Magpies wipe Cats away in goal avalanche
Geelong's defensive flood was swept aside by a Collingwood goal avalanche, as the Magpies turned on one of the most entertaining and impressive displays seen this AFL season at the MCG.
The Magpies dominated from the start, combining toughness in the clinches, frightening forward firepower and exquisite ball use to win 22.14 (146) to 6.8 (44).
Collingwood kicked six goals in each of the first three quarters and four in the last, to win by 102 points, with the Cats managing only three goals in the first three quarters.
Collingwood barely put a foot wrong, with a well-drilled team performance peppered with some dazzling individual displays.
Livewire forward Leon Davis, who kicked four goals, set the crowd and his team alight with two brilliant second-quarter majors on the run, the second a gem from tight on the boundary line.
Key forwards Anthony Rocca, who kicked four goals, and Chris Tarrant, who kicked three, also put in strong showings, although a lot of the credit deserved to go to their teammates further upfield for their precise delivery.
And youngster Dane Swan also kicked four, to complement his excellent performance in the midfield and continue to establish himself as a Magpies star-in-the-making.
It was one-way traffic from the opening minutes, with Collingwood kicking six of the first seven goals and scoring freely, despite the Cats' attempts to clog up their opponent's forward line.
Collingwood controlled the midfield, with Shane O'Bree, Nathan Buckley, Paul Licuria and Swan prominent, then delivered the ball beautifully into attack.
While St Kilda struggled to handle Geelong's flooding tactics last Friday night, the Magpies gave a textbook display of how to combat that ploy.
At times they moved the ball quickly to a leading player before Geelong could get numbers back in defence.
When that was not achievable, they showed terrific patience and strategy to chip the ball around while waiting for a suitable target, then pinpointed a player in the forward line, or at worst kicked to a one-on-one contest.
The unselfishness of the Magpie forwards, who regularly passed to teammates in better scoring positions, was also a key part of their devastating performance.
Collingwood's top-class shooting for goal also aided its potency, as the 'Pies continued to build their reputation for having the AFL's most dangerous attack.
Collingwood's defence was also well on top, on a night when there were no positives for the Cats.
James Clement and Heath Shaw were notable performers in the backlines, with Shaw showing plenty of dash to continue his strong start to the season.
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