The Magpies won by 86 points, kicking 20.14 (134) to 7.6 (48).
The loss is the Cats’ first for 2008 and just their second in the past 12 months – quite an amazing feat.
The signs looked ominous for the Cats from the start of the game. Collingwood got the jump with the first three goals until Cameron Mooney gave a quick handball to Travis Varcoe in the square and he snapped a goal.
Geelong backline struggled to cope with the pressure when they gathered the ball. Try as they might, they could not rebound because of constant Collingwood chasing and harassing.
Early in the match it became clear the Cats were missing ruckman Brad Ottens, defender Matthew Egan and small forward Paul Chapman, who was a late withdrawal.
Rock solid defender Matthew Scarlett was involved in some uncharacteristic errors and turnovers. Scarlett probably lost the points in his duel with Anthony Rocca, but he never stopped running and trying to clear the ball from the defensive 50.
Joel Corey and Corey Enright held strong for Geelong but there were already some worrying signs by the first break.
Cameron Mooney struggled to hold his marks and Steven Johnson could not generate his magic.
Gary Ablett had Sharrod Wellingham shading him closely in the middle early on, but as Wellingham found more of his own ball, so too did Ablett.
Ablett, Geelong's best on a dark night, was pumping it inside 50 but Collingwood's close marking and clever match-ups made targets hard to find.
Half way through the second term Mark Thompson started to change things up in defence. Tom Harley went from Alan Didak to Paul Medhurst, Darren Milburn replaced Harry Taylor on Travis Cloke and Andrew Mackie took Didak. The Magpies slowed down a tad but continued to beat to Geelong around the ground.
Cloke continued to be the danger man, however, giving the under-sized Milburn plenty of headaches. He finished with four goals.
Milburn tore in to every contest with his usual gusto and was a calm head among many rattled Cats.
Even though they were down 51 points at the break, there was still a slight feeling that Geelong would get back into the game.
When forward Ryan Gamble marked and goaled in the opening minute of the third quarter, it seemed that it would be a different Geelong outfit to what we had seen in the first half.
A goal to Ablett just a minute later and the Magpie fans began to move uneasily in their seats.
Another goal, this time to Cam Mooney and the momentum had shifted the Cats’ way.
But the Magpies responded with the next five goals to put the match to bed.
Collingwood went into the final break with a 73-point lead and Cats coach Mark Thompson implored his troops to salvage something from the wreck.
Apart from a Tom Hawkins goal midway through the final term, the final quarter, like the night, provided few positives for Geelong.
An ordinary night was capped off when Harry Taylor clashed with teammate Josh Hunt late in the game resulting in Taylor being helped from the ground.
The Cats may have received their first setback of the year, but it may prove to be the loss they had to have.
Collingwood 6.4 11.6 16.8 20.14 (134)
Geelong 2.2 3.3 6.5 7.6 (48)
GOALS
Collingwood: Cloke 4, Medhurst 3, Davis 2, Didak 2, Lockyer, Pendlebury, Clarke, H. Shaw, Johnson, Fraser, Rocca, Thomas, Bryan
Geelong: Ablett 2, Wojcinski, Mooney, Varcoe, Gamble, Hawkins
BEST
Collingwood: Didak, Clarke, Pendlebury, Cloke, H.Shaw, O’Brien
Geelong: Ablett, Corey, Enright, Milburn
INJURIES
Collingwood: None
Geelong: None
Reports: Nil
Umpires: McBurney, Kennedy, Jeffery
Official crowd: 78,206 at MCG
The views expressed in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or clubs.
