A case of deja vu has Collingwood firing

THE WINNERS: AN UNCANNY case of deja vu has continued Collingwood's mid-season resurgence.

AFL Round 16: Collingwood v Adelaide

AN UNCANNY case of deja vu has continued Collingwood's mid-season resurgence.

A week after his move forward launched a comeback against Carlton, defender Ben Reid last night again flicked the switch in the Pies' dismantling of Adelaide.

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And a week after Blues star Jarrad Waite was injured in the first quarter, Crows star Patrick Dangerfield suffered the same fate when he copped a nasty shoulder injury.

Like Carlton, Adelaide was in control of last night's match at quarter-time courtesy of clinical and insitinctive transition play that had spirited them to 39-14 lead.

Cue Nathan Buckley's get out of jail free card.

After being touched-up by Tom Lynch, Reid wandered inside 50m at the same Punt Road end of the ground he torched the Blues and goaled in 32 seconds.

Two minutes later Reid out-marked Brodie Smith and kicked another. He got the better of Ben Rutten not long after but his set shot hit the left-hand post.

No matter, he'd lit the fuse again.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said he would resist the temptation to make Reid a permanant forward despite two match-defining stints in attack.

"He's still predominantly a key defender. (Tom) Lynch had been performing really well turning 'Reidy' and 'Maxy' (Nick Maxwell) inside out," Buckley said.

"Right now I think Reidy going forward is something in our back pocket. It's not our one wood, it's not our main choice at this stage.

"That option is clearly available to us and even though we made that change and it clearly had an effect ... our effort and intent defensively was the difference in the game."

Buckley praised the comeback of Dayne Beams, who had 25 disposals in his first game of the year.

"He was good for us. He's the type of player that just grinds the games out and he convers the ground pretty well," he said.

"He looked stronger and got better as the game wore on. His touch was excellent."

Buckley praised the performance of his side's midfield, but said Adelaide scored far too easily from its inside 50s.

Adelaide, who had swept through the corridor at will in first term, struggled to get it past halfway in the second as the black and white pressure cranked up. Again, it was the same script Carlton copped a week earlier.

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Dangerfield, playing on under significant duress, became a non-factor. He went forward in the third quarter and back in the middle in the last, but despite his bravery, couldn't shape the contest. In the end the mind was willing but the body was unable.

At the end where the ball seemed trapped in the second quarter, if Reid or Travis Cloke weren't plucking the ball out of the sky Andrew Krakouer was putting on a clinic.

Krakouer kicked three goals in that second term, crumbing and finishing to perfection.

Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury owned the show in the middle of the ground and had 41 disposals between them at the main break. By the final siren they had combined for a staggering 72 possessions. Pendlebury had a career-high 41.

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By half-time Collingwood was in front. At the 20-minute mark they were 25 points in front and its overwhelming pressure was paving the way for another runaway win.

But the Crows refused to relent and closed to within two points in the final quarter on the back of a never-say-die ferocity. Only Pendlebury and Swan's undeniable class in front of goal late in the game finally killed them off and their finals hopes with it.

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