THE BRISBANE Lions will resume their season against Essendon on Saturday in seventh spot on the ladder, after Collingwood jumped to fifth spot with a commanding win over the Sydney Swans.

The Pies entered the second installment of the split round 14 having lost back-to-back matches, but were in control throughout the Homebush clash with the Swans.

With jumping jack Dale Thomas prominent in the first half, Collingwood overcame some inaccuracy and a fleeting final term comeback from its host to emerge a comfortable 29-point victor.

Paul Medhurst and Dane Swan were strong contributors for the Magpies, while Shane Wakelin effectively blanketed Swans dangerman Barry Hall and ex-Lion Cameron Wood kicked a pivotal last-quarter goal.

Collingwood’s victory ensured the Lions stayed within striking distance of the top-four, with the fourth-placed Swans staying on 38 points – six ahead of the Magpies, sixth-placed Adelaide and the Lions.

Adelaide missed its opportunity to pull clear of that pack, after going down to reigning premier Geelong by 68 points on Friday night.

The Cats were too strong in all facets of the game and got the ball rolling by kicking 4.6 to a single point in the opening term.

From there they were never headed, with Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel running riot with 41 possessions and Tom Lonergan kicking a career-high four goals.

Geelong 18.16 (124) d Adelaide 8.8 (56)

The Cats will enter the next phase of the AFL season on top of the ladder, following a 68-point thumping of the Crows on Friday night. Adelaide dropped to sixth place and looks to have the job in front of it to challenge for a top-four spot. Geelong, on the other hand, is flying, has now won its past three games by 59 points or more and looks perfectly placed to make a run at consecutive flags.

Collingwood 11.13 (79) d Sydney Swans 6.14 (50)

The Pies reignited their top-four aspirations and also provided a boost to those of the Lions and the Crows with an all-the-way win over the Swans. Had the fourth-placed Swans won, they would have gone 10 points clear of the chasing bunch. Instead the gap is still at six points, on the back of a game-breaking first half from Dale Thomas and four-quarter contributions from Dane Swan and Paul Medhurst.