Collingwoodfc.com.au shines the torch on the Magpies’ 31-point win over Geelong at the MCG on Saturday night.

The Result
Collingwood 17.8 (110)
Geelong 10.19 (79)

Goals - Thomas 3, Beams 2, Dawes 2, Goldsack 2, Fasolo 2, Tarrant 2, Elliott, Jolly, Maxwell, Cloke
Disposals - Swan 40, Beams 36, Pendlebury 36, Shaw 29, Sidebottom 22

Geelong might not be playing with the venom of recent years, but it still takes a team functioning at a very high level to knock them off. Fortunately, Collingwood was one such team on Saturday night. The Magpies dusted themselves off after last week’s loss to Carlton and made an early statement as they kicked away to a 34-point lead at quarter time. They were never headed.

Click here to watch the CTV highlights.

The intensity and discipline shown by Collingwood delighted a 61,717 strong crowd that was at its loudest when Chris Tarrant kicked his two goals. The 31-year-old returned to his old post at full forward and looked the part with four scoring shots and five marks.

Bucks’ take
“We stuck nearly every tackle that we wanted to lay and that makes a massive difference because the ball stops and it prevents five or 10 metres in the short term and prevents another disposal, and it can turn a potential opposition attack into a counter attack. Our tackling efficiency and our work around the ball was pretty good in the first quarter and it really set us up.”  - Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley.

Hear more from Bucks in his post match press conference.

Over the fence
“I don't think we played well early, and I thought we were pretty good for three quarters after that. But it's clear that our level at the moment...is not where we needs it to be. We just try to win next week. That's all you can do." - Geelong coach Chris Scott.

Read the match report here.

The records mount
We all know how prolific Dane Swan can be when he’s on song. Which has been in almost all of the 158 games he has played over the past seven years. But he’s taken it to a new level again 2012. Don’t believe he can better his 34-Brownlow-Medal-vote performance of last year? Think again. In his 188 games, he’s had 40 or more disposals in nine matches. Four of those matches have been played this year, three of which have come in the past five weeks. If that wasn’t enough, Swan is currently averaging a career-high 35.1 disposals, up on 31.7 last season.

Comeback king
Swan’s 40 possessions were good, but Scott Pendlebury wasn’t far behind. The vice-captain disposed of the ball on 36 occasions, a feat he’s achieved on only six other occasions since debuting in 2006. It was a remarkable performance from a player who had spent the previous five weeks resting his cracked tibia.

View the best photos from Collingwood's 31-point win.

He’s back
It was certainly the feel-good story of the night, but it’s worth mentioning Chris Tarrant’s return to attack at least one more time. He kicked two goals from four scoring shots and had a total of 11 disposals for the night. It was the first time Tarrant had kicked a goal since his two in the final quarter against Adelaide in round nine last season.

The medical room
No major injuries were reported from Collingwood’s AFL and VFL conquests over the weekend, although half back Simon Buckley was substituted out of the match just after half time due to a migraine.

The omen
How’s this for a spine-tingling stat: late in the first quarter, Collingwood’s scoreline read exactly as it did at quarter time of the 2010 Preliminary Final - 7.2 (44). Darren Jolly’s goal on the siren took it to 8.2 (50), but that set of numbers would have brought a knowing smile to the faces of the statistically minded Magpie hordes.

Watch the CTV highlights, including Chris Tarrant’s two goals, here.

Consider this
Did we watch the most complete game of Heath Shaw’s career on Saturday night? The backman had 29 disposals and cut the Cats to ribbons as he stormed out of defence. He has been steadily building to this performance since returning from a calf injury in round 13 and appears set for a big back end to the season.

What does it mean?
-    The match marked Collingwood’s second win over Geelong for the home and away season. It’s the first time the club has achieved this since 2003.
-    Collingwood’s 8.2 (50) first quarter was its best against the Cats since it kicked 10.3 (63) at Victoria Park in round four, 1948.
-    In the Collingwood-Geelong stakes, this year was Collingwood’s year. Since 2006, the Magpies have won at least one match against the Cats by five goals or more despite Geelong’s era of dominance. But in the odd numbered years, it’s been all Geelong. Collingwood never beat the Cats in seven matches across the 2007, 2009 and 2011 seasons.

VFL
They fought hard, but ultimately the class of Geelong prevailed over a valiant Collingwood at Victoria Park on Saturday afternoon. The Pies were within four points at half time but were blown away in the second half by an inaccurate Geelong side that kicked 11.18 for the afternoon. Corey Gault was a shining light for the Black and White, taking several strong contested marks and kicking two goals.

Looking ahead…
It doesn’t get any easier for Collingwood as it takes on a red-hot Hawthorn on Saturday afternoon at 1:45pm. Both teams will be intent on keeping themselves in the mix for a spot in the top four once spring rolls around, so it promises to be another big crowd at the MCG.