IT WAS a dead rubber but there was carnage at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night as Collingwood belted North Melbourne by 54 points.

The result of the low-standard affair – which the Pies won 16.15 (111) to 7.15 (57) – was secondary to a long injury list.

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The chief casualties were Kangaroos spearhead Ben Brown (concussion) and skipper Jack Ziebell (ribs), Roos-turned-Magpies Levi Greenwood (left knee) and Daniel Wells (left thigh), along with Pies defender Tyson Goldsack (head knock).

In the process, the Match Review Panel appears certain to scrutinise the actions of Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy and North midfielder Ben Cunnington.

A chaotic body count either side of half-time began at the 20-minute mark of the second term when Ziebell tackled Adam Treloar over the boundary line, with the Pies midfielder dazed after hitting his head on the ground. Treloar played on and was one of the best players afield.

Five talking points: North Melbourne v Collingwood

Two minutes later there was no coming back for Coleman Medal chance Brown, who was knocked out in a Grundy tackle reminiscent of the one that last week incurred a one-game suspension for Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield.

Play was held up for several minutes as Brown was carted off the field (and later taken by ambulance to hospital), after which Grundy took the resultant free kick for holding the ball, to the jeers of North Melbourne fans.

Soon after the resumption, Ziebell came off second best in a marking contest with Matt Scharenberg and was taken straight into the rooms for treatment. He manfully returned after half-time to be one of his team's few winners, kicking five of North's six goals in the second half.

Moments after the Ziebell injury, Greenwood ran into a falling Todd Goldstein and immediately clutched at his left knee. Greenwood couldn't place any weight on the leg as he was helped from the field by trainers, and it would surprise if he returned before season's end.

Early in the third term, Goldsack showed typical courage in a marking contest when he was crunched by the oncoming Cunnington, who will also face a nervous wait for the MRP's findings on Monday. In his favour, Goldsack reappeared later in the quarter.

Wells would have enjoyed the first-up win over his former club but little else. The veteran took 15 minutes to get his first touch – a rare clanger kick – before being hindered by an apparent corked thigh, finishing with a team-low five touches and a goal.

It's difficult to judge whether the Pies victory would have strengthened the position of coach Nathan Buckley given the error-riddled nature of the contest.

Both clubs were fresh from big performances – North upsetting Melbourne, and Collingwood drawing with ladder leader Adelaide – but neither showed any real semblance of that form.

Between them they committed 26 clangers in the opening 14 minutes; and by half-time they had combined to tally 6.20 – comprising Collingwood's 5.11 to North's abominable 1.9.

The Magpies didn't use the ball with the purpose they displayed against the Crows but they were never troubled after quarter-time.

They overwhelmed the Roos with their depth of runners, with the likes of Treloar (a game-high 34 touches and a goal), Taylor Adams (30 and two goals), Tom Phillips (27 and a goal) and Jordan De Goey (27 and a goal) prolific, while defensive playmakers Jack Crisp (27), Matt Scharenberg (a career-high 27), Tom Langdon (29) and Brayden Maynard (27) did as they pleased.

Aside from Ziebell, youngster Ryan Clarke gathered a personal-best and team-high 31 touches, while fellow midfielders Trent Dumont (27), Sam Gibson (27), Cunnington (28) and defender Robbie Tarrant (21) tried hard.

With North big man Majak Daw missing through injury, the experienced Todd Goldstein earned a recall, but he and the developing Braydon Preuss were soundly beaten by Grundy.

Buckley conceded it was at times an ugly exhibition but was pleased his team dominated the contest.

"It was a bit of a yuck game for some of it. The skills weren't great," he said post-match.

"But it was a very fast game in the first half and then it was probably bit more calculated and composed in the second half.

"We were able to make more of the right decisions more often, we controlled the tempo of play, and we probably played closer to how we want to play for longer than last week in particular."

North counterpart Brad Scott was particularly disappointed in his team's delivery into attack.

"It unravelled when we had the ball in our hand, that's for sure," he said.

"It's really, yes, the worst we have butchered opportunities going forward all year.

"I'm not a big believer in things (being a) one-off, even though that was very different to the way we have used or attempted to use the ball going forward this year.

"But compounding our problem, we didn't defend those mistakes either.

"The numbers probably tell a bit of a story. You can go forward, win the clearances pretty comfortably, win the inside 50s and get beaten by nine goals."

MEDICAL ROOM
North Melbourne: Late withdrawal Jy Simpkin (ankle) is expected to return next week, but severely concussed Brown is not. Ziebell (ribs) is tipped to push through the pain barrier to continue to lead the team. Nick Larkey's left knee was strapped but he played out the game.

Collingwood: Greenwood is expected to be sidelined with his knee issue, which appears to be a medial ligament problem. Wells entered the game with a corked thigh, which was aggravated against the Roos and faces a battle to be passed fit next week.

NEXT UP 
Both wounded teams will welcome eight-day breaks, with the Magpies facing a tough assignment against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, while the Kangaroos front up to Hawthorn at the University of Tasmania Stadium.

NORTH MELBOURNE  1.5   1.9    4.11    7.15 (57)
COLLINGWOOD         2.7   5.11 11.12  16.15 (111) 

GOALS
North Melbourne: Ziebell 5, Mountford, Garner
Collingwood: Blair 3, Thomas 2, Adams 2, Fasolo, De Goey, Moore, Phillips, Treloar, Howe, Wells, Grundy, Elliott

BEST 
North Melbourne: Ziebell, Clarke, Dumont, Cunnington
Collingwood: Treloar, Adams, Blair, Langdon, De Goey, Grundy

INJURIES 
North Melbourne: Jy Simpkin (ankle) replaced in the selected side by Josh Williams, Ben Brown (concussion), Jack Ziebell (ribs)
Collingwood: Levi Greenwood (left knee), Goldsack (head), Daniel Wells (left thigh)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Deboy, Gavine, Pannell

Official crowd: 33,394 at Etihad Stadium

More to come.