COLLINGWOOD has continued its recent domination of St Kilda, using a withering first-half burst to set up an 86-point victory over the Saints at Etihad Stadium on Friday night. 

Stung into action after the Saints kicked three of the opening four goals of the game, Collingwood booted eight goals without reply either side of quarter-time to lay the foundation for the 21.14 (140) to 8.6 (54) result, which saw the Pies jump to third on the ladder. 

Collingwood spearhead Travis Cloke found form, throwing his weight around, clutching 12 marks and kicking five goals in his best showing of the season.

Collingwood's lead hovered around six goals of the majority of the third quarter, but ballooned in the final term as it kicked the final eight goals of the game.

The win was soured by an early report for rough conduct against Steele Sidebottom, who caught St Kilda's Maverick Weller with an elbow to the head as he charged into the centre square from the opening bounce of the match. 

Sidebottom jumped and collected Weller high, and while the ex-Sun was substituted out of the game soon after with concussion, Saints coach Alan Richardson said Weller was a chance to play next week.

The victory was Collingwood's sixth consecutive win over the Saints, and the Pies have now won five of their past six games to improve their record to 7-3. 

Dayne Beams had 33 possessions and seven tackles in a strong display for the winners, who won for the 12th time in their past 14 matches at Etihad Stadium. 

The Saints fell to 3-7 with a fifth straight loss, and haven't beaten Collingwood since round three, 2010. 

Collingwood's eight-goal frenzy started after St Kilda took a surprise 11-point lead late in the first term, with Jesse White kicking the first and final goals of the run as the Pies raced to a 36-point advantage. 

The Saints were able to stop the bleeding in the second quarter and went into half time with a spring in their step after Jack Steven soccered a brilliant left-foot goal just before the siren, but Collingwood always appeared to have its opposition at arm's length. 

The blowout that looked on the cards for much of the night did eventuate, the Magpies kicking 7.6 in the final quarter to St Kilda's 0.1, Jamie Elliott kicking three of his four goals in the last term.

Despite the emphatic win, Collingwood's night was soured by Sidebottom's report and a right calf injury to Nick Maxwell. 

The Pies will be keen to climb further up the ladder over the next fortnight when they face Melbourne and Western Bulldogs, but the club's depth will be tested.

Maxwell was substituted out of the game late in the first quarter, and Buckley confirmed the former skipper was likely to miss three to four weeks. 

The Pies made two late changes before the bounce, with star midfielder Dane Swan (heel) and ruckman Brodie Grundy (back) replaced by Josh Thomas and Paul Seedsman, the latter starting as the Pies' substitute and showing plenty of trademark dash after replacing Maxwell. 

Nathan Brown (shoulder) and Luke Ball (calf) were both enforced omissions for the clash, while White hurt a finger in the second quarter but continued to play.

The Saints went in unchanged, with substitute Clint Jones pressed into action early after Weller's departure. 

Reports: Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood) for engaging in rough conduct against Maverick Weller (St Kilda) in the first quarter. 

 

Umpires: Donlon, Stevic, Armstrong