SOMETIMES the script just doesn't go your way.

Jack Crisp – in his record-setting 245th consecutive game – took a tumbling mark 45m from goal, and had an opportunity to win the game for Collingwood with a kick after the siren.

MAGPIES v CATS Full match coverage and stats

But his shot drifted right, his teammates immediately hugging him regardless of the result, and slightly confused fans waited till the Geelong theme song started blaring before they worked out just what was going on.

The Cats ended up scraping over the line by three points, 13.12 (90) to 12.15 (87) in a see-sawing affair at the MCG.

It had been a night for the battle of the heavyweights.

While the eyes of (some of) the nation were firmly glued to the national election, Collingwood and Geelong slugged it out on the MCG, and it's safe to say it was a much more engaging battle.

With the election all but called just before the first break, the Pies and Cats continued to trade blows.

But if you can keep your head while all around are losing theirs, you might just come away with the four points.

In the end it was Geelong which stood tall – just – under finals-like pressure, led by skipper Patrick Dangerfield, playing as a permanent forward and seeming to take on the very early "Collingwood" chant in the crowd as a personal challenge.

Lachie Schultz appeared to have kicked truly from 50 with 3.30 left, but the goal umpire determining the ball had skimmed a few hands on its way through, and there was insufficient evidence in the score review to overturn his decision.

Brody Mihocek's third with 2.30 on the clock cut the margin to 10, and his fourth to four points with just 20 seconds remaining. 

Then it was time for Crisp, who heartbreakingly couldn't quite finish the job as he passed the late Melbourne great Jim Stynes' long-standing record.

The Pies had led by as much as 20 points in the third quarter, but such was their dominance, the margin felt like it was sitting around 35.

Bailey Smith and a few crucial Dangerfield touches dragged Geelong back in, the margin just seven at three-quarter time.

Three Collingwood behinds early in the fourth term didn't create enough of a buffer, and Ollies Henry and Dempsey feasted on the rebound, the former Pie pouncing on an errant Darcy Moore handball to kick truly.

Dempsey has threatened to take a mark of the year contender in seemingly every match he's played over the past two seasons, and finally landed one on the shoulders of Steele Sidebottom in the goalsquare. 

The resultant goal was Geelong's fourth for the opening term, before the Pies began to grind their way back into the contest.

In the absence of Tom Stewart (knee), the Cats appeared a tall short in defence, veteran Mitch Duncan in for his first game of the season and not known for his one-on-one defensive prowess, while Mark O'Connor was forced to play above his height.

Having started on the wing, Mark Blicavs was thrown in defence after the first break, but was also required as ruck relief due to Rhys Stanley's untimely hamstring injury just before quarter-time, with young key forward Shannon Neale taking the lion's share of the contests.

But at their feet, Nick Daicos continued to reign supreme, recording 17 disposals to half-time and shaking off the attention of Oisin Mullin, while Geelong seemingly still has no answer for Scott Pendlebury in his 20th season.

Collingwood's defensive pressure was excellent – while Geelong looked very dangerous early out the back, the Pies adjusted for the middle two terms, panicking the Cats into skill errors while exiting defence.

Peter Pan Pendles
There's maximising an AFL career, and then there's Scott Pendlebury. The 37-year-old may have given away the captaincy a few years ago, but there's no doubt he still leads from the front. There's a chance he's half-a-step slower these days, but his immense footy IQ means he knows how to still have maximum impact on the game. His superb curling goal in the third – taking the margin to a then-game high 19 – was icing on the cake. 

Bailey kickstarts the Cats
Bailey Smith had recorded 15 to half-time, but it hadn't been the star recruit's most impactful game. But as the margin drifted out to 20 halfway through the third term, Smith put his headband down and battled through, providing equal parts spark and grunt as he racked up 10 for the term. Jeremy Cameron – previously unsighted – bobbed up to kick a sharp curler, while Shaun Mannagh's uncanny knack of crucial majors continued with an opportunistic goal. It took the margin to seven at the final break.

COLLINGWOOD     4.5     7.7     10.10     12.15 (87)
GEELONG                  4.2     6.6     9.9     13.12 (90)

GOALS
Collingwood: Mihocek 4, Hill, Cox, Cameron, Houston, Elliott, N.Daicos, Pendlebury, Membrey
Geelong: Mannagh 2, Dempsey 2, O.Henry 2, Neale, Blicavs, Smith, Cameron, Wiltshire, Dangerfield, Bowes 

BEST
Collingwood: N.Daicos, Pendlebury, Cameron, J. Daicos, Sidebottom, Mihocek
Geelong: Dangerfield, Smith, Blicavs, Holmes, Atkins, Dempsey

INJURIES
Collingwood: Nil
Geelong: Stanley (hamstring)

SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Will Hoskin Elliott (replaced Mason Cox in the fourth quarter)
Geelong: Oliver Wiltshire (replaced Rhys Stanley at quarter-time)

Crowd: 82,514 at the MCG