COLLINGWOOD'S round-nine game against Geelong was a cakewalk last night, the Magpies stunning the premier to the tune of an 86-point defeat. Geelong's second loss in 29 matches was as comprehensive as it was surprising.

From the first bounce, Collingwood harassed the Cats, denying them the time and space they have used so devastatingly for so long. Twice in the opening minutes, Geelong defenders were run down, first Matthew Scarlett by Scott Pendlebury, then Joel Corey by Leon Davis. These were significant moments, as was the one at the start of the second quarter when Steve Johnson danced around one opponent before being locked up as he tried to wrong-foot a second.

Collingwood, by contrast, could neither be wrong-footed, nor put a foot wrong. Its 19th goal came when Dale Thomas found space on the boundary line in the forward pocket after accelerating away from Cameron Ling, dropped the ball on the outside of his right foot and watched it skitter unerringly along the turf through the big sticks. As if to emphasise the difference between the sides — on this night, at any rate — the ball went straight into attack for Geelong from the bounce, only for Travis Varcoe to skew his shot for goal out of bounds on the full.

Geelong, which so often has had extra men when it counted, found itself one short everywhere. It missed Paul Chapman, a late withdrawal with hamstring soreness, was exposed by having to play Harry Taylor on Travis Cloke most of the night, while Tom Harley went from one small forward, Alan Didak, to another, Paul Medhurst, without stopping either.

And, of course, Brad Ottens, who was the difference when these two teams met in last year's preliminary final, continues to languish on the sidelines with a persistent foot injury.

Collingwood had so many good players — Cloke, Didak, Pendlebury, Marty Clarke, Harry O'Brien, to Geelong's few. Gary Ablett was the best of them, Corey, Corey Enright and a few others got their hands on it often enough. But, for once, things kept going wrong between hand and foot.

Geelong finally looked to be stirring when it opened the second half with three consecutive goals. But the Magpies reasserted themselves to win the third quarter and hold a matchwinning 63-point lead at the end of it.

Ablett came out from the break as if intent on a one-man blitz. He was involved in all three goals; in the set-up for Ryan Gamble's acrobatic mark for the first, he kicked the second himself and then again drove the ball forward for Cam Mooney to get the third.

The lead was down to 33 points with not much more than three minutes of the second half played. Any thoughts of a second-half comeback by the Cats soon evaporated. Anthony Rocca marked in the middle of three opponents then kicked forward for Didak to get one back; Cloke's fourth followed and then Davis got a third after the sequence of five straight goals to open the half was broken by a behind from Heath Shaw.

Collingwood led by 51 points at half-time in a performance which had set the premier squarely on its backside. Six goals in the first term, five in the second: if there was a way out for Geelong, it was very hard to discern.

Collingwood set the tone from the opening minutes. Twice, Geelong playmakers were run down trying to bring the ball out of defence. First was Scarlett, who outpointed Rocca in going for a high-bouncing ball, then skipped around him and started to run. What else is new? What else was new was that Pendlebury ran him down. Turnover, free kick and the only thing wrong with Pendlebury's effort was that his insipid shot from 40 metres was touched on the line.

Scarcely a minute later, Corey had possession and looked to set someone up in the midfield. As he delayed the kick, Davis ran him down. Another free to Collingwood, and when a clearly rattled Scarlett ran over the mark as Davis went to kick, the 50-metre penalty made Collingwood's first goal certain.

Collingwood then kicked two more before Geelong had woken up.

COLLINGWOOD 6.4 11.6 16.7 20.14 (134)
GEELONG 2.2 3.3 6.5 7.6 (48)

GOALS Collingwood: Cloke 4, Medhurst 3, Didak 2, Davis 2, Shaw, B. Johnson, Rocca, Fraser, Clarke, Lockyer, Pendlebury, Bryan, Thomas. Geelong: Ablett 2, Varcoe, Wojcinski, Gamble, Mooney, Hawkins.

BEST Collingwood: Clarke, Thomas, Cloke, Lockyer, Swan, Pendlebury, Rocca. Geelong: Ablett, Corey.

UMPIRES McBurney, Kennedy, Jeffery.

CROWD 78,206 at the MCG.

THE UPSHOT Collingwood have given desperately needed hope to every other team in the competition that applying pressure, pressure and more pressure on the reigning premiers can not only lead to victory, but a magnificent victory.

TALKING POINT It was the AFL's first officially sanctioned match under the new interchange rules, but despite a couple of confusing moments on the Magpie bench there was little to take the focus away from the win.