They were the signature moments of the preliminary final, and they belonged to big Mason Cox. Twice Collingwood, already supreme after a brilliant first quarter, pumped the Sherrin into Cox, the man from Dallas, Texas who two weeks earlier, played such a poor final in Perth that fans wanted him dumped. Twice he ripped the ball from the sky, gathered himself, and slotted through neat kicks for goal. The game was already at breaking point for Richmond. Then Scott Pendlebury speared a pass inboard from the boundary at the 11-minute mark and poor Trent Cotchin, Richmond’s worthy and brave captain, tried to cut it off, darting into the no-man’s-land. The 211-centimetre, 108-kilogram Cox was on the charge and he put his knee into the shoulder blades of Cotchin, took the free ride, crushed Cotchin like an ant and grabbed the footy from the air as though it were a tennis ball.

Palming the Sherrin in his right hand as he landed, Cox looked like he was about to slam dunk as he would have done many times back at Oklahoma State University, and kicked his third goal in a row. Loading "U-S-A, U-S-A," they chanted still, and it was one of those moments that made you pinch yourself, for perhaps not since the reverend Billy Graham preached to more than 100,000 can an American have so captivated the MCG. Four years after he first put his hands on the oblong ball and decided to have a crack at Australian footy, Mason Cox made his mark ... again and again, nine times before three-quarter-time and 11 times for the match. David Astbury, dwarfed by the American, was humiliated until he was shifted forward in the final quarter.

Collingwood rag-dolled Richmond for all the first half and it was Jordan De Goey who started the party, the maverick kid from Ashburton who like Dane Swan before him, nearly lost his way through ill-discipline. He had Alex Rance for company from the opening bounce, a show of respect. But De Goey beat Rance point blank, kicking four goals including one in the second quarter where he pushed the multiple all-Australian full-back under the ball and trapped the football in one hand, an indignity for the great Tiger. The resulting goal made the margin 53 points and pretty much game over. Richmond found their mojo too late, moving within 27 points early in the final quarter on the back of Jack Riewoldt’s heroics. Riewoldt would not yield; he kicked five goals in one of his finest performances and enhanced his reputation. But he fought mostly one-out. Collingwood were magnificent. Grundy’s ruckwork gave them first use from the centre bounces, and at ground level Taylor Adams was manic at the footy and Steele Sidebottom peerless with his ability to stay calm and distribute. Mason Cox flies across the pack. Credit:AAP

Levi Greenwood went straight to Dustin Martin at the first bounce and eclipsed the Brownlow medallist, who had come in under an injury cloud and who did not get a kick until 19 minutes into the match. It encapsulated Richmond’s dreadful night. Rance was tortured by De Goey until he was moved away in the third quarter, and of Richmond’s blue-chip players, only Riewoldt thrived. Richmond had their entire modus operandi stolen. They have built their game on taking the ball inside 50 and locking it in with fierce pressure and tackling, forcing turnovers and kicking easy goals as a result. But what happens when the ball spends half a game at the other end of the ground? It was brilliantly simple and executed with authority. Another thought: Richmond beat Western Bulldogs in round 23 on August 25. In just short of a month since then, they had played just one match, the qualifying final against Hawthorn.