Collingwood and Geelong meet under the bright MCG lights for a game between juggernauts which will go a long way to shaping the finals picture.
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Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:35pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:35pm
Magpies vs Cats live
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Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:56pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:56pm
Ollie Dempsey has two
By Dean Bilton
Again Dempsey lurks forward into a pocket of space and again Crisp loses him for a split second. A clever checkside makes the Pies pay full price.
Nick Daicos is still on the bench, boot off, getting a pretty significant rub down on the top of his foot and ankle. I'm sure he'll be OK, but not ideal.
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:54pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:54pm
Dan McStay gets the Pies on the board
By Dean Bilton
A double Daicos delight there. First Nick's incredible kick back into the corridor to his brother Josh, and then an equally good kick from Josh to McStay on the lead.
Perfect ball use and a perfect finish from McStay from 50.
Nick has left the field though to get a foot problem looked at.
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:50pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:50pm
Ollie Henry's dribbler beats Pat Lipinski on the line!
By Dean Bilton
Henry rushed his shot because the kick to him was touched off the boot. The ball dribbled its way towards the goal with Lipinski in hot pursuit.
It looked like Lipinski was certain to get there before the line, but the ball took a naughty bounce at the last split second and somehow evaded his fingertips. First three to the Cats.
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:45pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:45pm
Ollie Dempsey kicks Geelong's second
By Dean Bilton
Lovely grab from Dempsey, soaring up the back of Crisp to mark strongly overhead. The set shot was very neat too from a tight angle.
The Pies are putting a lot of work into these Geelong wingers, but from a repeat entry Crisp just lost Dempsey for a crucial moment.
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:41pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:41pm
Cats on top in the contest, Pies looking slick on the outside
By Dean Bilton
Really interesting battle unfolding at the moment, the strengths of both sides coming to the fore already. Collingwood missing a bit of forward connection early which is costing them after some good ball movement.
Clearances well in favour of the Cats for now.
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:34pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:34pm
And now the game has started
By Dean Bilton
Right, the footy. Here we go.
Much ado about nothing that, really. Think I'd prefer to hear my team's song to start the game, but every day I can feel myself aging, my youth disappearing further and further behind me, the world I've accelarated into no longer built for me or even interested in me. I know I'm not old, but at a certain point if you're not young, what's the difference?
Shannon Neale has kicked an early goal for Geelong.
Key Event
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:32pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:32pm
The revolutionary pre-game activation is upon us
By Dean Bilton
Nick Daicos is chuckling a little as he leads the Pies out. Then he swears loudly. Think of the poor kiddies.
But here come the Pies, to fireworks and smoke and flashing lights. They've gone with Heads Will Roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as they run out. There was talk earlier in the week of ripping off Port's Never Tear Us Apart (which in itself is a rip off of Liverpool's You'll Never Walk Alone), but they most certainly have not gone in that direction.
The Cats are out to slightly less fanfare behind them. And now the players take their positions.
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:27pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:27pm
The lights are off at the MCG
By Dean Bilton
Right, here we go. The light show has begun and the music is pumping. The players are still in the room but ready to run out.
The game is set to start in five minutes.
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:14pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:14pm
Warm-ups are still ongoing
By Dean Bilton
(Getty Images)We're on "new pre-game" watch. The players are still going through their warm-ups now and won't run onto the field until 7.29pm, with the aim for a 7.32pm start.
Doesn't really feel like this game needs any extra build up, but Collingwood was keen to trial something new so here we are.
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:08pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 7:08pm
Turn it down
By Dean Bilton
a light show and music? Call me old fashioned, but i hate all the hoohaa that goes on at games now. You can’t even chat to your friends in the crowd after a goal is scored or in the breaks - you are drowned out by music and some bellowing lunatic like Karl Langdon screaming at you. Enough!
- Viscount Bradford
Fundamentally agree, Viscount. I'm a proud hater of songs after goals and the manufactured shouty hype at quarter-time breaks (no shade to Karl).
I'll give this pre-game situation the benefit of the doubt for now to see how it goes. But yes, it is a slippery slope to basketball-style sound effects and "DE-FENCE" chants over the loudspeaker.
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 6:54pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 6:54pm
The game within the game
By Dean Bilton
(Getty Images)Eyes will be drawn to this match-up all night as the league's best tagger Oisin Mullin tries to shut down the league's best player Nick Daicos. It's going to be a fascinating contest between these two, the outcome of which may well decide the game.
Key Event
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 6:41pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 6:41pm
Final Magpies-Cats teams are in
By Dean Bilton
(AFL.com.au)No late changes for either side.
One change each during the week. Brayden Maynard is out with a knee problem, but Lachie Schultz is a handy in for the Pies.
The Cats have rested Patrick Dangerfield for this game, despite him wanting to play according to coach Chris Scott. Jack Martin is in to replace him.
Key Event
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 6:31pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 6:31pm
Things are looking a little different tonight pre-game
By Dean Bilton
Wait a minute, why have they announced the result of the coin toss an hour and a half before the start of the game? Well, things are going to look a wee bit different before the bounce for this one.
(Getty Images)The coin toss has been done ahead of time, and teams will each go through their warm ups on the field well in advance of the game starting. All of this is to make the entrance onto the field more of an event, with a light show and music (not the club songs like usual) as the players run out.
Then they'll take their positions almost immediately and get the game underway. Hey, why not? Let's see how it looks.
Key Event
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 6:31pm
Thu 30 Jul 2026 at 6:31pm
Welcome to Thursday night footy
By Dean Bilton
(Getty Images)Good evening and welcome back to ABC Sport's live blog coverage of the 2026 AFL season. We're at the MCG on this fine Thursday night for a game of some significance as Collingwood and Geelong clash under the lights.
These are two teams currently in the wildcard positions, but a win for either side would move them up inside the top six. With only three home and away games remaining after this one, it could be a decisive fixture for both of these clubs on the road to September.
Two of the biggest clubs in the land playing on the biggest stage with heaps at stake? Sign me up on a Thursday night. Stick around and we can enjoy it all together.
