JACK Darling reckons he long ago cast aside his Grand Final nightmare from 2015, but most others hadn't forgotten.

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The usually sticky-handed West Coast forward's spilled chest mark at a key stage that day – with his Eagles mounting a charge at Hawthorn – had haunted his reputation ever since.

Darling's shot at redemption finally arrived on Saturday, and not even another hard-to-believe dropped mark on his own on the goalline in the dying stages could ruin his afternoon.

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This was far from the 26-year-old's finest performance in a mostly brilliant season, but his powerhouse third quarter forever altered his big-game status.

A dirty three-disposal opening half, with Collingwood two goals up after a ferocious early onslaught, threatened to make Darling the butt of jokes for many more years.

But a different player emerged from the rooms, even if the man himself thought little changed.

He suddenly ran to the right spots, the marks most importantly stuck – six of them in the third quarter alone, including four contested – and West Coast began playing through him.

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When the Eagles had the chance to set up in attack, it was Darling rather than Josh Kennedy who went to the goalsquare, so hot was he for that 30-minute period.

The twin towers ultimately combined for 18 marks, with Kennedy booting three goals and Darling one.

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"We stuck to our guns and I ended up having a bit of an impact in the third quarter and the rest is history," Darling said.

"I just did what I was doing in that first half and, as a forward, sometimes your luck changes, or the ball movement changes, and it came my way.

"I was reading the play a bit quicker … but I wouldn't care if I had four touches and no goals, if we won the premiership."

His emotion-charged embrace with his wife Courtney and son Max in the rooms afterwards – wedged between a series of interviews – was in stark contrast to his despondent 2015 self.

"It feels amazing. It's what I've always dreamt of," he said.

And as for that dropped mark: "I was thinking about if I was going to play on and kick a goal, so it was a bit unfortunate, but in the end it didn't cost us."