As the final siren sounded on the AFL Grand Final and West Coast’s club song rang through the MCG, two Collingwood faithful were especially devastated.
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley was seen in the coach’s box with his head in his hands as Eagles players embraced on the field.
The cameras lingered on him motionless for a few seconds, with Buckley visibly crushed following his team’s five-point loss.
Club president Eddie McGuire looked equally shattered, closing his eyes as the visiting Eagles celebrated on his team’s home ground.
Devastated Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley holds his head in his hands after his team lost the AFL Grand Final on Saturday
Collingwood Club president Eddie McGuire, sitting with his son, couldn’t even watch as West Coast celebrated their momentous Grand Final comeback victory
The Magpies had led the Eagles for all but nine minutes of the game but they fell short after Dom Sheed slotted a late goal.
Earlier in the week, McGuire was filmed with Magpies fans out the front of their training ground, holding a cake, a reference to the line in his club’s song: ‘Oh, the premiership’s a cake walk.’
‘It’s been a wonderful year,’ Magpies president Eddie McGuire told news.com.au.
‘There are so many great stories to come out of our team. I’m just so proud of our club.’
McGuire has been the president of the Collingwood Football Club since 1998, and saw his club win the premiership in the 2010 AFL Grand Final replay.
Buckley, on the other hand, has not seen a Grand Final victory in his long history with the club but he has seen plenty of defeats.
Heartbroken Collingwood players and staff were visible all across the ground of the MCG
He joined the club as a player in 1994, seeing them drop back-to-back Grand Finals in 2002 and 2003.
He was not a member of the 2010 premiership side, retiring as a player following the 2007 season.
Buckley returned to the club in 2012 as a coach, replacing heralded coach Mick Malthouse.
McGuire (pictured centre-right after Saturday’s Grand Final) has been the president of the Collingwood Football Club since 1998, and saw his club win the premiership in the 2010 AFL Grand Final replay
Following Saturday’s loss, Buckley was seen helping heartbroken player Jeremy Howe up off the turf.
The West Coast Eagles won the blockbuster clash 79-74.
They made a monumental comeback after conceding the first five goals of the game, many ruling them out before the first siren had even sounded.
The final attendance for the match was registered at 100,022.
Buckley (pictured) led the team to its second Grand Final in a decade