Collingwood's prize for another mugging of Sydney is a place in the AFL finals and possibly another clash with the Swans in a fortnight.

The Magpies booked their place in September by winning by 45 points at Telstra Dome, after producing a blistering performance when it was needed most.

Needing a 12th win to be assured of playing beyond round 22, the Magpies opened with a bang and were relentless in their domination of Sydney in a commanding 18.10 (118) to 10.13 (73) victory.

Travis Cloke kicked five goals, Leon Davis sparkled across the ground and booted two, and the Magpies' defenders played their parts superbly to post the club's sixth successive win over the Swans.

The Swans look set to play finals themselves, but owe Carlton big time.

Carlton's win over the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba means the Swans cannot drop outside the eight despite having lost four of their last five games.

Sydney play the Lions next weekend in what could have been a virtual elimination final had the Lions won.

If Saturday night's loss was not bad enough, Sydney might have to face off against a side they cannot match at the moment in the first weekend of the finals.

Collingwood extended their recent dominance over the Swans through wave after wave of tackling, harassing and pressure from the opening bounce, and had five goals on the board inside 12 minutes, before Sydney scored.

They kicked another three for the quarter and the first three of the second term to lead by 54 points after Paul Medhurst threaded a banana kick after a spectacular mark.

The margin swelled to 68 points in the third term before the Swans regained some respectability.

Collingwood defenders Harry O'Brien, Shannon Cox - a late replacement for Nathan Brown - and Tyson Goldsack all had good nights, while Dane Swan continued his great season in the midfield, along with Scott Pendlebury.

The only thing to sour Collingwood's night was a leg injury suffered by skipper Scott Burns.

Sydney at least held firm after halftime, and the major positive came through the performance of Barry Hall.

The big forward looked set for another bad night against the Pies, as he was jeered every time he got the ball following his suspension for attempting to strike Shane Wakelin earlier in the season and gave away a needless free kick in the second term, just when teammate Amon Buchanan set sail for goal.

But Hall finished with three goals and was one of his side's better players, along with Jude Bolton, Martin Mattner and Brett Kirk.

Sydney coach Paul Roos was brutally honest after the loss, conceding the Swans were unlikely to do much damage in the finals and that the era that included two grand finals in 2005-06 was over.

He said his players were lacking the intensity to compete at the highest level and that, as coach, he had to take responsibility.

"You'd think we'd come ready to play but obviously at the moment the effort is just not there," he said.

"Eight goals to two (in the first quarter) is disappointing because it's a big game, you're playing for high stakes.

"But at the moment the guys are just incapable of coming with the required intensity to compete at AFL (level) the way that it's played now."

Roos said Sydney could not afford to "bottom out" because of their place in the competitive Sydney sports market, but admitted the era of success under his coaching - the Swans having reached the finals every season since 2003 - was about to end.

"There's guys there who have given everything over the last five-and-a-half years but at the moment other teams are lifting and ... the group as we know it that's been so good is just not capable of producing the performances that they once were," he said.

"You'd have to say (it's over) based on tonight and based on our last couple of months.

"The first half of the season was really good, we had young blokes play really well and had some middle guys really improving, but there's some guys who have really tailed off and you can't blame the younger guys.

"It's unlikely we're going to do much damage over the next few weeks."

Despite his admissions, Roos would not be drawn on his own future, as he wanted to focus on the coming games.

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse was satisfied with the way his side had re-adjusted this season because of injury problems and happy with the pressure applied on the Swans.

"By and large I could never complain about the endeavour or the pressure put on the Sydney players," he said.

He refused to discuss why Collingwood had such a stranglehold over the Swans.

"It's better to say nothing and don't lie," he said.

He said Burns had suffered a bruised calf, but he was unsure of the seriousness.

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