Travis Cloke found form, Nick Maxwell hurt his calf and Steele Sidebottom was reported as Collingwood climbed back into the AFL’s top four with a 86-point win over St Kilda.
The Magpies booted eight consecutive goals in the opening half and seven unanswered goals in the final quarter to build the 21.14 (140) to 8.6 (54) victory at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
Cloke threw his weight around, clutched 12 marks and kicked five goals in his best showing of the season.
The ‘Pies are now third and will be keen to climb further up the ladder over the next fortnight when they face Melbourne and Western Bulldogs, but the club’s depth will be tested.
In-form defensive general Maxwell headed straight to the rooms after seemingly tweaking his calf in the first quarter.
Maxwell was substituted out of the game and had his leg iced up, with leading sports medico Peter Larkins suggesting on Triple M the 30-year-old would be out for at least a month.
Sidebottom’s time on the sidelines will be decided by the match review panel on Monday, but it’s hard to imagine him escaping with a reprimand.
The game’s opening bounce was reminiscent of a bygone era – Sidebottom surging off the wing, leaping high and clipping Maverick Weller’s head with his elbow.
Weller staggered from the field, was assessed for concussion and played no further part in the game.
The Magpies were already fielding a depleted side following the last-minute withdrawals of 2011 Brownlow medallist Dane Swan (heel) and ruckman Brodie Grundy (back).
Nathan Brown (shoulder) and Luke Ball (calf) were both enforced omissions for the clash, while Jesse White hurt his finger in the second quarter but continued to play.
Collingwood trailed by 11 points halfway through the first quarter before midfielders Dayne Beams and Sidebottom helped them seize control in front of a crowd of 34,855.
White, Alex Fasolo and Josh Thomas each kicked two goals as the Magpies piled on eight straight to take a 38-point lead early in the second term.
Nick Riewoldt, who finished with three goals, booted two in response and the Saints worked hard to keep the margin to 39 points at three-quarter time.
But the blowout that looked on the cards for so much of the night did eventuate, the Magpies kicking 7.6 in the final quarter to St Kilda’s one behind.
“We’ve had some really strong three-quarter performances this year, but that’s the first four-quarter performance we’ve put in,” chuffed Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said.
“Our forwards were up and about, including Clokey.”
Saints coach Alan Richardson said the late fadeout was disappointing.
“We were pretty solid in the second and third terms, and that’s probably been our story over the last month. We’ve been good in halves,” Richardson said.
“The last quarter was poor.”
