CTV > Post-match interview with Shane Wakelin
CTV > Watch the boys sing the song
CTV > Mick Malthouse's post-match press conference

HOW GOOD is Collingwood? The scoreboard would suggest very good in the wake of the side’s 100-point demolition of West Coast in perfect MCG conditions.

Last week it was Geelong, this week it was the Eagles who incurred the wrath of the in-form Magpies, who were untroubled to win 27.11 (173) to 10.13 (73) in front of a healthy crowd of 52,968.

With winners across every line, and no fewer than 13 goal-kickers – seven of them multiple – the Magpies set about extending their lead at every change in another commanding performance built on a mixture of pressure, skill and individual brilliance.

It was the Magpies biggest winning margin over West Coast, eclipsing the 81-point victory in 2001.

Having gained significant momentum after an inspired win over reigning premier last week, the Magpies wasted little time using it.

On the back of a 10-possession first term from Dane Swan, a trademark freak snap from Leon Davis and the run and ball-winning ability of Rhyce Shaw, Scott Burns, Scott Pendlebury and Shane O’Bree, the Pies lead by 25 points at the first change.

In control, and with confidence levels soaring, it was how far the Pies early in the second term when Alan Didak took advantage of a Tyson Stenglein error to kick his first goal of the match and put the side 43 points clear – a sizeable margin given full forward Anthony Rocca was replaced in the selected side by Shannon Cox after failing to overcome an ankle complaint.

Despite a mini-comeback from the Eagles – three goals in five minutes to Daniel Kerr, Josh Kennedy and Dean Cox, who had been thrown forward to give a spark, the Pies had all the answers.

Didak produced a trademark running goal late in the term to keep the Eagles at bay, but it was livewire Dale Thomas who provided the game’s highlight when he received a Rhyce Shaw handball backward out the centre, burst through the middle of the MCG with four bounces and calmly slotted a goal to send Pie fans delirious.

It also gave the side a handy 32-point buffer heading to half time.

Thomas extended the margin to 38 points two minutes into the second half when he kicked his second and from there the Pies set about turning what looked a regulation win into an unabashed percentage booster.

From the 11-minute mark of the third term to the final siren the Pies outscored their demoralised opposition 14 goals to two as Thomas (three goals), Davis (three), Didak (three), Cloke (three) and Paul Medhurst, who kicked four of his five goals in the last term, made the most of opportunities afforded to them by a rampant midfield group.

Swan was superb in gathering 35 possessions while Rhyce Shaw (22), Burns (22), Pendlebury (23) and O’Bree (20) outplayed their Eagle counterparts, who relied too heavily on Daniel Kerr and Chad Fletcher to give them spark.

Down back the likes of Wakelin, Harry O’Brien and Nick Maxwell didn’t put a foot wrong as the Pies surged to win number six and cemented a place firmly inside the top eight.

Collingwood       5.5   12.8   19.10    27.11 (173)
West Coast            1.4   7.6   8.8   10.13 (73)

GOALS
Collingwood:  Medhurst 5, Thomas 4, Davis 3, Didak 3, Swan 2, Cloke 2, Pendlebury 2, Cox, Maxwell, O'Bree, R Shaw, Fraser, Lockyer
West Coast: Lynch 3, Cox 2, Waters, Kerr, Kennedy, Armstrong, McKinley

BEST
Collingwood:  Swan, Thomas, Pendlebury, O'Bree, Cloke, R Shaw, Didak
West Coast: Cox, Kerr, B Jones, Kennedy, Lynch, Wilkes, Schofield

INJURIES
Collingwood: None
West Coast: Kerr (left leg) 

Reports: Nil

Umpires: James, Grun, Wenn

Official crowd: 52,968 at MCG

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL