The Magpies are coming off a loss to the Suns as they prepare to face the Bombers. (AAP: Dave Hunt)
In short
Andrew McGrath disagrees with the argument Collingwood has lost its ability to come from behind to win tight matches.
AFL great Jonathan Brown had suggested the Magpies have lost their "aura".
What's next?
Collingwood and Essendon meet in a top-eight clash at the MCG on Friday night.
Essendon vice-captain Andrew McGrath has rejected suggestions Collingwood has lost some of its late-match "aura" following a narrow loss to Gold Coast.
Since Craig McRae took over as coach in 2022, the Magpies have become the AFL's masters of closing out matches and running down deficits.
When they hit the lead late in the last quarter against the Suns in Carrara on Saturday, the result seemed a foregone conclusion.
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But the Suns were able to grab back the momentum, going on to record a morale-boosting 11-point win against the reigning premiers.
The result prompted Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown to question whether the sixth-placed Magpies had lost their "aura" and insist they had problems in their premiership defence.
But McGrath said the Magpies remained a premiership threat and still had the ability to fight back late in matches.
"They've done it to us a few times in the past and we know and respect how good a side they are," said McGrath, who will play his 150th AFL match on Friday night.
"They've been a great team for a long period of time and we're preparing for them at their absolute best.
"We know what strategies they do late in games, [but] it's one thing knowing and another thing trying to stop it and arrest it. We're prepared for that."
After Essendon and Collingwood played out a thrilling draw on Anzac Day, Friday night's meeting shapes as an even more important encounter given how the rivals are placed.
The Bombers are also coming off a defeat last Saturday — a 45-point loss to Geelong — leaving them delicately positioned in fourth.
Although coach Brad Scott believes it is not an issue, Essendon is yet to beat a team currently sitting inside the top eight this season.
McGrath insisted the Bombers had learned from their loss against the Cats, particularly the third-quarter collapse that Scott labelled a "series of unfortunate events".
"A few calls didn't go our way, but that's footy and that happens. We weren't able to arrest the momentum," he said.
"Geelong, like Collingwood, are a great side. You give them too much time and space and they make you pay."