CARLTON was harder in the contest and wanted to win the ball more than Collingwood according to disappointed Magpies' coach Nathan Buckley.
The blunt assessment came as the Blues upset the Magpies' anniversary celebrations at the MCG on Saturday to record a 23-point victory.
Buckley said you would have to be blind or ignorant to not think playing three games in just 12 days played a role in the flat performance but it was not an excuse.
"We just looked like we had lost a yard today so how much impact that had I don't know," Buckley said.
The timing caused Collingwood to rest playmaker Daniel Wells, which robbed it of run particularly with Travis Varcoe missing through injury.
Five talking points: Collingwood v Carlton
"We don't think one player was going to make the difference today," Buckley said.
"It was actually a system issue and we had too many passengers on the day to be able to execute what we wanted to do."
Not only did the result ruin the day's events for the Magpies but it came close to eliminating Collingwood's flickering finals chances as it stalled near the bottom of the ladder with two wins and five losses after seven rounds.
WATCH: Nathan Buckley's full post-match press conference
The same problems that have bedevilled Collingwood's season reappeared with Carlton's defenders marking the Magpies' forward 50 entries.
That restricted the Magpies to just eight goals from 44 entries and two errant set shots late in the game from Alex Fasolo and Jamie Elliott reminded everyone of the inaccuracy that has been a consistent theme of the season.
"They defended really well, [were] far harder than us at the contest, they wanted it more and they executed their plans a lot better than we executed ours," Buckley said.
Elliott was among Collingwood's best with Darcy Moore having a dirty day inside 50, with just two touches up until three-quarter time while its midfield was beaten in contested ball.
"We just didn't have enough winners in their position on the day and it doesn't matter how long footy has been around for when you don't get that, inevitably that dictates the result," Buckley said.
The Magpies head to Spotless Stadium to take on Greater Western Sydney attempting to rebound from a loss to St Kilda having not yet lost a game to the Giants.
"We're not happy with the loss today. It's a disappointing loss but we butter up and we go again," Buckley said.
