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Sport Nation
The talking points from Collingwood's clutch Big Freeze win
Jaiden Sciberras • June 9th, 2025 8:26 pm
Big Freeze 11 was the perfect celebration of all things Australia.
From legends of our nation taking on the slide, to the iconic King's Birthday battle between Melbourne and Collingwood, the MCG gave a whole new meaning to the Monday blues.
Amongst a sea of beanies, Australia went arm in arm with the great Neale Daniher, stepping up to raise money for the fight against MND.
Topping off the occasion, the contest between the two sides went down to the final seconds, with an extremely late-game turnover sealing the deal as the Pies escaped with a one-point victory for the ages!
In case you missed the beautiful spectacle, here are the top moments across the public holiday special!
Controversial calls and questionable moments
There will certainly be a range of conversations surrounding a few late game calls over the coming week.
Did Beau McCreery run too far? Did Nick Daicos play for his late free-kick? Moments like these matter in close games, and there is no doubt each decision will be dissected and debated for an eternity.
That's not to say that the Demons did not have their chance to steal the contest at the death.
+9 inside 50's, a Bailey Fritsch blunder costing a goal, Max Gawn's late turnover and Kozzie's 50m penalty, Melbourne certainly had their opportunities to take the lead and hold on.
Regardless, Collingwood's late-game record must be commended, as their cool heads took charge when it mattered to firmly nail on their spot atop the AFL ladder.
Lockdown Langdon
Taking on one of the biggest challenges in the competition, Ed Langdon took on the responsibility of tagging Nick Daicos.
Entering King’s Birthday in stellar form, the star Magpie was worthy some warranted attention, and Langdon delivered on the role as well as any has.
Holding Daicos to just 19 touches, Ed Langdon’s efforts deserve a level of appreciation.
Credit where it’s due, Daicos did not give up on the contest, working his way into the game in the second half after a significant lack of impact in the early stages.
A great fight between two top players, Langdon will walk away rather pleased with his efforts across the day.
The battle of the backs
In a game that came down to moments, it was the key defensive stocks that rose to the occasion.
On either end of the field, Jeremy Howe and Steven May were impenetrable, putting on a clinic in a hotly contested game.
Between the defenders, Howe and May combined for 42 disposals, 23 intercept possessions and 13 marks, controlling the deep entries across the afternoon.
Standing up when called up and refusing to give up the fight, the two stars of our game put on performances extremely fitting for the occasion.
A clash of teammates at the death
A little bit of spice in the dying moments!
After taking a strong intercept mark with less than a minute remaining in the contest, Max Gawn needed to move the ball fast to give his side the best chance of bagging a late winner.
Unfortunately, the skipper would want his time again, unloading a mis-hit torpedo falling right in the lap of Will Hoskin-Elliot and ultimately wrapping up the win for the Pies.
In rather unusual fashion, key defender Steven May had a few aggressive words with his captain following the final siren, with the situation needing de-escalation from young defender Daniel Turner.
What was said will certainly steal a number of headlines.
Neale Daniher's guard of honour
Win or lose, Neale's pre-game moment was one of the more touching sights in our game's recent history.
The great Neale Daniher took to the field to face the sea of blue, met with a spine-tingling applause from each of the 77,761 fans.
Fighting one of the great fights, Daniher received a guard of honour from the players of both sides, coming together to support the Australian of the Year and one of our nation's greatest ever.
Barely a dry-eye in the house, moments like these reflect just what it means to be Australian.
