COLLINGWOOD supporters must have a sinking feeling these days every time the Magpies are drawn to play a team they're supposed to beat. Even before yesterday's 48-point thumping at the hands of Essendon, the Pies had conceded five of their seven losses for the season to teams beneath them on the ladder.

You can make it six out of eight now. And that scrap for a top-four spot that Collingwood was fighting might indeed now turn into a battle simply to make the top eight. While they may have knocked over Geelong, the Magpies would be hard-pressed to beat any team of substance on yesterday's lacklustre showing.

The signs were ominous from the start, alarm bells ringing within nine minutes, by which time Essendon had four goals on the board to nothing. And while a second-quarter flurry did bring the Pies back within a couple of points, it was all even further downhill from there.

Collingwood simply couldn't find anywhere near the required level of intensity to deal with a far hungrier opponent desperate to atone for their mismatch this season on Anzac Day, when the Dons had been hammered by 73 points.

You could see Essendon's intent within a minute of the start, when an Adam McPhee tackle on Dale Thomas caused a spill in the Essendon forward line, Angus Monfries pounced on the spoils, and Matthew Lloyd ran into an open goal. Barely a minute later, a tap from David Hille fell to Leroy Jetta, Andrew Welsh gratefully accepting his handball to snap a second.

Welsh had a second at seven minutes when he marked and converted Damien Peverill's pass, and, remarkably, a third barely a minute after that when Scott Pendlebury conceded both a free kick and a 50-metre penalty.

Essendon was red-hot, Collingwood asleep. Lloyd pinged Shane O'Bree holding the ball, Welsh nailed Pendlebury, and when Monfries converted a Welsh pass 15 minutes in, it was 5.5 to 0.1. By then, Essendon had racked up 71 disposals, Collingwood, incredibly, just 26, less than two per minute of football.

It was Travis Cloke who gave the Magpie supporters at least some reason to make noise when he booted the Pies' first into time-on, but the first term was still an embarrassment. Ricky Dyson had had 12 touches, Welsh 11, Essendon all up 124 to just 66. The Pies had barely turned up.

When they finally did come to play, it was a margin swiftly retrieved. The Magpies started to win some centre breaks, apply some pressure, hit some targets. Alan Didak goalled, John Anthony, Cloke and Leon Davis followed suit, and by only the 15-minute mark of the second term, the Pies seemed poised not only to hit the front, but run right over the top.

But it became the moment the Bombers showed that, along with developing an attacking and exciting running game this season, they're also perhaps beginning to find some coolness under pressure.

Goals to Lloyd and Brent Stanton restored some equilibrium. Nor did Essendon start to get the jitters when Didak kicked a goal on the run just 15 seconds into the third term. The Bombers' response was swift and savage, the next five goals of the game taking the margin beyond 30 points.

And yet again, come the final term, Anthony and Davis had given Collingwood at least a sniff with two late goals in the third quarter. Paul Medhurst kicked the first of the final term to make it 13 points. Highly promising Bomber youngster Kyle Reimers shot down their hopes with two goals in two minutes and the Dons rammed home six of the last seven for good measure.

While Dane Swan and Cloke were at least triers for the Magpies, Essendon had at least the best six players on the ground. And those best were the same names with which we've become very familiar in this purple patch of five wins and a narrow loss from the past six outings.

Like Welsh, superb again on the ball, finishing with 29 disposals, five tackles, four clearances and a career-best four goals. Like Jobe Watson, who broke the 40-possession barrier, almost half of them kicks, and used more effectively than seldom, if ever, before.

Like Monfries, whose leading from half-forward, strong kicking and marking, two goals, and just as importantly, the neutralising of Magpie attacking weapon Heath Shaw, were critical in Essendon's flying out of the blocks.

And like the constant in Essendon's 2008, David Hille. The ruckman continues to impose himself like never before on matches, yesterday with 24 disposals, six marks, 10 hitouts, six clearances, a goal, and a presence that Collingwood couldn't find anywhere save the occasions Cloke was given a chance to have an impact.

You never would have guessed that this was a game between fifth and 12th, and that the lower team could look so dominant. The Magpies are getting used to it, but never perhaps in quite as costly a fashion.

ESSENDON 5.7 7.10 12.11 19.14 (128)
COLLINGWOOD 1.3 6.7 9.10 11.14 (80)

GOALS Essendon: Lloyd 4, Welsh 4, Reimers 3, McPhee 2, Monfries 2, Hille, Jetta, Lovett-Murray, Stanton. Collingwood: Cloke 3, Anthony 2, Davis 2, Didak 2, Medhurst 2.

BEST Essendon: Welsh, Hille, Watson, Stanton, Monfries, Fletcher, Lloyd. Collingwood: Thomas, O'Brien, O'Bree, Cloke, Burns.

INJURIES Nil.

REPORTS Essendon: Lucas reported by field umpire James for striking O'Brien (Collingwood) in the first quarter. Collingwood: Davis reported by field umpire Donlon for making front-on contact with Watson (Essendon) in the second quarter, Didak reported by field umpire Head for striking Slattery (Essendon) in the third quarter.

UMPIRES Donlon, James, Head.

CROWD 64,785 at MCG.

THE UPSHOT Collingwood has stumbled, heavily, two weeks in a row and coach Mick Malthouse has doubts about "whether we're good enough" with just five games left of the home-and-away season.

TALKING POINT Essendon spearhead Scott Lucas was described as "a bit of a leaky boat" by coach Matthew Knights after the game and could be in doubt for next weekend, if he's not rubbed out earlier in the week for a striking charge against Harry O'Brien.

HOT AND COLD Essendon skipper Matthew Lloyd was in superb form, taking 10 marks and kicking a goal in each quarter, including the Bombers' first of the second term after Collingwood narrowed the margin to two points. Lloyd's opponent, veteran defender Shane Wakelin, had a dirty day and finished with just three kicks and one handball.