Undermanned Pies head west and snatch a game they had no right to win

This was a game Collingwood had no right to win.

Fremantle were surging. Already missing four of their best players and coming off a five-day break, the Pies had Nick Daicos battling injury then lost Lachie Schultz to a head knock moments after activating the sub.

But no side is better at finding ways to win than Fly’s Pies, who are celebrating another famous win on the road after holding off the Dockers to win by 14 points – 15.7 (97) to 12.11 (83).

Missing Scott Pendlebury, Brayden Maynard, Jordan De Goey and Brody Mihocek, the Pies found other heroes.

They do not win without Jamie Elliott, who made a feast out of meagre rations to boot a career-best six goals, or Jack Crisp, the ironman who recovered from the heartbreak of last week with 29 disposals and two goals, including a priceless goal in the last term to halt the Dockers’ run.

They can also thank Bobby Hill, who, like Elliott, made plenty from limited opportunities to kick three vital goals.

The win has come at a cost. Daicos was clearly hampered by an injury to his left hip in the first quarter but played a key role in the last quarter with seven possessions.

Schultz went head first in laying a tackle on Jordan Clark and was immediately in a bad way as play continued around him.

For Freo, this was an improved performance after last week’s debacle against St Kilda, but the defeat adds to the pressure on coach Justin Longmuir, whose team is now 4-5 after starting the season with many tipping them to make the eight.

Thanks so much for joining us, everyone.

We will be back with another AFL live blog on Friday night so please join us then and we’ll have more Collingwood coverage in the days to come.

Bye for now.

Magpies coach Craig McRae agrees with his captain Darcy Moore that play should have been stopped to make sure concussed teammate Lachie Schultz could be removed from the ground.

But McRae, who was coaching from the bench at the time, also acknowledged it was a frantic situation for his club’s medical team with Schultz determined to stand up and keep playing despite his condition.

“Fingers crossed Lachie is OK, he’s an important part of what we do and he had a great night tonight and I’m really pleased for him to come home, not so much home but back here, and perform so well for a team he played for,” McRae said post game.

“We were all worried about his welfare. We sent out a stretcher and the doctors were trying all they could to make sure Lachie was OK and he jumped to his feet because that is just the way he goes. He gets knocked down, he gets back up after every contest.

“So we did what we could, ideally, we should stop the game.”

This was a game Collingwood had no right to win.

Fremantle were surging. Already missing four of their best players and coming off a five-day break, the Pies had Nick Daicos battling injury then lost Lachie Schultz to a head knock moments after activating the sub.

But no side is better at finding ways to win than Fly’s Pies, who are celebrating another famous win on the road after holding off the Dockers to win by 14 points – 15.7 (97) to 12.11 (83).

Missing Scott Pendlebury, Brayden Maynard, Jordan De Goey and Brody Mihocek, the Pies found other heroes.

They do not win without Jamie Elliott, who made a feast out of meagre rations to boot a career-best six goals, or Jack Crisp, the ironman who recovered from the heartbreak of last week with 29 disposals and two goals, including a priceless goal in the last term to halt the Dockers’ run.

They can also thank Bobby Hill, who, like Elliott, made plenty from limited opportunities to kick three vital goals.

The win has come at a cost. Daicos was clearly hampered by an injury to his left hip in the first quarter but played a key role in the last quarter with seven possessions.

Schultz went head first in laying a tackle on Jordan Clark and was immediately in a bad way as play continued around him.

For Freo, this was an improved performance after last week’s debacle against St Kilda, but the defeat adds to the pressure on coach Justin Longmuir, whose team is now 4-5 after starting the season with many tipping them to make the eight.