The Kangaroos' tenacity and willingness to fight for each other is so renowned it has gained its own title - "shinboner spirit" so it would have pained coach Dean Laidley to concede those qualities went missing against Collingwood.

The Magpies thrashed the 'Roos 23.15 (153) to 11.10 (76) at Telstra Dome, dominating almost every facet of the game.

It came on the back of the 'Roos receiving a 69-point belting by Geelong at Skilled Stadium in the previous round.

There was no sign of the defiance that allowed the club to stage numerous comeback victories last season, including a thrilling win over Collingwood in round 19.

The Magpies kicked 14 goals after halftime, with Chris Tarrant kicking six in a strong performance, and Anthony Rocca and Alan Didak, who kicked three goals each, also putting on good displays to share in the spoils.

Laidley said his side's performance was "terrible" and had nothing to do with a difference in ability between the two sides.

"I thought our workrate is what's let us down, nothing to do with talent, workrate," Laidley said.

More worryingly, he said the 'Roos had spoken about playing for each other, but instead acted as 22 individuals.

"That's the intangible part of it, the football stuff you can fix, but it's the intangible stuff," Laidley said.

While the intangibles were the coach's biggest concern, the 'Roos' basic football skills were also poorly executed, with regular turnovers costing them badly.

The biggest offender was ex-Hawthorn fullback Jonathan Hay, who cost his side a goal with a misfired short pass from a kick-out in the second quarter, and another in the third term, when indecision caused him to hold onto the ball too long and give away a free kick.

Laidley said the positive was that the players had identified where they had let themselves down in a team meeting immediately after the game and were desperate to rectify those problems before next Sunday's match against West Coast.

"We're going to do everything that we possibly can to turn it around and gather four points, it's round three, we've just come off two 10-goal whackings and you know what, we'll keep working our bums off to make sure we turn it around," he said.

The 'Pies had plenty of good players, with 33-year-old skipper Nathan Buckley showing no signs that age is slowing him down, putting himself in the thick of the midfield action for much of the day.

Fellow midfielders Shane O'Bree, Dane Swan, Brodie Holland and Paul Licuria provided great support, with Ben Johnson and Tarkyn Lockyer giving plenty of run from defence.

The Roos' only winner for the day was full-forward Saverio Rocca, who booted six goals from few opportunities in an outstanding solo performance.

Adding to the pain, they are likely to lose Glenn Archer for several matches, after the courageous defender injured his hamstring.

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse said it was significant for his side, which came 15th last year, to have defeated one of last year's finalists.

"I thought today we worked hard enough every quarter, we didn't allow the opposition to get back into the game and I think that's significant," he said.

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