In the battle for the inaugural Richard Pratt Cup, both sides struggled to kick goals but it was the Blues who found it more difficult as the Magpies led from start to finish, eventually cruising to a comfortable win, 14.10 (94) to 4.16 (40).
The loss leaves Carlton in seventh place on the AFL ladder but with plenty of ground to make up if it is to earn a double chance in this season’s finals series.
Carlton suffered a blow before the game with the late withdrawal of key defender Michael Jamison then fell behind early against the Pies and never recovered.
Bryce Gibbs was among the better ball users on a night when his team struggled to use the ball efficiently, while Ryan Houlihan and Heath Scotland were prolific and worked hard.
Travis Cloke, Heath Shaw and Dane Swan all dominated for Collingwood, while defender Simon Prestigiacomo did a terrific job on Brendan Fevola although, in fairness to the full-forward, he didn’t have a lot of room to work in at times.
Collingwood had probably looked the better side for most of the night but only took full toll in the final term, when it booted six goals to one to kick clear and gain percentage.
The Blues were within 27 points at half-time and after a third quarter that lasted just 25 minutes, had managed to slightly reduce that gap to 25 at the final change.
But two Collingwood goals inside the first 10 minutes of the resumption – including one to 150-gamer Alan Didak – killed off any chances Brett Ratten’s side might have had of staging a remarkable comeback.
It was a credit to the Blues that they were even in the match at the last change.
Earlier, Fevola had been kept goalless in the first half as the Blues struggled for options in attack.
Collingwood only had the ball inside 50 on two more occasions than Carlton, but it was far crisper with its ball use than the Blues who were struggling to hit targets under the pressure from Mick Malthouse’s side.
The Magpies also got numbers back in front of Carlton’s spearhead, making it virtually impossible for the Coleman Medal favourite to find any space.
He did haul in a spectacular one-hander in the opening term but his set shot – from near the boundary – grazed the woodwork.
Youngster Chris Yarran also slammed a shot into the big stick shortly after and it seemed it might be one of those evenings for the Blues.
Up the other end, however, things were falling into place for the Pies, who looked far superior when pressing forward.
Cloke and Jack Anthony were finding room, while everything Leon Davis touched seemed to turn to gold. A couple of pieces of magic from him resulted in contenders for goal of the year and helped set up a 27-point lead at half-time.
Eddie Betts was the only goalkicker for Carlton by the half-way point of the game, his double somehow keeping his team in touch.
The Blues probably should have been behind by more but Chris Judd, Scotland and Houlihan were trying to lift their team back into the contest and their side did start to look better just before the main break.
The third term was scarce on highlights but somehow strangely compelling viewing as both teams battled to score.
In the end, the first goal came from one of the unlikeliest of sources when Greg Bentley bounced one through from outside 50, cutting the margin to just three goals.
The Pies were able to respond shortly after, however, with Dayne Beams restoring his team’s advantage.
That proved a killer blow, as the Blues continued to struggle when pressing forward and the Magpies, sniffing blood, pounced in the final term.
Next week Carlton gets another dose of Friday night footy when it plays North Melbourne at Docklands, while Collingwood hosts the Brisbane Lions at the MCG in another match set to shape the AFL’s top four.
MATCH DETAILS
Carlton 1.5 2.9 3.13 4.16 (40)
Collingwood 5.4 7.6 8.8 14.10 (94)
GOALS
Carlton: Betts 2 Bentley Fevola
Collingwood: Davis 3 Beams 2 Anthony Barham Cloke Dawes Didak Lockyer Swan Thomas Toovey
BEST
Carlton: Gibbs Murphy Thornton Scotland Houlihan
Collingwood: Cloke Shaw Davis Swan Pendlebury Prestigiacomo Maxwell
INJURIES
Carlton: Jamison (groin) replaced in selected side by Hartlett, Judd (ankle).
Collingwood: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: McLaren, Wenn, Ryan
Official crowd: 84,938 at the MCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs.
