.

Geelong were written off by many coming into the 2011 season, Gary Ablett Jr, coach Mark Thompson and President Frank Costa had all left days after a heavy preliminary final loss in 2010, against Collingwood nonetheless.

The Hoops were re-invigorated though, and finished second (19-3) behind only the Magpies (20-2). Those two losses for the Magpies? Courtesy of the Cats.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 01: Mitch Duncan and James Podsiadly of the Cats celebrate with the Premiership Cup after winning the 2011 AFL Grand Final match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Geelong Cats at Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 1, 2011 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)

The grand final was a closely fought affair, with the lead changing 10 times before three-quarter time.

A cracking game of footy that saw the Cats lead 13.7 (85) to 12.6 (78) at the final break.

The final quarter was a completely different game that saw Geelong dominate with five goals to Collingwood's none to come out 38-point winners.