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Final teams are in with no late changes as Beau McCreery is cleared to play for Collingwood. The speedy forward made the most of the pre-finals bye to recover from a foot issue that he picked up when it was stepped on during the final round.
Adelaide name veteran Brodie Smith as sub in their first final since 2017. Mid-season draftee Roan Steele is Collingwood’s 23rd player.
The Crows are boosted by the return of young defender Max Michalanney as he recovers from a hamstring strain, while Luke Pedlar had the same issue but will slot straight back into the forward line. Sid Draper and Billy Dowling are dropped from the side that edged North Melbourne in round 24, though the most notable absence is of course the suspended forward Izak Rankine.
The Magpies are backing youngster Wil Parker to play just his ninth game in place of the injured Jeremy Howe. Mason Cox has been recalled for his ninth game this season at the expense of the out-of-sorts Dan McStay, as the Pies shake up their options in an attack that could only find eight goals from 71 inside 50s when these sides met a few weeks ago.
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Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the qualifying final between Adelaide and Collingwood at Adelaide Oval. It is fewer than three weeks since these same sides played out a thriller that the Crows won by three points to lock in a top-two finish as they return to finals for the first time in eight years.
The Magpies were the early pacesetters this season as they opened up a 14-2 record and sat on top of the ladder for 13 weeks before the Crows surged past them on the run home to claim the minor premiership. The Crows’ round 23 victory was their first over the Pies since 2017 and snapped an 11-game winless streak, though that horror run hides the recent history between these evenly-matched sides. While the Pies built up a dominant record over the Crows across seven seasons, the last six matches have been decided by a combined 25 points.
The Crows head into the final in red-hot form after winning their past nine matches, while the Magpies will have appreciated the week off with the pre-finals bye after losing five of their past seven. The Pies can at least turn to wealth of experience, especially in finals, while only seven of the Crows’ named 23 have been to this stage before.
The winner tonight will head straight to a preliminary final along with hosting rights, while the loser will need to bounce back in a semi-final against GWS Giants or Hawthorn.
First bounce will be at 7.10pm local time in Adelaide / 7.40pm AEST. I’ll drop in the team news shortly. Meanwhile, let us know your thoughts and predictions – shoot me an email or find me @martinpegan on Bluesky or X. Let’s get into it!