The Hawks blew several opportunities to get off to a good start in a wasteful opening, but the Pies had no such issues once they had established their stifling press and slammed home four first-quarter goals to nil to lay the foundations of the 15.16 (106) to 9.11 (65) win.
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The precise ball movement by foot that has seen the Hawks slice through so many opposition zones this season deserted them in the face of intense pressure from the Pies and was replaced largely by hasty handballs to a teammate in a black-and-white crowd.
Lance Franklin loomed as the key to the contest before the opening bounce, but he was done no favours by his teammates further up the field with poor delivery inside 50.
When the ball did come his way, Franklin had to contend with his direct opponent in Chris Tarrant and Ben Reid, who played an excellent game as a loose man in defence and helped keep Franklin to just one goal.
Reid finished with 31 possessions, kicked an important goal and rebounded well after breaking up repeated forward thrusts from the Hawks.
Collingwood's classy midfield trio of Dane Swan (33 possessions), Scott Pendlebury (30) and Dale Tomas (31) were in fine form and were all instrumental at various stages of the game.
Lion-hearted Hawthorn skipper Luke Hodge didn't stop running all day and finished with 40 touches in an impressive display with former skipper Sam Mitchell working hard for his 34 disposals.
The Hawks managed just 2.4 in the first half, their lowest half-time score of the 2011 season, and trailed by 39 points.
A Hawthorn comeback looked unlikely midway through the third quarter, but all hope was lost when the Hawks suffered a double dose of bad luck.
Chance Bateman looked to have picked up an ankle injury and was subbed off, but could quite possibly have soldiered on if required. Just minutes later Jordan Lisle, who had played an excellent game in defence on Chris Dawes, suffered a heavy knock to the face and was escorted from the ground in a sorry state.
Clearly distressed, Lisle was ruled out for the rest of the game with concussion leaving an undermanned team to fight it out.
FIRST QUARTER
With skipper Luke Hodge everywhere, Hawthorn won plenty of ball early, but missed chances by Shaun Burgoyne, Lance Franklin and Paul Puopolo left them without a goal when Leigh Brown opened Collingwood's account at the nine-minute mark. From there, the Magpies' pressure began to take its toll on the Hawks, whose usually precise passing broke down in the face of a relentless wall of black and white opponents. Travis Cloke and Sharrod Wellingham both bombed in set shots from outside 50m, and Luke Ball comfortably converted from 20 metres after Josh Gibson interfered with him in a marking contest. Collingwood finished with 15 more tackles for the quarter (25-10) and a four-goal lead. Magpies by 24.
SECOND QUARTER
Hawthorn finally got on the board four minutes in when a Sam Mitchell kick found Franklin one-on-one with Tarrant inside 50. Tarrant spoiled the mark but Franklin recovered quicker, gathered and snapped a goal. But Collingwood quickly regained control. Alex Fasolo kicked a goal at the 11-minute mark after a Magpies counter-attack from a Brendan Whitecross mistake at the other end. Whitecross made amends with an excellent tackle on Dale Thomas deep in the forward pocket from which he then converted the goal. But Collingwood's overall dominance was rewarded when Darren Jolly and Brown kicked goals from close range early in time-on. Wellingham's second goal, from a set shot after the siren, blew the margin out beyond six goals. Magpies by 39.
THIRD QUARTER
Hawks small forward Luke Breust kicked the first of the quarter with an excellent snap under pressure, but then the Magpies banged on four straight through Cloke, Ben Reid, Jolly and Leon Davis to open up a game-high 59-point lead. Things got worse for Hawthorn when, shortly after Chance Bateman was subbed from the game with ankle soreness, Jordan Lisle was concussed in a clash of heads with Davis and then fellow key defender Josh Gibson copped an errant fist from teammate Max Bailey and also left the ground. The latter returned a short time later, but looked much the worse for wear. The Hawks put together their best passage of the game in the last 10 minutes of the quarter, booting three goals (to Puopolo, Liam Shiels and Mitchell) to one (Cloke). Magpies by 48.
FOURTH QUARTER
With the result well beyond doubt, Breust kicked an early goal for Hawthorn, which was quickly answered with a running Thomas effort from outside 50. The ball then ping-ponged up and down the ground for the next 15 minutes, with both sides peppering the goals but unable to kick truly. Blair finally broke the deadlock with his first of the match, before Hawthorn kicked the last two of the game through David Hale and Mitchell. Franklin spent the last five minutes on the bench after rolling his ankle, capping a dismal day for the Hawks. Magpies by 41.
Collingwood 4.4 8.7 13.10 15.16 (106)
Hawthorn 0.4 2.4 6.6 9.11 (65)
GOALS
Collingwood: Cloke 3, Brown 2, Wellingham 2, Jolly 2, Ball, Fasolo, Reid, Davis, Thomas, Blair
Hawthorn: Breust 2, Mitchell 2, Franklin, Whitecross, Puopolo, Shiels, Hale
BEST:
Collingwood: Reid, Swan, Pendlebury, Thomas, Shaw, Cloke, Jolly
Hawthorn: Hodge, Mitchell, Lisle, Suckling, Puopolo, Burgoyne
INJURIES
Collingwood: Nil
Hawthorn: Bateman (ankle), Lisle (nose/face), Franklin (ankle)
SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Chris Dawes replaced by Luke Rounds during the fourth quarter
Hawthorn: Chance Bateman (ankle) replaced by Clinton Young during the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Meredith, Jeffery
Official crowd: 83,985 at the MCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
