Collingwood has suffered its first loss of the season going down to the Western Bulldogs by 16-points on Friday night, 10.9 (69) to 7.11 (53) at the MCG. 

The Pies were never able to bridge the gap to within single digits after quarter-time to leave Nathan Buckley with a host of questions around the firepower of his line-up. 

The Dogs' one-two ruck combination of Tim English and Stefan Martin also passed its first test with flying colours as Brodie Grundy lacked the impact around the ground of his previous dominant displays in the same match-up. 

Stationed on a wing, Treloar earned his first kick at the three-minute mark of the opening term amid a mix of boos and cheers to find Aaron Naughton with a chiseling goal assist. 

Both sides then traded blows through the middle stages as the Dogs' midfield brigade of best-on-ground Bailey Smith (35 disposals), Jack Macrae (35), Josh Dunkley (30) and Marcus Bontempelli (29) got on top. 

With the game on a knife's edge as the Dogs held a 17-point lead late in the third term, Pie Josh Thomas was dispossessed from a line-ball mark by a desperate Taylor Duryea at centre half-forward. 

In what loomed as a certain goalscoring opportunity, the umpire awarded play-on as Smith started a scoring chain that ended in the lap of English in the goalsquare to give his side an unassailable 23-point buffer. 

Forget the Brownlow votes, Brodie
Pies star Brodie Grundy had collected nine Brownlow Medal votes in his previous three outings against Tim English and the Western Bulldogs. But his name won't be read out in round one at this year's count. While Grundy dominated the hitout sheet, it amounted to nothing in the clearance department as English and his new sidekick Stefan Martin had the Pie's measure around the ground. English would've enjoyed outmarking Grundy on the centre wing on two occasions among his four contested marks, while Martin finished with six clearances and pushed forward for a late goal.  

Where are the Pies' goals coming from?
With Brody Mihocek forced to do the bulk of his work between the arcs, the Pies appeared bereft of attacking options in the forward 50. Mason Cox booted one major but, along with Josh Thomas, Trey Ruscoe and debutant Ollie Henry, had little say on the outcome, while Jordan De Goey attended more centre bounces than ever before. Finding avenues to goal loom as Nathan Buckley's biggest headache in 2021, and with young hope Will Kelly remaining sidelined for at least another month with a collarbone injury, will need to get more creative in coming weeks.

COLLINGWOOD                      1.2       4.6       5.7       10.9 (69)
WESTERN BULLDOGS             3.2       6.5       9.7       7.11 (53)

GOALS
Collingwood: Mihocek 2, Elliott 2, Cox 2, Crisp
Western Bulldogs: Vandermeer 2, Naughton 2, Smith 2, Bruce, McNeil, English, Martin

BEST
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Moore, Maynard, Crisp, Mihocek
Western Bulldogs: Smith, Bontempelli, Macrae, Daniel, Hunter, Martin 

INJURIES
Collingwood: Nil 
Western Bulldogs: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: C.Brown (unused)
Western Bulldogs: West (unused)

Crowd: 46,051 at the MCG