Collingwood made an impressive start to its VFL campaign despite recording a 24-point loss to Essendon in the first practice match of 2013 on Saturday morning.

The Magpies, who won only four games last year, opened the game with six goals in the first quarter, two of which were kicked by key forward Jackson Paine.

In his first match after shoulder surgery, Paine looked sharp in attack where he bagged three goals for the day and held several grabs leading up the field.

Rookie Peter Yagmoor was the other AFL-listed player to take to the field on Saturday morning, playing mostly across half back and pushing up to centre wing.

Coming up against an Essendon line up containing players the calibre of David Hille, Scott Gumbleton, Matthew Bate and Tayte Pears, most onlookers could have been forgiven for believing that the match would be a walk in the part for the recently reformed VFL Bombers.

The first quarter was one-way traffic, but instead of being a red and black procession, it was all Collingwood as they kicked out to a 24-point lead at the first change.

Paine led the way in attack with two goals and several strong marks, while the experienced Brendan Rinaldi and Cathal Corr crashed packs and opened up the play for their smaller teammates.

The Magpies intensity and hunger was embodied by wingman Matthew Hine who barrelled an Essendon opponent in a front-on tackle only metres from goal. On the whole, Collingwood's tackling and pressure was excellent in the first half but began to wane in the second half as the dual dangers of the heat and Essendon's bigger bodies began to take a toll.

The crowd knew the game was set to change when the Bombers opened the third quarter with three quick goals, and despite majors to Jack Hellier and Lachlan Ferguson, Collingwood was unable to properly stem the bleeding as the Dons ran out 24-point victors.

Collingwood will play its next VFL practice match against Geelong at Simonds Stadium (nee Kardinia Park) next Saturday. The starting time will be confirmed early next week.

Collingwood 11.9 (75)
Essendon 15.9 (99)

Goals - Collingwood: Paine 3, Rinaldi, Corr, Matheson, Hine, Riddle, Mangoni, Hellier, Ferguson

Best - Collingwood: Hine, Greenhough, Paine, Riddle, Mangoni

Teams
Collingwood: 1. Nick Gray, 9. Tyson Mitchem, 11. Tom Tyquin, 23. Chris Gleeson, 30. Billy Barden, 33. Jackson Paine, 37. Lachlan Ferguson, 38. Peter Yagmoor, 40. Nathan Black, 41. Chris Mangoni, 43. Ben Moloney, 44. Scott Greenhough, 45. Cathal Corr, 46. Callum Matheson, 47. Jackson Heagney-Steart, 48. Sam Williams, 53. Jack Hellier, 55. Brendan Rinaldi, 56. Nick Riddle, 57. Tim Allan, 60. Matthew Hine.
Essendon: 1. Daniel Coughlan, 2. Michael Sikora, 3. Scott Gumbleton, 6. Joe Daniher, 8. Josh Freezer, 9. Matthew Bate, 10. Nick O'Brien, 11. Josh Toy, 14. Jason Ashby, 15. Pat Ambrose, 16. Tayte Pears, 19. David Hille, 23. Tim Knowles, 24. Alex Browne, 25. Ariel Steinberg, 27. Luke Davis, 32. Travis Colyer, 33. Dylan van Unen, 34. Kyle Hardingham, 36. Lachlan Dalgleish, 37. Daniel Gregory, 38. Ben McPhee, 40. Zac O'Brien, 41. Will Hams, 42. Jacob Thompson, 45. Hal Hunter, 47. Cory Dell'Olio.

Recap Collingwoodfc.com.au's live coverage of Saturday's match below.