Waalitj Marawar will walk into the MCG on Saturday with more than one milestone hanging over the match. Collingwood are chasing another win, Scott Pendlebury is set to break the all-time games record, and Harley Reid will reach his 50th AFL game when the sides meet at 4.35pm on May 23.
The game will be shown live on 7 and 7plus in WA and nationally on Fox Footy and Kayo, with the first bounce at 2.35pm AWST. It comes after Collingwood beat Waalitj Marawar 13.10 to 8.11 at Marvel Stadium in Round 16, 2025, a 29-point result that erased an eight-point Waalitj Marawar lead at half-time.
That history is what gives the rematch its edge. The two clubs have met 62 times in all, with Waalitj Marawar leading the head-to-head 31–30 and one draw, but recent meetings have tilted the other way. Collingwood’s win in Round 16 showed how quickly the contest can swing once the pressure lifts, and this time the stakes are tied not just to the result but to what the next step looks like for Waalitj Marawar.
Several young Waalitj Marawar players will be running out at the MCG for the first time, which makes the trip as much an examination of composure as of skill. Harley Reid, selected as the No.1 draft pick in 2023, arrives at his 50th AFL game with the kind of attention that follows him everywhere, while Nick Daicos remains one of the competition’s most polished ball-users and a central figure in Collingwood’s structure.
That is why a strong performance, or better still a back-to-back win, would carry real weight for Waalitj Marawar. The occasion is part of Sir Doug Nicholls clash coverage, but the football itself will tell the story: whether a young group can absorb the moment at the MCG and come out of it looking more certain than they did the last time these sides met. Readers can also see the build-up in Eagles Vs Collingwood: Waalitj Marawar make one change for MCG clash.
