AFL: Collingwood outclassed second week in a row. Where to now for Buckley’s Pies?

NATHAN Buckley’s headaches have become a migraine. For the second week in a row, his besieged Magpies confronted a side they should beat at the MCG and were outclassed.

NATHAN Buckley’s headaches have become a migraine.

For the second week in a row, his besieged Magpies confronted a side they should beat at the MCG and were outclassed, this time by a desperate Melbourne, leaving Collingwood’s finals hopes hanging by a thread already.

The 35-point win from the Demons was led superbly by future captain Jack Viney and red-hot ruckman Max Gawn in the engine room, Dean Kent’s forward pressure and Jack Watts’ four goals.

Adam Treloar (third from left) wipes his eyes as Magpies leave the ground. AAP Image/Julian Smith

They have weapons now, the Dees, and former Pies Heritier Lumumba and Ben Kennedy would have also slept comfortably last night, with both men standing up in some big moments yesterday.

Lumumba’s run from the wing helped Melbourne build a commanding 42-point lead early, while Kennedy outmarked Adam Oxley near the boundary line in the third term to set up a Cameron Pedersen goal and help thwart the short-lived Collingwood comeback.

Josh Wagner and Jayden Hunt of the Demons are congratulated by Dean Kent as the Demons celebrate winning. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Forgetting the shocking loss to Essendon, the Dees are a much-improved side, whose slick movement from the back half cut the Pies apart early, just as the Saints did last week.

With Melbourne up by 30 points at quarter time, it was at that point that Buckley shifted Scott Pendlebury from the half back line to the centre square, after previously trying to persist with the defensive experiment through the early rounds.

But the No. 1 concern on Buckley’s whiteboard must be their inability to stop the opposition from scoring, a problem which first raised its head in the NAB Challenge series.

Ben Reid hurt his knee early yesterday and Jesse White was a late inclusion and played in his new defensive role, but the reality is Collingwood is leaking like a sieve, after conceding another 16 goals to Melbourne.

Sam Frost clears by hand. Picture: Michael Klein

Melbourne will regain prime playmaker Bernie Vince this week and will surely test Richmond, if their output remains the same at the MCG on Sunday night.

But Collingwood’s poor start to 2016 is the story perhaps not surprisingly, ahead of Monday week’s Anzac Day blockbuster.

And making matters worse, key big men Travis Cloke (elbow), Reid (knee) and Darcy Moore (ankle) are all under a cloud this week after battling on with injuries yesterday.

Ben Sinclair spent time off the ground with concussion.

Jack Watts and Max Gawn of the Demons celebrate a goal. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Perhaps the only positive was that Steele Sidebottom and Travis Varcoe had an impact in their return games, providing some of that outside polish and run that Collingwood had been missing.

But defensive turnovers still hurt them, and Tom Langdon’s miskick from the back pocket straight to Kent for an easy goal was brutal at a time when the Pies were trying to get back into the game.

Their effort and overall intensity was better, though, and Pendlebury helped flick the switch with a brilliant second term.

He had 11 possessions, three clearances and five tackles in the second term to keep the Pies within reach. As much as the Pies would love his class kicking in the back half, his customary onball role looked his best position as the skipper helped turn the momentum Collingwood’s way.

Adam Treloar was again the main ball-carrier with 31 possessions and six clearances.

But even after a week of soul-searching and defensive reviews, they were blown away early and Gawn played a key role in the ruck, outpointing Brodie Grundy in the first term to give the Dees the edge in the stoppages and some early confidence.

Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert backed his coach before the match yesterday but must have been wondering last night how his team, which was on average two years older per player than Melbourne could have started so poorly.

Eddie McGuire after the game Picture: Wayne Ludbey

The Pies were unable to halt St Kilda’s damaging field kicking last weekend and, again, Melbourne’s playmakers were able to launch five early goals from the defensive 50m, picking their way through the Pies’ zone.

Melbourne average 17 points a game this way this season but had piled on 30 points early on in the second term, surely setting off alarms in the Collingwood coaching box.

Originally published as AFL: Collingwood outclassed second week in a row. Where to now for Buckley’s Pies?