Collingwood flattened Port Adelaide by 81 points in their AFL practice match at Mt Gambier on Saturday.

The Power had appeared in decent fettle on their way to the semi-finals of the pre-season cup, but were made to look decidedly inadequate by the Magpies' superior combination of grit and class, which ultimately delivered a 27.16 (178) to 15.7 (97) victory.

Vaunted recruit Luke Ball demonstrated precisely how valuable he could be this year by repeatedly winning the hard ball and occasionally drifting forward for three goals, while Tarkyn Lockyer, Leon Davis and Alan Didak were typically accomplished.

Robbie Gray, captain Domenic Cassisi and the enigmatic Daniel Motlop (three goals) were the best of a poor bunch for the Power.

Both sides were taking the match seriously two weeks out from the start of the home-and-away season, though 'Pies coach Mick Malthouse again ceded match-day responsibilities to one of his assistants, this time Mark Neeld.

Though Port's decent display in the pre-season cup had been exemplified by a higher level of pressure than that seen in 2009, it was gone in the first half on Saturday night.

The Magpies were dominant around the stoppages in addition to forcing plenty of Power turnovers, as the likes of Ball, Davis, Lockyer and Scott Pendlebury did more or less as they pleased.

A vast array of Collingwood's forwards and midfielders were dangerous, sharing the goals around to lead by 26 points at the first change and 37 at the half.

The Power improved in the third quarter, but couldn't get any closer than 24 points, trailing by 41 at the last change after Collingwood notched the final three goals of the term.

By fulltime, no fewer than 15 'Pies had added their names to the list of goalscorers while the Power allowed a loss to turn into a blow-out much as they had on a worrying number of occasions last year.

Neeld could not have been happier with the performances of his players.

"It was our last chance to get things right before the season starts and we were happy with what the players did," he said.

"Luke Ball was good, Darren Jolly was good and Harry O'Brien repelled numerous Port Adelaide attacks.

"The scoreboard was irrelevant but we were happy with how the players went about it."

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