Forget talk of a two-horse premiership race.

Michael Voss is adamant Collingwood are genuine AFL contenders in 2009 alongside St Kilda and Geelong.

The first-year Brisbane coach on Monday spoke in glowing terms of the high-flying Magpies following their second-half strangulation of the Lions at the MCG.

In a match where a top-four position was on the line, fourth-placed Collingwood restricted Voss's men to 1.3 after the break on Saturday night to come from 14 points behind and win by 40.

He rated Brisbane's first-half showing as their best football of the year but lamented his team were given no room after halftime, couldn't absorb the Magpies' pressure nor continue to cope with their intensity.

Voss was in no doubt Collingwood deserve to be rated alongside the unbeaten Saints and star-studded Cats.

"They're genuine, absolutely," he said.

"We've been beaten (this year) but we haven't been `beat-en'. They beat us. They were too good for us.

"Most of the games that we've lost you sort of think 'we had an opportunity there, and we had an opportunity there, we could have won it there, we were in the game there' but they just shut us out.

"They were good enough as a team to be able to strangle us and not let us build our game again.

"When you look at it from that perspective they are as good a team that we've played this year.

"Having said that, in the same breath, I think we've shown the capability to match that - but we have to sustain it for longer."

With St Kilda sneaking home by a point over Sydney and Geelong wobbling with injuries, Collingwood, winners in nine of their last 10 matches, could lay claim to being the form team in the league.

Voss admitted Mick Malthouse's men delivered an important lesson to his rising team which is eying a first finals berth in five years.

"They were able to maintain their intensity across the whole game," he said. "We were unable to do that.

"I thought our first half was outstanding. I thought it was as good as we've played for the year.

"But that level of intensity though gave us a great lesson across four quarters what is required in big games. Collingwood are able to do that."

The Lions will again suit up for a Saturday night MCG clash they treat as a finals dress rehearsal when they meet ninth-placed Essendon, who come off three straight losses.

They will be helped by the two-pronged return of Daniel Bradshaw from a hamstring strain and Tim Notting from suspension in an important boost to their attack.

Both were sorely missed against Collingwood as skipper Jonathan Brown, who kicked five goals, was the only forward target.

"For us it becomes a critical game and the next six days are the most critical of our season," Voss said.

"We've made massive gains in a lot of areas and now we've become a little bit pedantic."

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