COLLINGWOOD is universally regarded as the best team in the competition, yet the reigning premier had been below Geelong on the ladder since losing to the Cats in round eight.

However, order was restored on Sunday afternoon at the MCG when the Magpies crushed North Melbourne by 117 points and reclaimed top spot.

Up by 46 points at the long break, the Magpies then cantered to a 22.15 (147) to 3.12 (30) victory.

North was in the match at the first change, with only poor kicking for goal preventing them being closer than the 16 points they trailed by, but after quarter-time it was a black-and-white procession.

The Magpies' victory broke their previous record winning margin over North  (set in 1937) by four points.

It was also was their fourth consecutive demolition of the Kangaroos (the average margin in the past four games between the clubs is 80 points).

Missing injured forward Chris Dawes, Collingwood took complete control in the second quarter when it booted six goals to one.

Dane Swan (38 possessions), Scott Pendlebury (29 disposals, seven tackles) and Dale Thomas were all brilliant performers in the Magpies' midfield.

Despite rolling his ankle during the second quarter, Thomas amassed 26 possessions and kicked three goals before he was subbed off during the third term.

Steele Sidebottom led the way on the scoreboard with four goals, while Leigh Brown and Jarryd Blair kicked three.

Much of the game was played in driving rain, with the gloomy conditions meaning the lights were on by the start of the second quarter at 1.45pm.

It was certainly a dark afternoon for North Melbourne despite their bright start.

The Roos will rue their wasteful first term in which they kicked 1.5, but Brad Scott's men were completely outclassed from there, the loss leaving them six points outside the top eight.

Todd Goldstein battled manfully in the ruck, and comprehensively won the hit-outs against dual premiership player Darren Jolly (38-24), but winners for the Roos were few and far between.

Daniel Wells worked hard to tally 29 disposals, as did Jack Ziebell for his 27 touches. Andrew Swallow and Brady Rawlings were also competitive, with 23 disposals apiece.

North Melbourne managed only one goal in each of the first three terms, and was goalless in the last.

The Kangaroos' final score of 3.12 (30) was their fourth-lowest in 153 matches against the Magpies.


Collingwood        4.3    10.6    16.12    22.15 (147)
North Melbourne    1.5    2.8    3.9        3.12 (30)   

GOALS
Collingwood: Sidebottom 4, Blair 3, Thomas 3, Brown 3, Swan 2, Cloke 2, Shaw, Davis, Wellingham, Jolly, Fasolo
North Melbourne: Harvey 2, Goldstein

BEST
Collingwood: Swan, Pendlebury, Reid, Thomas, Sidebottom, Tarrant, Krakouer, Davis, Cloke
North Melbourne: Goldstein, Wells, Swallow, Rawlings, Ziebell

INJURIES
Collingwood: TBC
North Melbourne: TBC

SUBSTITUTES:
Collingwood: Dale Thomas replaced by Alex Fasolo in the third quarter.
North Melbourne: Aaron Edwards replaced by Liam Anthony in the third quarter.

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Farmer, Ryan, Mollison

Official crowd: 53,601 at MCG

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs