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.
If some teams are getting tired by this stage of the season, the same certainly cannot be said of Mick Malthouse's relentless outfit.
The Magpies' victory broke their previous record winning margin over North Melbourne (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, which has made a habit of capitulating against the best teams.
The Kangaroos made a bright start, although they wasted a number of scoring opportunities in the first quarter, during 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.
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 has a six-day break before taking on Carlton in one of the most anticipated matches of the season.
A crowd of more than 90,000 is expected to pack the MCG on Saturday to watch the big clash.
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
