THE Western Bulldogs and Collingwood will play the first ever wildcard final as what would have previously been a weeks-long battle for an elimination final spot will now be decided in a winner-takes-all clash.

The Dogs bounced back from a mid-season slump that included four consecutive defeats to win eight of their next 11 matches and climb to within touching distance of the top four. But back-to-back losses and a draw on the run home meant they needed a round 24 victory over the Demons to find momentum heading into finals. 

The Magpies were at real risk of missing the finals as they turned for home at the bye at 5-1-7 before they reeled off six wins on the trot to briefly keep their top-six hopes alive. Two losses and a draw, as well as a win, in the last four rounds locked the Pies into the wildcard places even as injuries to key players mounted up. 

The Bulldogs are sweating on the fitness of key forward Aaron Naughton, while the Magpies will hope Isaac Quaynor and Pat Lipinski can prove their fitness, especially with Scott Pendlebury and Brayden Maynard among those sidelined.

Where and when: MCG, Friday August 28, 7.40pm AEST

WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR?

Round 12: Western Bulldogs 14.13 (97) defeated Collingwood 13.15 (93) at Marvel Stadium

The Bulldogs and Magpies were both trying to kickstart their campaign as they sat in ninth and 10th spot respectively at the time of their mid-season meeting. The stars on each side helped get the contest going as Marcus Bontempelli led the Dogs with 22 disposals, nine clearances and a goal, while Nick Daicos continued his stellar form with 37 disposals, five clearances and one major for the Pies. But it was a pair of unheralded Bulldogs who stood tallest when the game was on the line, as Will Lewis booted the last of his three goals with under five minutes remaining to give his side breathing space. Magpies forward Tim Membrey responded almost immediately with his third of the night to bring the margin to under a goal before Dogs defender Michael Sellwood pulled down a match-saving mark to seal the win in a nailbiter. 

THE STATS THAT MATTER

Western Bulldogs

The Dogs have flipped their game style of recent years with more of a focus on defensive steel rather than backing their firepower in a free-flowing shootout. The Bulldogs are among the top five sides defensively since round 9 as they have conceded 100 points or more only twice in that 15-game stretch, though they will need to get the balance right at the MCG against a Magpies’ defence that is ranked sixth across the season. 

Collingwood

The Magpies have been a middle-of-the-road side for much of the year and have sat in the wildcard positions for the last nine rounds of the season. Two wins over the Blues make up the majority of their three victories against the other nine finalists, while they have drawn twice with the Hawks and their nine defeats were all to sides that finished above them on the ladder. But the Pies can turn to a newfound potency in attack after passing 100 points four times in their last nine matches while only hitting the mark once in their first 14 games this season.   

IT'S A BIG WEEK FOR ...

Western Bulldogs

The Dogs have taken another blow to their tall stocks with Aaron Naughton under a cloud due to an ankle issue and unlikely to be at full fitness even if he is available for selection. Ruck Tim English is no certainty to return after missing the past two matches with a knee injury, while Sam Darcy remains sidelined with a torn ACL. Coach Luke Beveridge might have little choice but to call on captain Marcus Bontempelli (30 goals) to spend more time in attack as the club’s second-highest goalkicker this year, sitting behind Naughton who has led the way with 46 majors. Livewire forward Arthur Jones (21 goals) will also need to be a target inside 50 as the Dogs search for extra avenues to goal, with the side ranked only 14th for scoring this season while the focus has shifted more toward tightening up their defence.

Collingwood

Jordan De Goey is a proven big-game performer and will enter the finals in fine touch after gathering 32 disposals, six clearances and two goals in the Magpies’ round 24 defeat to the Lions. The 30-year-old’s return to form comes just at the right time for the Pies as they look to bolster the midfield around the ever-reliable Nick Daicos, who has averaged a competition-leading 34.9 disposals as well as 5.7 clearances and more than a goal a game. Young gun Sam Swadling has been a welcome addition to the Pies' onball brigade in recent weeks and impressed again with 32 touches and a goal against the two-time reigning premiers. But Beau McCreery could be the spark to ignite Collingwood's engine room with his pace enough to match Western Bulldogs’ speedster Ed Richards and even open up the game.

PREDICTION

The Western Bulldogs and Collingwood have both been unconvincing as they have stumbled into the finals, with each winning only one match over the past four weeks. Their injury concerns are likely to play out at the same end of the field on Friday night with the Dogs having to search for solutions in attack while the Pies are set to rely on an undermanned defence. But the Magpies’ troubles with top-half sides for much of the season makes it hard to see them winning the first-ever wildcard final. Western Bulldogs by 11 points.

IT STARTED right. And it stayed right.

A contest as classic as this came down to that one kick from Tim Membrey. After a series of would-be knockout blows, this kick – one that fell on the wrong side of the right post – would be the one that took the Western Bulldogs through to September and Collingwood to a night of misery.

BULLDOGS v MAGPIES Full match coverage and stats

In the AFL's first ever wildcard final, Membrey's wayward shot after the siren proved all that could separate eighth from ninth. In a barnstorming affair, a brave Dogs team battled to put themselves in the position to eventually grind out a remarkable 14.12 (96) to 14.9 (93) victory.

Arty Jones, through his excitable four-goal haul, had seemed to cap a final quarter chocked full of incredible moments and momentum swings when he stopped, propped and snapped the lead-clenching major inside the game's final three minutes. But, of course, it wouldn't be so easy.

Collingwood came again. A hacked kick inside-50 with just a tick over 30 seconds remaining fell into Membrey's lap and, as he began his set-shot routine, the siren blared out and more than 80,000 delirious fans stood aghast. The kick went right, and the Western Bulldogs went into an elimination final.

Aaron Naughton joined Jones with four goals, Cody Weightman added a crucial couple himself, while Marcus Bontempelli (32 disposals, eight clearances, one goal) was among the game's best. They'll go again next week, with either Adelaide or Geelong on the horizon.

Nick Daicos (30 disposals, two goals) had spearheaded Collingwood's charge. Dan McStay kicked four himself and threatened to be the hero in Magpie colours as well, but it wouldn't be for Craig McRae's side. Membrey's miss proving the most devastating manner for a 2026 campaign full of 'what ifs?' to come to an end.

It had always loomed as a match that would threaten to go down to the wire. From the very outset, Collingwood had the game's big early moments but it was the Western Bulldogs that continually found the response.

A long bomb from Nick Daicos had cut through the caginess and tension that had shackled the game's early moments, producing the first big 'wow' moment of this year's finals campaign, while Charlie West soon had the Magpie Army in raptures when he produced a nutmeg of Buku Khamis off the deck to soccer in another.

But the Bulldogs were quietly going about their own business. A strong Bailey Dale intercept and a Jones chase-down tackle led to successive goals late in the first quarter, the first time any side had struck twice in succession, and enabled Luke Beveridge's side to sneak a nose ahead at the opening change.

Inspired by Bontempelli, the Dogs then tried to grab a foot hold in the contest. The captain first profited from a Nick Daicos turnover from a kick-in, turning the ankles of his superstar counterpart and then finishing on the run. At the other end, his huge first forced a behind and diffused a threatening situation in another moment that was just as important.

But after it led to three straight Bulldogs goals, it was then Collingwood's turn to respond. Ned Long was the next to profit from a flukish soccer-style effort off the turf, before McStay – a constant presence deep in attack – kicked his third of the half to ensure the Magpie deficit was limited to just 10 points at the main break.

Collingwood maybe should have been further behind than that. The Pies had produced nine fewer clearances and 12 fewer entries at half time, yet it was the goals and the hulking figure of McStay keeping them in it. Another couple of marks to start the second half, which led to a fourth goal, narrowed the margin even further.

It means the nervousness of finals ratcheted up, with both sides feeling it. Fumbles, mistakes and countless turnovers under barely any physical pressure suddenly became a recurring theme, as both sides sought find a breakaway moment. It was one that wouldn't eventuate just yet.

The Dogs tried – both Naughton and Jones added to their tallies in quick succession, making it three apiece for both – but the Magpies kept finding the answers. This time, as the third quarter ebbed towards its final stages, it was Nick Daicos displaying that famous arch of his back to evade a tackler and slot home on the run.

The gap was closing. When a fortuitous Nick Daicos free led to Darcy Cameron profiting, it became a kick. And when Angus Anderson streamed forward moments later, it became a point. For the first time all night, the 'Coll-ing-wood' chant was ringing around the MCG and the feel of September felt on the horizon.

By this point, it had started to feel like a prize fight. Ed Richards sharked a goal, Anderson countered at the other end. Jones' brilliant chase and instinctive prod put one on a plate for Cody Weightman, before Collingwood went bang-bang first through Jordan De Goey and then through Jack Crisp.

Naughton had a fourth from the next centre clearance, Membrey then had an immediate reply straight after. As the clock raced towards zeroes, and a packed MCG held its collective breath amid the non-stop action, both the lead and the moment zipped back and forth blindingly.

Even when the electric Jones snapped through the goal that would prove to be the ultimate winner, you knew the match was destined for one final moment. That fell upon Membrey, his kick after the siren fading at the very last minute and proving the final action of Collingwood's season. The Dogs, on the other end, would live to see another dramatic day.

Bevo brings back the sub
Remember those? Luke Beveridge certainly does. The Western Bulldogs used Ryan Gardner as a quasi-sub on Friday night. The defender didn't play a single minute of the first half, and even went through the customary sprints and run throughs at the intervals to ensure he stayed warm. Having been serviceable in a makeshift ruck role during an upset victory over Melbourne last week, Gardner was finally unleashed 13 minutes into the second half and came on in place of the returning Tim English and straight back into the middle. Unsurprisingly, his 16 per cent time on ground was the lowest anyone managed and he finished with just three disposals and one mark to his name.

Ed goes to Ed
Given the riches in the Western Bulldogs midfield, there were queries as to where Collingwood coach Craig McRae would place his tagger Ed Allan. In the end, he went to his namesake in Ed Richards. It was a shrewd move, given Richards' form across the season – he was arguably the stiffest of anyone to miss All-Australian selection on Tuesday night – and particularly throughout a dominant last month. But while Richards was still prolific, finishing with 25 disposals, seven clearances and a goal, a series of other Dogs players were also able to get off the chain. Marcus Bontempelli, who had 32 disposals, eight clearances and a goal himself, being chief among them.

WESTERN BULLDOGS       4.1     7.6     10.8    14.12 (96)
COLLINGWOOD                4.0     6.2     8.8      14.9 (93)
 
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Naughton 4, Jones 4, Weightman 2, Kennedy, Bontempelli, Davidson, Richards
Collingwood: McStay 4, N.Daicos 2, Anderson 2, West, Long, Cameron, De Goey, Crisp, Membrey
 
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Jones, Naughton, Kennedy, Dale, Freijah
Collingwood: N.Daicos, McStay, McCreery, Swadling, Lipinski, J.Daicos
 
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Matthew Kennedy (concussion)
Collingwood: Nil
 
Crowd: 81,036 at the MCG