COLLINGWOOD utility Dayne Beams said Saturday's second-quarter melee against Richmond helped the Magpies maintain their rage for the whole game.

The brawl attracted every player on the field after Richmond's Jake King collected Alan Didak off the ball.

Beams said the Magpies were used to having to defend against tough tags on elite players, and were aware of the delicate balance between legal and illegal contact.

"It spurred us on a little bit more to go in and get the hard footy. I don't think it distracted us at all," he told afl.com.au, after Saturday's clash at the MCG, won by 93 points by the Magpies.

"We've got some pretty good players like 'Swanny' [Dane Swan] and 'Dids' [Alan Didak] and 'Pendles' [Scott Pendlebury] who are going to cop a tag every week, so we've got to look after them and at the same time not jeopardise our chances of playing finals footy."

Despite leading by 70 points at half time, Beams said the Magpies' focus didn't fluctuate in the second half.

"I reckon we wanted to run over them a little bit more," he said.

"The focus for us was to really just keep driving and focus on our structures and keep going and keep doing what had got us to that point at half time.

"We've beaten some pretty good teams over the last eight weeks, so to apply the same structures and not take our foot off the pedal against a lesser sort of team was pretty nice."

Beams said his own game, in which he broke the 30-disposal mark for the first time in his career, was his best.

"I had some good players around me, and when you're winning it's much easier to find the footy," he said.

"We're now just focused on our next couple of games and then our assault on finals."

Beams also says he is keen to keep playing right up until – and then into – September, and that the club's fitness staff is making sure his young body is right to do so.

"I'm doing a lot more recovery than I was doing at the start of the year," he said.

"That's probably helped my footy a lot, and my game time has ranged between 60 and 70 per cent throughout the year, so I'm feeling pretty fresh now.

"It's a credit to the coaching staff that have monitored it well.

"To play finals in your first year … my goal was to play one game, and I've been able to play 14.

"If I was able to play finals as well with the boys, it would be fantastic."