Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse is refusing to concede the Pies' premiership dream is over despite being thrown into a cut-throat semi-final against an Adelaide team that will have had two more days to prepare as well as losing star midfielder Scott Pendlebury to a broken leg during Sunday's qualifying final loss to St Kilda at the MCG.
Pendlebury, who was in doubt all week due to a back injury, suffered his fresh injury in the opening minutes of Sunday's 28-point loss and bravely came back briefly before not returning after quarter-time.
The full extent of the injury won't be known until he undergoes scans on Monday but the Pies believe he has suffered a cracked fibula - an injury which will rule him out of the rest of the finals series.
Malthouse was at his fiery best post-match when asked if the Pies had taken an unnecessary risk by playing their star midfielder saying his latest injury had nothing to do with the problem he carried into the game.
"You don't re-injure a broken leg and that is maybe what has happened," Malthouse said when asked about his 2007 best and fairest runner-up.
Malthouse was equally combative when asked if the Pies were hard done by now that they have to back up and face the in-form Crows after just a six-day break in next Saturday night's knockout semi while Neil Craig's team will be afforded eight days rest after their 96-point demolition of Essendon in Friday night's elimination final.
Even St Kilda coach Ross Lyon had sympathy for the Pies after the game after his team had earned the week off and a home preliminary final in a fortnight's time following its win.
"I think any team is capable of coming off one six-day break (to win) but it's a little unfair you can finish top four and come off a losing first final and play a team that finished fifth or eighth and they have got an eight-day break," he said.
"We wouldn't have been too thrilled if that had been the situation for us."
But Malthouse was having none of it.
"Tell me what is fair in life - is life fair?" he snapped after the game when asked about the Pies' short break compared to the Crows.
"I wake up tomorrow and have breakfast but half of Africa won't - is that fair?"
"So let's not get caught up in how many days off we have got."
The Pies