COLLINGWOOD has prevailed by 24 points in a sometimes spiteful encounter with Carlton at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues led for almost the entire first half before the Magpies' midfield lifted its contribution and got the side back in the contest, and with a four-goal bag to Alan Didak, won 17.17 (119) to 14.11 (95).

Spearhead Brendan Fevola looked set to be the Blues' kingpin after four goals in the first half, but Simon Prestigiacomo put an end to that in the second and the forward did not kick another major for the afternoon.

Collingwood youngster Scott Pendlebury played arguably his best game for the Magpies with 24 touches, while Josh Fraser was impressive across the ground, despite copping a heavy knock during a quarter-time scuffle.

While the Blues started strongly and led for nearly all of the first half, the Magpies came home strongly and kept them to only two goals in the final term.

The Blues lost defender Bret Thornton before the bounce, which caused Denis Pagan to give Lance Whitnall the job on Anthony Rocca while Ryan Houlihan started on small forward Didak.

In a surprise move, Blues defender Setanta O'hAilpin lined up against Fraser in the ruck, while Brodie Holland started on the bench in his first game for the year and Dale Thomas prepared himself for a tough afternoon on Andrew Walker.

The Pies were on the board early and moved out to an eight-point lead within three minutes, but the Blues – led by youngster Marc Murphy – dominated the clearances, and with two goals to Fevola and singles to Murphy, Eddie Betts and Matthew Lappin, took a 20-point lead into the first change.

Tensions boiled over at quarter-time when Fevola, spurred on by an earlier Thomas hit on O'hAilpin that left the Irishman dazed, charged through the Collingwood huddle and instigated a melee.

Fevola, Holland and Fraser were all treated for injuries to the head after the brawl, which involved nearly every player on the field.

Both sides came out fired up, and to the raucous encouragement of the 77,321 fans in attendance, took to their positions for the restart after what was an engaging end to the first term.

Prestigiacomo continued to work hard against Fevola, but the tough forward kicked another two in the second, which prompted Mick Malthouse to give Harry O'Brien another shot at an experienced forward.

The Pies continued to get beaten at the stoppages in the second, and some errant kicking by Travis Cloke (no goals, four behinds) for the half saw the Blues capitalise and get out to a 25-point lead with three minutes to go.

Didak accepted a handpass from Scott Burns in the dying stages of the second and slotted a major with one second left, which gave the Pies a 19-point deficit to reel in.

The Pies shot out of the blocks after the main break and had three goals on the board within seven minutes, which levelled the scores and nearly saw the Great Southern Stand topple with the noise made by the Collingwood faithful.

Goals were traded twice in the next 10 minutes, but a 50m-penalty to Fraser put the ruckman within range, and gave him the chance to pass off to Didak. The small forward converted, and the Pies hit the lead for the first time since the 18-minute mark of the first term.

Swan, Pendlebury and Tarkyn Lockyer continued to be influential throughout the term, and once the Pies hit the front, they refused to let the Blues take back the lead, and took a one-point margin into the deciding term.

The Blues have been disappointing in final terms this year while the Pies have won four from six – and Saturday afternoon was no exception.

Cloke finally found the big sticks – three times – and some unlikely suspects in Shane Wakelin and Tarkyn Lockyer also kicked truly to contribute to their side's six-goal final quarter.

Collingwood now has a seven-day break before it meets the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome next Sunday, while Carlton is heading to the Gold Coast to meet the Kangaroos at Carrara on Saturday night.

COLLINGWOOD: 1.6, 4.11, 11.15, 17.17 (119)
CARLTON: 5.2, 8.6, 12.8, 14.11 (95)

Goals: Collingwood: Didak 4, Cloke 3, Rocca 2, Fraser 2, Pendlebury, Toovey, Swan, Thomas, Wakelin, LockyerCarlton: Fevola 4, Lappin 2, Betts, Murphy, Carrazzo, Simpson, Waite, Young, Fisher, Kennedy

Best: Collingwood: Pendlebury, Fraser, Lockyer, Swan, H. Shaw, Didak Carlton: Murphy, Carrazzo, Scotland, Houlihan, Simpson, Bentick

Injuries: Collingwood: TBACarlton: TBA

Reports: TBA

Umpires: McBurney, Wenn, Nicholls

Official crowd: 77, 321 at the MCG