WHERE THE SYDNEY SWANS WON IT
At the coalface. The Swans were much better in the contested situation, in fact they ended +31 in the contested possession and tackle combination, which is clearly the most important stat in finals. Both teams are strong in this area, so for the Swans to win by that margin was incredibly significant.

The Swans were clean. Their ability to be able to get the ball into the hands of their good ball users or to someone in space was much better than Collingwood's. While the Pies had periods where they were competitive in clearances and contested play, their possession was always rushed.

Strategically, the Swans brought up second ruckman Mike Pyke to clearances to go third man up and nullify the influence of Darren Jolly. Jolly still played a fairly impressive game but the use of Pyke clearly assisted the Swans at stoppages.

The Swans were also much more adventurous on the rebound. They were far more prepared to play the angles and go through the corridor than the Pies, making them much harder to defend. In short, it made the Swans' rebound much less predictable, which was impressive.

WHERE COLLINGWOOD LOST IT
The Pies were beaten really badly at clearances, both in terms of territory and scores from clearances. They also made too many costly errors by hand and by foot, particularly in the back half of the ground - the part of the ground you can least afford to make an error given it only takes a possession or two and the opposition can have a shot on goal.

The Pies were also a little too predictable with their slow, wide rebounding. A good example of how much more dangerous they looked was when Harry O'Brien got the ball, particularly in the second half, ran and took risks. The Pies looked more likely to score when this happened.

THE MOVES THAT MATTERED
The move of Lewis Roberts-Thompson on to Ben Reid was a really good one. Against West Coast, Reid, in the absence of skipper Nick Maxwell, was able to free himself up and intercept a lot of the Eagles' forward entries. By using Roberts-Thompson on Reid, John Longmire assured that wouldn't happen. Reid did try to get to his brother, the Swans' Sam, at times, but wasn't allowed, another piece of really good coaching.

The Swans also used co-captain Adam Goodes in the midfield more than they have done in the past, which unsettled what Collingwood were trying to do in defence. It looked like they had Nathan Brown ready to go to Goodes in defence, but by starting in the midfield before pushing forward, Goodes often found himself with Sidebottom or another Collingwood midfielder as a match-up, which at times really hurt the Pies.

Call it a move or call it strategy, the Swans also played their forwards high up the ground, leaving them significant space out the back. This meant the Swans backed their leg speed - whether it was Goodes or Lewis Jetta - to use the space provided to run forward. Jetta's running goal in the first quarter is a great example of the Swans using that space.

WHAT COLLINGWOOD MIGHT HAVE CONSIDERED
Josh Kennedy against Scott Pendlebury was a bit of an arm wrestle. Kennedy played a great game, but Pendlebury was really good for the Pies. One option Collingwood could have used was to keep Pendlebury in the midfield but use Sharrod Wellingham to tag Kennedy and reduce Kennedy's influence on the game. Wellingham was not having a great game by his high standards and, perhaps after half-time, he could have gone to Kennedy.

Kennedy's third quarter was really influential, especially given that in the 10 minutes prior to half-time the Pies had started to get on top and it was only really their inaccuracy that meant they hadn't closed the margin more significantly.

During my time working closely with Chris Judd at Carlton, Wellingham did good jobs playing on Judd in the sort of way he could have played on Kennedy. That is, making sure he covered him off while also looking to run off and hurt him.    

FOR THE SYDNEY SWANS TO WIN THE FLAG
The Swans will spend time practicing their goalkicking this week. They won't win the Grand Final against either Hawthorn or Adelaide if they waste as many opportunities as they did against Collingwood. The really did dominate the game but kept the Pies in it with inaccuracy.

Another issue for the Swans is holding their intensity for the entire game. All year they've had small periods when they give their opposition a look; something John Longmire has spoken about in press conferences throughout the season. It happened again on Friday. At one stage Collingwood kicked four unanswered goals to stay in the match. When the Swans were at their most intense, they were the much better team and had all the answers. This will be a challenge for the Swans. Even in the last month, they've had periods of dominance only to let teams back in. Their round 22 match against Hawthorn is a good example.

WHAT COLLINGWOOD NEEDS TO FIX
The big thing the Pies will look at is their rebound from defence, which has become fairly predictable to opposition teams. This is understandable given the success the Pies have had. They need to get some better ball users in the back half of the ground or at least improving the ball use of the guys they have.

They also need to become a little less boundary-centric. When under pressure on Friday night, the Swans were able to read and pick off that boundary play often. If the Pies can be a bit more adventurous and risk-taking from defence, they'll be a much harder team to come up against.

The biggest aspect is Collingwood is still a very young group and the development of their entire list will be critical to their improvement.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs