Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell and Steele Sidebottom celebrate as the final siren sounds. Credit:Vince Caligiuri It was lost too on Luke Ball, shunned by St Kilda last year, overlooked by the Saints' coaches' box in the final quarter of 2009 when a premiership was there for the taking and who overcame last week's anxiety to outplay his old teammate and last week's Norm Smith hero, Lenny Hayes. After the siren Alan Didak, who was holding the ball and a premiership in his hands, managed a shimmy for the crowd and Harry O'Brien leapt for joy. Not Ball. Upon receiving his medal he simply held it close. Earlier he had shaken hands with several of his old teammates and told Hayes he loved him. ''Something I've learned to do better this year,'' Ball said later, ''is to live in the moment.'' Nor was the grand final rematch a letdown for the only premiership player in the Collingwood side before 5.30pm yesterday in ruckman Darren Jolly. Five years after making history with Sydney, Jolly, like his mature age recruit teammate Ball, was outstanding against a depleted St Kilda in the ruck. And it was lost on Heath Shaw who made the first and ultimately most significant statement of this grand final encore when he sprinted about 30 metres as if his life depended on it to smother what loomed as a certain goal from Saints captain Nick Riewoldt as he played on 20 minutes into the first quarter just two metres from goal. The moment was as mentally crushing for the already struggling Saints as it was historically redemptive for Collingwood. Riewoldt did not kick a goal all afternoon; his outclassed midfield and young Magpie opponent Nathan Brown putting paid to that. Shaw, who was outstanding, was watched from the stands by his father, Ray, who played in five grand finals for the Magpies, including a replay, and never won one.
For St Kilda, who put on a brave collective face at the final siren given the result had become obvious shortly after half-time, there was only heartbreak for Brendon Goddard who made last week's big statement with one of the great grand final marks and a goal which should have ended it all one week ago. Goddard attempted to hide his tears by pulling his Saints guernsey over his face but was still inconsolable in the rooms after the game. When Collingwood do win premierships they tend to win them well. They win them in October and the name Shaw tends to have a bearing on the result. It has been 20 years since the Magpies' last flag - the first premiership achieved in the newly expanded AFL - and that team was captained by Tony Shaw, the 1990 Norm Smith winner. Back then Eddie McGuire was standing on the ground, a young Channel Ten reporter leaping for joy at the final siren. When a Dale Thomas snap put the result beyond doubt four minutes into the final term McGuire's emotion turned into tears. Several minutes later those who lined up to congratulate him included the Premier John Brumby, the federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and the widow of Collingwood great Jack Hamilton. Mr Brumby lost his father, Malcolm, last weekend and missed the first 2010 grand final. He only came yesterday, he said, because his mother had encouraged him. He told McGuire that yesterday was the crowning moment of 12 years of hard work by the AFL's most recognisable president in rebuilding a football club - once mighty that had fallen but now averages crowds of more than 70,000 a week. Eleven years ago McGuire and Malthouse joined forces to make the once great club again the most powerful force in the AFL. Fourteen months ago McGuire gave that dream a deadline and Malthouse, who has now coached three premierships at two clubs, responded accordingly. ''I can say this now,'' said Malthouse, as he stood atop football's happiest place, the premiership dais, ''because there's only one year to go I think Ed. They are my boys and I love them dearly and they've been outstanding this year.''
Malthouse's successor, Nathan Buckley, watched Nick Maxwell achieve what he could not as Collingwood captain but this did not dilute his joy as he embraced former teammates and stood diplomatically at the back of the circle as they sang their homage to a premiership which yesterday truly was a ''cakewalk''. Leon Davis avoided taking part in the medal presentation and had to be forced into the group as the song was sung. The rematch was played before 93,853 - impressive by most standards but a crowd that embarrassed the Melbourne Cricket Club and its rows of vacant seats in the northern stand's top tier and which the AFL squarely blamed on the MCC's refusal to sell all of its allocated members reserve before the game. ''We believe they should ticket the reserve,'' said chairman Mike Fitzpatrick. ''Then 6000 extra people would have seen the game.'' AFL chief Andrew Demetriou said he remained a fan of the replay system, adding that the AFL had actually improved its pregame entertainment with Julie Anthony, who performed a moving rendition of the national anthem, and a spirited Lionel Richie, acclaimed by the crowd. ''It's just disappointing that thousands of people didn't get to come and the MCC didn't sell all those tickets,'' he said. ''People missed out this week who could have come. For heaven's sake this is 2010.'' Demetriou said the AFL would again hold talks with the MCC in a bid to persuade the club to change its walk-up policy for big games. St Kilda has now played three grand finals in just over one year for no premiership and still just one to its name. ''There's no recriminations out of this,'' said coach Ross Lyon. ''We give extraordinary effort and we've got a good system but that fell short. But we're not going to give up and concede because the St Kilda Football Club is a great club and that's our charter to improve and ultimately we've come close.'' Premiership captain Maxwell, who one week earlier had described the rematch system as ''a joke'', this week thanked ''the AFL for allowing us to play this great game every week''. He paid tribute to the Saints whom he urged to ''stick with it'' in the belief they would be up there again next year and to the exuberant Magpie army he saved his final tribute: ''It's been a long 20 years and you've stuck with us - this one's for you guys.''
St Kilda won their only premiership in 1966 against Collingwood by one point
Traditionally struggling on "the last day in September,"  won their fifteenth premiership on "the first Saturday in October." Almost 20 years to the day after their last premiership — they won the 1990 premiership on October 6 that year — and a day over 33 years since the last drawn Grand Final, Collingwood defeated St Kilda 16-12 108 to 7-10 52.

"This is the best feeling I’ve ever had, let’s hope there’s a few more to come,” Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury told Channel 7.

The two teams had drawn last weeks Grand Final. Under the 's current rules, a drawn Grand Final is replayed the next week, while games played during the proceeding three weeks go to extra time and teams get two premirership points each.

In 1990, Collingwood drew with West Coast in the Qualifying Final, which, under the rules at the time, was replayed, pushing the remain games to a week later.

St Kilda kicked one goal and eight behinds to half time. Suprisingly they only trailed by four and a half goals. They kicked six goals and two behinds in the second half but Collingwood continued to extend their lead, kicking ten goals and six behinds for the half.

The previous Grand Final replay was in 1977 when the competition was still known as the Victorian Football League. On that day Collingwood lost to North Melbourne.

Collingwood finished top of the ladder after the 22 Home and away season matches with four losses and a draw. They defeated  by 62 points in the  then  by 41 points in the .

St Kilda finished third. They defeated Geelong by four points in  then the Western Bulldogs by 24 points in the .