AFL Grand Final 2023: WA’s Bobby Hill owns special grand final moment as Collingwood break drought

The thing about grand finals is every moment is a big moment. Collingwood simply had more of them in this epic. Five and a half minutes remaining and Brisbane with its nose in front. Mason Cox wins the next centre bouncedown. Nick Daicos’ handball to Jordan De Goey gives the latter just enough space to convert from 50 metres in the 10th lead change of the game. De Goey has lost his one-on-one battle to this point with Josh Dunkley but owns this moment. Goal. Inside three minutes and Jarrod Berry lays a late tackle on Steele Sidebottom on a wing. 50 metre penalty. Sidebottom owns the moment. Goal. One minute, 33 seconds on the clock and Hugh McCluggage keeps the ball in play on the boundary line and centres to Joe Daniher. He owns the moment. Goal. The Magpies led by four points and then weathered the storm. The final siren sounds. It’s Collingwood’s moment. The stats suggest they were the better team and they were. But it was very close. They had 31 more disposals and 14 more inside 50s but lost the clearance battle. The one statistic that does do this truly great contest justice was contested possessions. It was 122-122. It was an arm-wrestle played in energy sapping 29 degree heat and no player was prepared to give in. The Magpies had nine more scoring shots and were the better side. Just. This was a grand final about control and chaos. Brisbane with the highest kick to handball ratio of all teams this season and Collingwood’s penchant for crazy-ball and quick feeds inside 50 so the opposition defence can’t fold back in time. Both systems had an impact on this game. There were so many storylines. The sons of guns. Nick and Josh Daicos, progeny of Magpie great and premiership player Peter. Nick had 29 possessions, more than any player on the ground. There was defender and captain Darcy Moore, son of Bronwnlow medallist Peter. Darcy had his hands full with Brisbane forward Joe Daniher, who kicked 3.1 and was one of Brisbane’s best. But Moore got to hold up the premiership cup with coach Craig McCrae. There were Pendlebury and Sidebottom, servants in 2010 and now dual premiership players. There was Mason Cox from the USA. There was Tom Mitchell at his third club and now, finally, a deserved premiership player. There was West Australian Billy Frampton, handed a late grand final reprieve when Dan McStay was injured and while he had minimal offensive impact, he kept Harris Andrews honest for three quarters before the Lions defender burst into the game in the tense final term. For Brisbane. Four points is so close yet so far. Keidean Coleman was creative and busy at half back with 26 possessions, McCluggage and Lachie Neale did their bit. Charlie Cameron kicked three goals. But the biggest storyline was reserved for Bobby Hill. The Collingwood small forward hails from Northam, was drafted to GWS, recovered from testicular cancer before being traded to Collingwood last post season. Now he is a premiership player and a Norm Smith medallist: 18 disposals at 72 per cent efficiency, a game high nine score involvements and four goals. Great players are made in finals. Legends are born in grand finals. Hill wears that mantle proudly now at a club that has joined Carlton and Essendon on 16 premierships. This was a story about moments. This was Bobby’s moment.