At this stage of the season, finals are always the biggest talking point after any game. Going into the match, ninth-placed Collingwood and 12th-placed West Coast would have fancied their chances of nabbing one of the positions in the eight by season's end. Now, West Coast would be far more confident. The Eagles sit just one win outside the top eight and have a superior percentage to most of their competitors in Essendon, Gold Coast, Collingwood and Richmond. They also play both the Bombers and Suns, along with Melbourne, in the run home. Meanwhile, the Pies are only outside the eight by virtue of their percentage and take on Brisbane, GWS and Hawthorn in the coming weeks. It's going to be close, for both clubs.

Nic Naitanui clearly has a mortgage on the first ruck spot. But, with Dean Cox retiring and Scott Lycett yet to sign for next season, it seems West Coast will face a tough choice. While the home side might have been able to play three rucks on a perfect day at Patersons Stadium against Collingwood, it's unlikely they will want the same mixture away from home against a side like Port Adelaide or North Melbourne. And, given it's going to be tough to convince Lycett to stay in Perth, can they really afford to drop him for a final? Add to that equation Lycett's form line – he kicked four against the Pies – and it starts to become a very tough choice. Cox did himself no harm either, picking up 19 possessions, recording 31 hit-outs and kicking a goal.

 

Collingwood had been unpredictable in recent weeks, but it hadn't been terrible. It was against West Coast. Going into the match, the Pies' recent domination of the Eagles would have given most tipsters some level of confidence that Collingwood would prevail. The two sides had met on 11 occasions dating back to the 2007 semi-final in which the Pies upset West Coast at home. Collingwood had won 10 of them. But this match was a procession. Collingwood gave West Coast the corridor and the Eagles made them pay. It's hard to see what coach Nathan Buckley can do to turn his side around for a tilt at the finals. Certainly, the return of Dane Swan will help. But one player cannot possibly account for the way in which they were smashed in, especially, the first and third quarters against West Coast.

 

After being named in last year's extended All Australian squad, Eric Mackenzie must be a big chance to take the next step this season. Lining up against the opposition's best key forward each week, Mackenzie has rarely been beaten in 2014 and had Travis Cloke well covered on Sunday. Though taller than retired captain Darren Glass, he has won himself a similar reputation for being able to nullify almost any contest. And, like Glass, his disposal, or rather his choice of disposal options, has improved significantly as he has developed. The likes of Scott Thompson and Harry Taylor will obviously be hard to beat for a spot, but Mackenzie could become an All Australian this year.

 

As good as Mackenzie was against Collingwood, Travis Cloke was poor. After kicking three goals each against Adelaide and Port Adelaide in consecutive weeks, the big forward didn't even look like hitting the scoreboard until he nabbed a late one while Mackenzie was off the ground. Perhaps he can blame the delivery from midfield or perhaps the performance of his fellow forwards made it too easy for West Coast's defenders to gang up on him. Whatever the case, Buckley will need to find a quick fix. Because neither Ben Reid or Jesse White appear capable of doing the job.