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NORTH Melbourne has stamped itself as a dangerous finals wildcard, comprehensively outplaying its bogey team Collingwood by 30 points at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
The Kangaroos had lost their past four encounters against the Magpies by an average of 80.5 points and looked like they might be in for another tough game when the Pies raced to a 24-point lead within the opening 12 minutes.
But North's high-disposal game soon clicked and they kicked 13 of the next 17 goals to record a 13.13 (91) to 8.13 (61) win.
The win maintains the Roos' hold on sixth spot on the ladder (13-7) and, with a round 23 encounter against Greater Western Sydney to come, virtually assures them of playing finals for the first time since 2008.
They will enter September in red-hot form having now won nine of their past 10 games and six straight.
Todd Goldstein was outstanding for the Roos, dominating Darren Jolly in ruck duels and working hard to provide a marking target around the ground.
Former North skipper Brent Harvey was also prominent through the midfield and in attack, and was well supported by onballers Ben Cunnington, Sam Gibson, current captain Andrew Swallow and Jack Ziebell in his first game back from a four-match suspension.
The Roos' three-pronged tall forward again worked well, with Drew Petrie, Robbie Tarrant and Lachie Hansen each kicking three goals, while North's defenders Scott Thompson (on Travis Cloke), Luke Delaney (on Chris Dawes) and Scott McMahon made life hell for Collingwood's forwards.
After the game, North coach Brad Scott praised his players' performance, saying their response to the Magpies' fast start was a sign of their growing maturity.
"We went in with a plan, we executed the plan really well and I think that it's a superb effort by the players," Scott said.
"The start Collingwood got off to was really impressive. They certainly blitzed us early. They looked like the really good team that they are. They looked ominous and I think it would have been easy for the boys to panic a little bit.
"But I was just as happy with the calm, measured approach that the assistant coaches took in the coach's box to the one that the players took on the field. I think that's a sign of real maturity."
For the Magpies, Dayne Beams worked tirelessly to finish with a game-high 38 possessions, while Dale Thomas, Steele Sidebottom and, after a quiet start, Scott Pendlebury were also among Collingwood's best players.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said it was too easy to put the blame for his team's loss at the feet of goalless key forwards Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes, stressing the Pies were aggressively outworked all over the field.
"It's pretty clear that everyone wants to pin it on 'Dawesy' or 'Clokey'. It's not two blokes," Buckley said.
"The whole side was poor tonight. I don't reckon we had any winners in their positions.
"'Beamsy' (Dayne Beams) had 38 touches but the blokes that he was playing on were probably getting away and just as damaging offensively the other way.
"I'd struggle to go through our 22 tonight and find a winner, and you're not going to win many games if that's the case."
The Magpies remain in third after the loss but look likely to be leapfrogged by Hawthorn, who plays Gold Coast at the MCG on Sunday evening.
COLLINGWOOD 4.2 5.8 7.12 8.13 (61)
NORTH MELBOURNE 4.3 9.6 12.9 13.13 (91)
GOALS
Collingwood: Beams 2, Tarrant, Fasolo, Didak, Blair, Sinclair, Pendlebury,
North Melbourne: Tarrant 3, Thomas 3, Petrie 3, Hansen 2, Garlett, Ziebell
BEST
Collingwood: Beams, Blair, Pendlebury, Thomas, Sidebottom?
North Melbourne: Goldstein, Harvey, Thompson, Petrie, Delaney, McMahon, Hansen
INJURIES ?
Collingwood: Toovey (corked thigh), replaced in selected side by Mooney, Mooney (ankle), Maxwell (hip flexor)
North Melbourne: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Nick Maxwell replaced by Caolan Mooney at three-quarter time
North Melbourne: Cruize Garlett replaced by Matthew Campbell in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stevic, Nicholls, Pannell
Official crowd: 44,956 at Etihad Stadium
Nick Bowen is a reporter with AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
