SNAPSHOT OF THE COLLINGWOOD-GWS AFL SEMI-FINAL.

* Result: Collingwood 9.15 (69) def GWS 9.5 (59) at MCG.

* The lowdown: Barely anything separated the two sides for three quarters in what proved to be a highly-contested arm-wrestle of a game. But the Magpies, led by inspirational forward Jordan De Goey, booted the first three goals of the final quarter and held on from there in front of a 72,504 crowd.

* Key moment: De Goey lit the spark for the Magpies at the start of the final term with a brilliant gather and handball which set up a Travis Varcoe goal. Minutes later he booted his third major to put the Magpies out to an unassailable 21-point lead.

* Key stats: All-Australian defender Lachie Whitfield had 31 disposals, eight marks and 12 contested possessions in a near-complete performance. But with the exception of prime mover Stephen Coniglio, he had far too little support from his GWS teammates.

* Tribunal watch: A halftime melee which involved almost every player on the ground is certain to result in a plenty of fines being handed down. Collingwood midfielder Taylor Adams exchanged glancing blows with Toby Greene during the fiery second quarter but there wasn’t much in it.

* Injuries: Brayden Sier (Coll, corked quad), Scott Pendlebury (Coll, corked leg), Phil Davis (GWS, shoulder).

* What’s next? Collingwood head into a blockbuster preliminary final against Richmond next Friday night at what is certain to be a near-capacity MCG. GWS bow out of contention after failing back up their elimination final trouncing of Sydney.