Pies chasing sweet sixteen

COLLINGWOOD will today chase grand final glory in an MCG showdown with West Coast that could deliver a sweet 16th premiership to Magpies faithful.

Crowds yesterday packed city streets to shout their support to the grand final teams, with Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury and Eagles skipper Shannon Hurn showing off the premiership cup.

But today fans are hoping for a much more meaningful premiership parade, as up to 100,000 supporters fill the MCG. Pendlebury said the Pies had a simple plan.

“We’ve just got to be harder for longer and the side that does that will win,’’ he said.

But Hurn said the team was primed to spoil the show.

“It’s a good feeling at the moment but we know that we will have to play well,’’ he said.

It comes as authorities have warned desperate fans not to buy seats from unauthorised sellers with a suspected batch of fake tickets being peddled.

More than 170 investigations are under way into scalpers caught trying to rip of footy fans during this month’s finals.

And fake tickets which are being sold for up to $1000 above face value are set to cause grand final heartache before the game even starts with their barcodes to be rejected at entry gates.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said the team was in “a really good space’’ and the secret to its meteoric rise probably lay in the setbacks and challenges it had overcome in recent years.

“This group has been together largely for three or four years and it’s taken some hits,’’ he said.