From one blockbuster to the next during Collingwood’s awesome April, the prime-time Pies drew monster crowds and massive ratings while putting key rivals to the sword as they surged to the top of the table. More than 90,000 were at the MCG on Anzac Day to watch the Magpies monster Essendon after halftime last Friday on the way to their sixth win in succession. The triumph capped a month that began with a victory over another traditional suburban rival in Carlton, set up by a third term blitz, that drew more than 82,000 to the famous ground. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every AFL match this Saturday LIVE. Catch all the action in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Oliver the missing piece for the Cats? | 01:43 In between they trumped the Swans in the premier Friday night timeslot in Adelaide during Gather Round and then romped home against reigning premiers Brisbane at the Gabba on Easter Thursday. For all the hype associated with those wins, and with respect to Collingwood’s historical rivals including Richmond, Saturday’s clash with the Cats shapes as the most intriguing given a rivalry that has grown this century. An argument could be made that over the past twenty years, Geelong has emerged as Collingwood’s greatest rival given the quality of their matches and memorable moments. Geelong’s website leant into the history this week with a one-eyed reflection on five memorable matches against the Magpies dating back to 2007. Not surprisingly given the domain, all were wins. They included the Cats thrilling quarterfinal win over Collingwood in 2022 on route to their most recent premiership, the 2011 grand final triumph when Tom Hawkins ran amok in the second half, the triumph earlier that season that sparked belief among the Cats that they were back, the epic preliminary final in 2007 preceding the drought-breaking premiership and the classic comeback in 2022 when Joel Selwood set a new AFL record for captaincy. Aside from the premiership success he enjoyed, Fox Footy’s new expert analyst Hawkins said matches against arch-rival Hawthorn and Collingwood were the ones he enjoyed the most given the atmosphere associated with the games. The anticipation the three time premiership Cat felt when driving to the MCG for matches against Collingwood was heightened by the knowledge of the crowd would be buzzing. “Playing Collingwood at the MCG always adds another layer of anticipation given the certainty there will be a big crowd, with the majority barracking for the Magpies,” he wrote in an autobiography released last year. Cats energetic for 3rd game in 12 days | 01:44 The Magpies, of course, have enjoyed their own classic moments over the past 20 years against the regional rival they opposed in grand finals in 1925, 1930, 1937, 1952, 1953 and 2011. A gritty win over the reigning premiers in August, 2023, preceded their superb finals campaign that culminated in Collingwood’s thrilling grand final triumph over Brisbane. The victories over the Cats in August, 2010, when Geelong was again reigning premiers, and the preliminary final after a magnificent first term burst set up the Pies flag that year. There has been controversy as well, including an incident in 2002 when Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley wiped his blood on the hard-tagging Cat Cameron Ling, who later captained his club to a flag. With Collingwood flying and the Cats shaping as contenders again this season, despite a loss to Carlton last week, Saturday night’s clash shapes as a precursor to another in September in a match where Jack Crisp will break the games record he shares with Jim Stynes. Collingwood coach Craig McRae, who invited the former Melbourne great’s widow Sam Stynes to Collingwood to discuss the Irishman’s legacy on Friday ahead of Crisp setting a new mark, is mindful the Cats are certain to bounce back. He also said he would be prepared for Geelong to make a late switch to their side based on their history of doing so during Chris Scott’s tenure. “Chris plays a lot of games. I’m not saying there’ll be a late withdrawal, but he plays a lot of games, and so there’ll be a lot of chaos caused through different ways the game will be seen,” he said. “We go to school on that. I went to watch them play on Easter Monday versus the Hawks a couple weeks ago and there’s a lot of moving parts. If you get caught up with that, you can tie yourself in knots. “So we’re going to rely heavily on our system to play against a really good team, a really good team (that is) on the bounce after what he described as their worst ever performance. So we think that there is (going to be) a bounce.” Ahead of the next chapter in a fascinating rivalry, Fox Footy considers some of the biggest moments over the past couple of decades. MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 12: Scott Pendlebury of the Magpies and Patrick Dangerfield of the Cats chat after the 2024 AFL Round 18 match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Geelong Cats at Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 12, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images) Source: Getty Images Scott claims Carlton 'slaughtered' Cats | 11:58 Qualifying Final, 2022,Geelong 11.12 (78) def. Collingwood 10.12 (72) The most recent final played between the Magpies and Geelong was a riveting affair, with Collingwood holding the upper-hand at different stages, only for a late Cats counter-attack. The Magpies had the better of the early stages of the twilight encounter when kicking three of the four first quarter goals and led at every change before Geelong’s late surge at the MCG. Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury, Jordan de Goey and the Daicos brothers were all busy for Collingwood, but Geelong’s skipper Joel Selwood and Tom Atkins drove the comeback from the midfield. Jeremy Cameron and Gary Rohan both kicked three goals, including critical contributions in the last term, as the Cats sought to break a curse when it came to winning qualifying finals. Only once in the previous 11 years dating back to the 2011 flag had Geelong managed to win a final in the first week, which included a loss to the Magpies back in 2011. The Magpies had built a reputation under Craig McRae of being miracle workers late in the season, with seven of their final eight wins in the home-and-away season clinched by under 10 points. At the death of matches, there were none better. And this went to the wire. With under two minutes to go durable Magpie Jack Crisp, who will set a new AFL record for consecutive games this weekend with his 245th match in a row, levelled the scores with a behind. In a frenzied finish, the Cats were able to move the footy forward to Rohan, who was able to handball to Max Holmes in the goal square in what proved the winning passage. “It proved enough. We had survived a thriller and broken the qualifying final curse without playing our best footy. We now had a week’s rest after such a ferocious match,” Hawkins recalled. 'Be calm' Pies philosophical on big win | 09:53 2011 Grand Final, Geelong 18.11 (119) def. Collingwood 12.9 (81) The Cats winning margin of 38-points is not reflective of a grand final that was full of drama and one that could have gone either way prior to Geelong’s magnificent final term. Geelong was the premier team between 2007 and 2011, winning three premierships in this period. But the Magpies were brilliant under Mick Malthouse and were the reigning premiers. As befitting a decider between two heavyweights, there were thrills and spills, magnificent moments, subterfuge and intrigue and plot twists aplenty. Steve Johnson appeared certain to miss after dislocating his kneecap in the preliminary final, yet somehow managed to produce a masterpiece in an even match to three quarter time. The Cats suffered a big blow when James Podsiadly injured a shoulder in a marking contest in the second term, but that opened the door for Hawkins to produce the performance of his life. After veteran Cameron Mooney counselled him in the changerooms at halftime, telling Hawkins this is the time to “stamp your authority on the game”, the big Cat fired to life. Collingwood won every match in 2011 aside from the three games against Geelong. And while Jimmy Bartel was named Norm Smith Medallist, Hawkins proved their Kryptonite. “Winning the premiership was a massive triumph and so too was being a pivotal player in the Grand Final,” he wrote in his book. “But falling back in love with footy again was the best thing of all. Perhaps I had a career in the game after all.” 2010 Preliminary Final, Collingwood 18.12 (120) def. Geelong 11.13 (79) This was a shellacking set up by a sizzling opening that identified the baton change from the reigning premiers to the team which proved to be the champion side of 2010. And how the Pies fans loved it as they roared away from Geelong from the opening minutes, with Collingwood leading by more than ten goals at the last break before easing the throttle. The Magpies ‘Rat Pack’ were at their most damaging, with Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan, Alan Didak, Ben Johnson and Heath Shaw among the stars on fire that September. Young guns Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom, who are still firing 15 years later, were brilliant as well, while Travis Cloke kicked three goals in front of more than 95,000 fans. Swan later said that the core crew of hard-partying Pies revelled in their notoriety. “Not many other groups of players have been given a name. Whoever coined it did well,” he told the AFL website in 2017. “Some people like to see something offensive in it, but we see it as a term of endearment. We love it. “It’s amazing what it’s become. Every time I go to a footy club, people say, ‘Here’s our Rat Pack’”. 2008 Rd 9, Collingwood 20.14 (139) def. Geelong 7.6 (48) Although only a home-and-away game, this match stands out as remarkable given the mauling the Magpies inflicted on Geelong at a time when they appeared unbeatable. Geelong had won its previous 26 matches, which included the drought-breaking flag in 2007 that came after a massive scare against Collingwood in the preliminary final that season. The Cats proceeded to win their next 15 matches as well prior to the stunning upset loss to Hawthorn in the grand final. But in a prime time clash at the MCG on Friday, May 23, the Magpies inflicted the Cats only regular season loss for the season in devastating fashion in front of a crowd of 78,206. This was a smashing led, once again, by the ‘Rat Pack’, with Swan gathering 28 touches and Didak chipping in for a couple of goals. The evergreen Pendlebury was again busy, gathering 26 possessions in what was his third season of footy, as Collingwood kicked six goals in the first term and never eased their attack. *Courtney Walsh co-authored Tom Hawkins biography Hawkins