SHAKY START, SOLID FINISH
“He was a massive part of my life and footy career so it is pretty special and I know he would have been watching and I will take a bit of time over the next couple of weeks to reflect, that is for sure.
“Mum has been awesome, she has been my rock, her and Dad when he was here supported me through everything. Mum loves footy so she has always been there, and all my sisters as well.
“She was just in tears and gave me a big hug.”
Cole, who was playing just his 27th senior game, settled after quarter time and finished the match with 13 disposals, six marks and two tackles, as well as keeping Jaidyn Stephenson relatively quiet in the final three quarters.
He praised his defensive teammates and the team’s leaders for helping him regain his composure after the dropped mark, and said the Eagles always believed they could reel in Collingwood’s early 29-point lead.
“I had a couple of shaky moments in the first quarter and it took me a little bit to settle into the game but we have such an experienced backline that helped me settled down,” Cole said. “I read the ball well so I thought I did everything right.
“So I was just happy to play my role and get the job done.
“You can’t drop your head because it’s the last game of the year, you have got to give it everything, so we kept pretty positive and it went our way.”