Collingwoodfc.com.au takes a deeper look at the Magpies’ 97-point win over Gold Coast in round 10 at the MCG on Sunday evening.

The Result
Collingwood 23.11 (149)
Gold Coast 7.10 (52)

Goals - Sinclair 3, Cloke 3, Elliott 3, Thomas 3, Fasolo 2, Didak 2, Pendlebury, Buckley, Wood, Beams, Williams, Goldsack, Wellingham
Disposals - Beams 32, Thomas 32, Didak 29, Wellingham 27, Buckley 25

Collingwood’s dominance in its round 10 fixture against the second year Gold Coast Suns was illustrated on a quarter-by-quarter basis. The Magpies slotted five, seven, six and five goals across the four quarters to run out eventual 97-point winners.

Click here to watch the CTV highlights.

Although the Pies had their prolific midfielders, such as Dayne Beams and Dale Thomas who each hunted down 32 disposals, it was Suns’ captain Gary Ablett who stole the show with an incredible 53 possessions. It’s the equal-highest amount of possessions by one player in a match since stats have officially been recorded (dating back to 1974) alongside Greg Williams who disposed of the ball on 53 occasions while playing for Sydney in 1989. That Ablett’s 53 touches were in vain underlined Collingwood’s collective supremacy.

Bucks’ take
“We had some specific defensive goals through the week and coming into match and we achieved those. Any time you come up against any opposition there's a bit of a battle against them and there's a battle against yourselves to play your best football, and I was encouraged by (our) four-quarter performance.” Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley.

Hear more from Bucks in his post match press conference.

Over the fence
“You’re probably going to laugh at this, but we actually thought our effort was OK. I just think we got blown out of the park by a very good side. They took their opportunities.” - Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna.

Read the match report here.

Bob and Bill
Jamie ‘Billy’ Elliott and ‘Bob’ Marley Williams made their league debuts alongside each other in hostile territory last week and made a big impression with their endeavour and commitment. The pair took another step in their development yesterday at the more comfortable surrounds of the MCG playing at opposite ends of the ground. Elliott showed shades of Paul Medhurst with his nippy play around the big sticks, kicking 3.1 from 18 possessions including a ripper from the boundary line. At the other end, Williams made use of 17 disposals and laid six tackles. The icing on the cake was his first goal in senior football, marking and goaling in the square during the second quarter.

View the best photos from Collingwood's 97-point win.

Indestructible
Vice-captain Scott Pendlebury may have been subbed out of the match shortly after the main break, but he still had enough time to pick up 17 possessions, two tackles and a goal. All this despite leaving the field momentarily in the first quarter after a knock to his leg. Simply indestructible.

The medical room
The obvious story out of the bowels of the MCG was Pendlebury’s leg complaint. Director of Football Geoff Walsh said that Pendlebury has slight crack at the top of his tibia and will miss the Magpies’ match against Melbourne next Monday. He will then be assessed after the bye weekend.

View Collingwood's injury list.

Ruck and roll
In light of Darren Jolly’s late withdrawal, Cameron Wood stepped up to the plate with one of his finest games in the black and white. The 25-year-old was the dominant ruckman on the ground, winning 25 hitouts and 23 possessions - the second highest tally of his 62 game career. Wood also pushed forward to add to the scoreboard and took his season hitout average to 24.5.

Watch the CTV highlights, including some Thomas and Elliott brilliance, here.

Friendly foes
The Gold Coast playing and coaching lists have a certain Collingwood flavour to them. Guy McKenna and Shane O’Bree are among the coaching brains trust while former Magpie Josh Fraser was not selected to make the trip. But two names familiar to the Magpie Army, Danny Stanley and Sam Iles, made an impression under the MCG lights. Both played in the Suns’ first trip to the MCG last season, but prior to that, the last time each ran out on the hallowed turf was in a Collingwood jumper. For Stanley, that was in round four, 2008 when the Magpies lost to Carlton while Iles’ final appearance on the ‘G for the Pies was in the 16-point loss to Geelong in round 15, 2007.

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What does it mean?
- The Magpies’ depth is increasing. Injuries have seen the likes of Ben Sinclair and Lachlan Keeffe make their mark early in the season and now Elliott and Williams are being rewarded for their strong form in the VFL.
- Kirk Ugle is now rivalling Paul Seedsman as Collingwood’s number one substitute. Both youngsters have started three matches of their debut season as the sub - more than any other Collingwood player.
- Alan Didak circa 2012 continues to heat up. His 29 possession game was his highest since winning 31 touches against Fremantle in round 23 last year. Importantly, his two goals were his first on the MCG since the Queen’s Birthday last year and his first bag of multiple goals since booting two against North Melbourne in round two last season. These snippets are sure to prompt a grin from Collingwood fans around the world.

VFL
Taking four players with senior experience into Collingwood’s VFL encounter with the fifth placed Werribee meant that it was sure to be a difficult assignment from the get-go. Trailing by 28-points at quarter time, the Magpies went goal less in the second term as the Tigers hit their straps. The eventual margin was 109-points, but promise was shown by big men Jackson Paine and Jonathon Ceglar who each booted three. Chris Tarrant played his second game on return from a calf injury and was named in his side’s best for his work in the back half. The Magpies travel to the other side of Melbourne next week to play the Casey Scorpions who are second on the VFL ladder.

Looking ahead…
On the back of seven wins in as many weeks, Collingwood will enter its match against Melbourne on Queen’s Birthday chock full of confidence. But the Magpies will be the first team to take on the Demons on the back of a win this season following Melbourne’s nail biting six point win over the rampaging Essendon. It means they will have to be on their guard in one of the game’s traditional blockbuster fixtures for Melbourne has a history of lifting for the clash each year. A story of interest will be Nathan Buckley taking on Melbourne coach Mark Neeld for the first time after the pair teamed together to help pilot Collingwood to the 2010 premiership.