Melbourne beat Collingwood by 4 Points In Nailbiter

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has lauded his players’ resilience after a gritty four-point win over Collingwood which puts the Demons within sight of the AFL’s top two.

The Dees overcame an early three-goal deficit and a slew of missed shots to snap the Magpies’ eight-match winning streak with an 8.18 (66) to 9.8 (62) victory at the MCG on Monday.

Goodwin’s men looked home until goals from Brody Mihocek and Nick Daicos deep into time-on during the last quarter dragged the Magpies back within a kick.

Melbourne recruit Brodie Grundy has stood tall in a thrilling four-point win over his old side Collingwood which puts the Demons within sight of the AFL’s top two.

The Dees overcame poor goal-kicking to snap the Magpies’ eight-match winning streak with a 8.18 (66) to 9.8 (62) victory at the MCG on Monday.

Simon Goodwin’s men looked home until goals from Brody Mihocek and Nick Daicos deep into time-on of the last quarter dragged the Magpies back within a kick.

But there was no fairytale for the comeback kings this time as the Demons hung on in the desperate final exchanges.

Melbourne forward Bayley Fritsch kicked three goals in a low-scoring affair and Jack Viney was best afield with 32 disposals.

The tough midfielder tallied 19 contested possessions, 11 tackles, nine clearances and a goal, starring despite hurting his shoulder in a third-quarter collision with Beau McCreery.

Angus Brayshaw (25 touches, six clearances), Christian Petracca (28, six) and Lachie Hunter (28, one) were the Demons’ chief ball-winners.

Forced out by the Magpies last year to ease salary cap pressure, Grundy endured jeers from Collingwood fans after missing an early set shot.

But the experienced ruckman made up for it with a third-quarter goal and finished with 26 hit-outs and 13 disposals in an important contribution.

Collingwood’s Patrick Lipinski kicked two goals in his return from a long-term shoulder injury as Tom Mitchell (30), Jack Crisp (28), Nick Daicos (27) and Taylor Adams (27) racked up plenty of touches.

Magpies skipper Darcy Moore played out the game despite requiring treatment on an ankle injury in the change room during the final term.

The huge crowd of 83,578 went wild for bone-crunching collisions between Hunter and Will Hoskin-Elliott and opposing ruckmen Max Gawn and Mason Cox during a tight first half.

The Magpies enjoyed an eight-point advantage at that stage but threw away a half-time lead for the first time under Craig McRae, after 19 straight wins from that position.

Melbourne kicked the first three goals of the second half, including one to Grundy, but saw their lead cut back to one point when Lipinski kicked the first major of the final quarter.

Set shots were an issue for the Demons throughout the afternoon and they got the wobbles when Joel Smith, Kysaiah Pickett and Fritsch all missed with the game on the line.

Alex Neal-Bullen and Jacob van Rooyen slotted steadiers before the late goals to Mihocek and Daicos made for a nervous final 26 seconds.

But Melbourne hung on for their second win of the year against a current top-eight side, improving their season record to 9-4.

They sit two wins behind ladder leaders Collingwood and Port Adelaide (both 11-2) heading into their mid-season bye.