But coach Michael Malthouse wasn't too downcast after the match, preferring instead to praise Melbourne's effort.
"I don't think we necessarily played poorly today. I think we were beaten by a better side. Let's give credit to Melbourne. They played like a final eight side and we played like a side that's trying to get into the eight," Malthouse said after the 12.10 (82) to 11.7 (73) defeat at the MCG in front of 56,988 fans.
"I'm certainly not panicking about today's result because I know we're on the right track."
The loss also ends Collingwood's three-year unbeaten run on Queen's Birthday Monday.
The four quarters saw wind, rain and sunshine and during the second and third terms – during which the showers were at their most severe - the Magpies held sway.
After conceding the first three goals of the match, Collingwood broke clear in devastating fashion, kicking 10 of the next 12. In the process of doing so, it opened up a 30-point advantage.
The ascendancy came via several fronts - Josh Fraser's huge efforts in the ruck and up forward, strong defensive work from Jason Cloke and hard-running from renowned wet-weather player Mark McGough.
However, with several players resuming active duty after injury-interrupted seasons to date, the team's charge ended just before the final change, when Demon Adem Yze booted two telling goals that saw the margin cut to 16 with a quarter to play.
With the rain easing and heavy conditions taking their toll, the Magpies couldn't prevent a final-term blitz from their opponents, conceding the lead and the match during a five-goal-to-one last period.
There were reasons for the inability to go with Melbourne - Nathan Buckley was playing his first game in seven weeks, Scott Burns and Fraser were in their third match back from a hamstring injury, as was Tarkyn Lockyer, who was sidelined for 18 months with knee and foot problems.
It was also Brodie Holland's first game in a month, with the midfielder coming back from a four-game ban.
Further hindering the black-and-white's efforts was the late withdrawal of Anthony Rocca (ankle) and unavailability of Chris Tarrant due to suspension. Simon Prestiagiacomo took Rocca's place, himself returning from an ankle injury.
As a result, the Magpies used Burns and Buckley in attack for large periods, had Matthew Lokan at full forward and gave Cameron Cloke an opportunity at centre-half forward in only his sixth game at senior level. Nick Maxwell was also given a go in the forward half.
Malthouse thought Cloke showed some good signs and would have learnt a lot from the experience of not having Rocca and Tarrant alongside him.
"We clearly missed those strikers and under those circumstances you're trying to manufacture goals."
"When you lose your two strikers, you're forced generally to, particularly with players who are foreign to full forward and centre-half forward … I thought Cameron Cloke held his own for a fair majority of the game."
"Cameron Cloke today I thought played as a typical young man playing his first year of football, where he is good sometimes and then falls off a little bit until he regathers himself."
"In his first year, he's not expected to do the things perhaps (David) Neitz will do or Jonathan Brown will do. But he will be a good footballer for us down the track."
While he didn't go so far as to name them, Malthouse did suggest several third and fourth-year players needed to step up and begin to play key roles in the team.
Melbourne: 3.5 4.5 7.8 12.10 (82)
Collingwood: 2.3 7.6 10.6 11.7 (73)
Goals: Melbourne: Neitz, Yze 3, McLean, Miller, Vardy, Davey, Bruce, White 1
Collingwood: Holland, Lokan 2, Davis, Lonie, Didak, Buckley, Fraser, McGough, C Cloke 1
Best: Melbourne: Bruce, Green, Yze, Miller, Read, Nicholson
Collingwood: Fraser, Holland, Clement, McGough, J Cloke, Burns
Injuries: Melbourne: Brown (mouth), Vardy (cut head)
Collingwood: None
Changes: Melbourne None
Collingwood: Rocca (ankle) replaced in the selected side by Prestigiacomo
Reports: None
Umpires: Goldspink, McInerney, Vosso
Crowd: 56,988 at MCG
