COLLINGWOOD forward Dale Thomas said he knew he needed to take his form to another level midway through Saturday's clash with Fremantle, after barely touching the ball in the first half.

Thomas, 22, said he wasn't singled out by Mick Malthouse at the main break, but was aware his coach wanted him to lift after contributing just four possessions in the first two terms.  

"I needed to improve, because I did absolutely stuff-all in the first half," Thomas said after the game.

"As a group, Mick said a few of us needed to lift at halftime, and I gathered that was me.

"You know how well you're going yourself throughout the game, and you never want to play bad. It was just good to get out there and get a bit more of it in the second half."

Thomas upped his contribution dramatically after the break to end the game with 21 possessions, which equalled his best return for the season from round one.

He said his second half would help to increase his self-belief after a frustrating season so far.

"It's only the second week back after the break so I'll get a bit more run into my legs and get a bit more into the midfield," he said.

"I'll keep trying to get a bit more of it and I'm sure that will increase my confidence."

Thomas assessed his season to date as inconsistent, but was confident he was on the right track for a strong run to the finals.

"I've been a bit up and down. I suppose with injuries and a bit of illness, I've missed a couple of games here and there," he said.

"I'm just hoping to string a few games together now and get a bit more consistent throughout the second half of the year."

The Magpies are now undefeated since their round eight 51-point loss to Carlton, and are entrenched in the top four after considerably boosting their percentage with the 84-point win over Fremantle.

Thomas said the Pies' research on their opponents and application of individual roles had helped them turn their season after it was at the cross-roads following round eight.

"I don't know if a lot has changed, but we know when we come up against oppositions what we need to do to negate them and win the game," he said.

"Lately we've been playing our roles really well across the four quarters, and when you do that, you're going to be hard to beat."

He agreed Essendon's big win over Carlton on Friday night, combined with the Magpies' landslide final-term performance against Fremantle, made for an interesting round 14 clash between the two sides.

"The Bombers were certainly impressive," he said.

"We know what we need to do to negate them, and I'm sure if we can play out four quarters again, we'll be hard to beat."