A dominant first half allowed Collingwood to cruise to an 18.14 (122) to 11.12 (78) victory over a disappointing Richmond in their AFL clash at the MCG.

The Magpies led by as much as 56 points late in the second quarter, before the Tigers offered a minor fightback, at one stage reducing the margin to 31 points early in the second term.

But, in front of a crowd of more than 70,000, they never seriously threatened to turn the game into a contest.

On top of the poor loss, Richmond had forward Kayne Pettifer reported during the second term, for making contact with his forearm to the head of Collingwood player Nick Maxwell.

The Magpies controlled the game from the outset, outscoring Richmond 5.2 to 1.1 in the first term, then kicking six of the first seven goals in the second term to bury the Tigers.

Half-back Heath Shaw was sensational for the winners, keeping Richmond star forward Nathan Brown from having any impact while picking up a stack of touches himself.

The Tigers won their share of the ball through the middle of the ground, thanks largely to the hard work of Shane Tuck and Nathan Foley.

But their attack was like a trampoline for most of the first half, providing the springboard for many of Collingwood's attacking moves.

Shaw's classy use of the ball was responsible for many of the forward thrusts, while Scott Pendlebury, Tarkyn Lockyer, Ben Johnson, Dale Thomas and Leon Davis gave their side run through the middle of the ground.

Thomas provided the match highlights with some scintillating pieces of play.

He set up Anthony Rocca for a goal early in the second term, after gathering the ball at half-forward, twisting beautifully between opponent Jordan McMahon and the boundary line, taking a bounce and hitting Rocca between two Tiger defenders.

Early in the third term, he capped a nice Collingwood passage of play which started at fullback with a sensational snap which rolled through from tight in the forward pocket.

Thomas capped his game with his third goal midway through the final term when he took a flying mark over Richmond's Joel Bowden at the top of the goalsquare.

Tall forward Travis Cloke was also one of the Magpies' better players, finishing the game with 15 marks to be a constant avenue into attack.

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