It was looming as a dark day for Collingwood when they did battle with the Adelaide Crows in round nine, under the roof at Etihad Stadium.

The heavily fancied ‘Pies were expected to make easy work of the Crows, who were thought to be nothing more than a speed bump on their premiership cakewalk. Yet, with just 17 minutes to play it appeared Adelaide was on the verge of a monumental upset.

Trailing by 23 points at that point, the Pies looked in strife. But we all know what happened next.

Collingwood collectively seemed to find another gear, much to the dismay of the hapless Crows, who were blown away in the final 15 minutes. The Pies just kept piling on the goals - 11 in total - to storm to a 43-point triumph.

As expected, the accolades flowed for what was a majestic Magpies performance but, in all the superlatives that followed, one importance facet was lost.

Collingwood coaches and fitness staff had prepared the team in such a manner that this sort of performance moved from being the unexpected, to what was demanded.

Fourth-quarter onslaughts have been the defining trait of the 2011 Magpies, and their quest for back-to-back premiership glory.

BackPageLead's supremo Charles Happell penned a piece at the halfway mark of the season, examining just how dominant they have been in the closing stages.

Collingwood's incredible finishing ability has been the subject of much praise during the year, as they have destroyed teams in the closing stanza on a handful of occasions.

They seem to have an extra five percent in the tank, allowing them to storm home for come-from-behind victories, or to turn slender leads into a blowouts.

This is all great news for the state of Arizona.

Flagstaff, the more precise description of the location of the Magpie nest within Arizona, has become a location with perceived mythical powers.

The importance of Collingwood's annual pre-season training camp has heightened with the club's on-field success. Yet Dane Swan's mid-season sojourn, followed by his Brownlow Medal-sealing finish to the season, has pushed its importance to stratospheric levels.

Swan gushed over how his body felt "10 times better" when he returned from the 12-day trip, and his form since has been nothing short of spectacular. In the nine games following the trip, Swan amassed in excess of 30 possessions.

The stocky Collingwood dynamo was last night rewarded for his sublime season, and while it would be unfair to Swan to say that he only won as a result of his Arizona adventure, it seems to have been hugely beneficial.

The biggest sign of its impact on Swan is the fact that he got better as the season wore on.

While other players have spoke about the toll taken on players as a result of the long, hard fought slog that is the AFL season, Swan took to the later stages of the year like a duck to water. No pun intended.

He garnered 13 votes through the same number of opening contests, before bullocking his way to 21 votes in the final nine matches.

In the five contests from round 19 to 23, incredibly he collected 13 of a possible 15 votes.

Only twice after his return from Arizona did Swan fail to feature in the votes.

Yet, in what was arguably his greatest game of the season, the tattooed midfielder was the catalyst in Collingwood's resurgent victory against Hawthorn in the Preliminary Final, with 32 possessions, 7 clearances, 4 inside-50s and an incredibly important goal in the closing stages.

As every other player on the field seemed to be on their proverbial last legs, Swan appeared to have the energy of ten men.

He was able to run away from opponents, burst through packs and clear stoppages, simply due to - from an outside perspective - superior fitness.

Would Swan have had the same advantage if not for his Flagstaff expedition?

We will probably never know for sure, but expect plenty of sides to be making enquiries of their own over the summer break. They'd surely be derelict in their duty if they didn't at least explore the apparent benefits of high-altitude training.

What can't be questioned is the quality of this Collingwood side and the records it keeps obliterating: highest percentage, most contested marks in a season (Travis Cloke), most individual Brownlow votes for a single player (Dane Swan) and the highest overall Brownlow vote tally for a team.

This isn't luck or coincidence.

Know that it is the result of intricate planning coming to fruition for the Collingwood Football Club, with the building blocks having been forged under a scorching sun in the Arizona mountains.