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COLLINGWOOD captain Scott Burns says the Magpies proved how much they have matured in recent years by overcoming a determined and emotionally-driven Melbourne on Monday afternoon.

Burns, 33, believes his side did not play its best football against the Demons on the Queen's Birthday holiday, yet were still able to come away with the win owing to their improved mentality.

"It says that our playing group is a bit more mature than it has been in the past," he said, of the 21-point win.

"I think we responded pretty well to quite a few things. There are still a lot of areas we can improve in, and it is good we have got a six-day break and we'll be going through a few things on what we need to do better."

It was another big stage event for Collingwood, given the only-game-in-town, public holiday environment the match was held in.

And, the club faces a similar situation next weekend when it faces traditional rival Carlton on the back of the Blues' big win over Port Adelaide.

"If you can cope with the crowds and with teams eager to play you, it's really good for the young players to play on those bigger occasions," Burns said.

"If you can handle these sorts of things, it gives you a lot of confidence going forward towards finals.

"I've got no doubt that when we've got to the finals, we've handled ourselves pretty well because of it.

"There are a few games you watch and think, 'Gee that game looked a bit flat today', and we don't seem to get any of those," he said.

"Everyone always lifts themselves for us, and it can only hold us in good stead."
Burns is looking forward to the Carlton clash, just eight weeks after their last meeting.

He believes the AFL is doing the right thing by scheduling such head-to-heads and their rematches earlier in the season rather than later, with the anticipation for this clash still paramount with both side's finals chances alive.

"I didn't play in round four, so I'm happy to get another big game," he said.

"It's pretty smart by the AFL in a lot of ways because I reckon in my whole career, either Carlton has been at the top and Collingwood has been at the bottom, or the other way around.

"To get this game in the middle of the year will definitely draw a big crowd, because usually that second game drops off a little bit because one of the teams is battling.

"But the way they played on the weekend, they're going to take great momentum in, and we want to atone for the way things went in round four."