Swans soar past cold Pies
Collingwood was no match for Sydney as the reigning premiers strolled to a 47-point win on Friday night.
The Swans completely smothered the Magpies' forwards and charged forward when in possession, skipping away with a 15.12 (102) to 8.7 (55) victory.
Such was the visitors' dominance, Collingwood could manage only one goal between the 25-minute mark of the first quarter and the four-minute mark of the last.
The Swans booted 10 goals in the same period, getting out to a game-high 54-point lead.
Only a strong last quarter from Nathan Buckley's men prevented the result from becoming a complete blowout.
Champion Swan Adam Goodes was superb for the victors, collecting 30 disposals up and down the wing, as the reigning premiers repeatedly hurt Collingwood on the counter-attack.
He also booted a team-high three goals in a fitting display for Indigenous Round.
The veteran gained great support from his midfield, with Daniel Hannebery, Kieren Jack and Ryan O'Keefe all enjoying big games.
Down back, Nick Malceski continually found space as a loose man, and also provided important help for teammate Ted Richards on dangerous spearhead Travis Cloke (three goals) in an otherwise dysfunctional Magpies forward line.
Scott Pendlebury played a typically determined game for the losers, gathering 28 disposals and hitting teammates lace-out on several occasions.
Steele Sidebottom and Luke Ball also worked hard, while Brent Macaffer turned in a disciplined tagging effort on Josh Kennedy, holding the Swans' clearance specialist to 18 disposals.
The dampener on a memorable evening for John Longmire's team was the loss of key forward Sam Reid with a left quad injury.
The win for the Swans appeared to be marred by an incident late in the game, with a female Collingwood supporter ejected from the ground after being pointed out to security by Goodes.
Goodes left the field immediately after the final siren, and appeared visibly upset in the changerooms.
It was the Swans' first win over Collingwood at the MCG since 2000, and came despite a pre-game drama, with the team bus turning up late after breaking down on the way to the hotel, forcing some players onto public transport.
They have now won two straight over the Magpies after losing the previous 11.
The loss leaves Collingwood at 5-4 for the season, and almost certain to drop out of the top eight by the end of the weekend.
Already severely depleted by injury, they may be sweating on the fitness of Jordan Russell, who spent time on the bench with an ankle problem.
He was, however, able to finish the game on the field.
The Swans have moved to six wins, two losses and a draw, and are safe inside the top four for another week.
The healthy turnout was the second-largest home and away attendance for matches between the two clubs in history.
Collingwood 3.2 3.4 4.5 8.7 (55)
Sydney 4.5 7.9 11.11 15.12 (102)
Goals - Collingwood: Cloke 3, Elliot 2, Witts, Dwyer, Seedsman
Sydney: Goodes 3, Pyke 2, McGlynn 2, Hannebery 2, Reid, Bird, Morton, Jetta, Jack, Bolton
Best - Collingwood: Pendlebury, Sidebottom. Russell, Macaffer, Cloke
Sydney: Goodes, Hannebery, O'Keefe, McGlynn, Pyke, McVeigh, Jack, Malceski
Injuries - Collingwood: Russell (ankle)
Sydney: Reid (left quad)
Substitutes - Collingwood: Ben Kennedy replaced Jarrod Witts in the third quarter
Sydney: Jed Lamb replaced Sam Reid in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Nicholls, Meredith
Crowd: 65,306 at the MCG