Midfield battle a no-contest
The much-hyped showdown between the blue-chip combinations of Chris Judd-Marc Murphy and Dane Swan-Scott Pendlebury turned into a walkover, with the Carlton duo dominant and Pendlebury enduring his quietest game since the 2009 qualifying final loss to St Kilda, managing only 15 possessions.
Judd and Murphy combined for 74 touches, 32 of those contested, and 18 clearances to the Collingwood pair's 46, 18 and six.
Quiet achiever Carrazzo best of the lot
The Judd and Murphy show was what Blues fans came to see, but alongside them Andrew Carrazzo was busy putting in yet another crucial performance for his team.
While completely shutting down Pendlebury in a run-with role, he also collected 29 possessions and 11 clearances.
For his efforts, the 28-year-old was awarded the Richard Pratt Medal for best afield.
Ball bravery
Collingwood's Luke Ball went to ground clutching his right knee after a tackle on Carlton's Mitch Robinson late in the first quarter.
With All Australian defender Ben Reid also hurt, the tough midfielder bravely tried to play on with the knee heavily strapped during the second quarter.
He lasted 17 minutes, gathering two touches, before going down again. This time he had to be carried from the field, and spent the rest of the game on the bench.
With four clearances during his brief time in the match, Ball was still the Magpies' leading stoppage player on a forgettable night for the black and white midfield.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley refused to use the injuries as an excuse for the loss, but the increased workload on the remaining fit players clearly contributed to the size of the margin.
Garlett burns the grass
Blues' speedster Jeff Garlett treated the 84.259 fans in attendance on Friday night to an exhibition of his blinding speed early in the third quarter.
Intercepting a Swan handball on centre-wing, the electric half-forward took off with Chris Dawes and Martin Clarke on his hammer.
Taking three bounces, Garlett got to within 30 metres of goal and dribbled a worm-burner through the big sticks.
Collingwood Blue dominance over
Carlton's 60-point win was its biggest over Collingwood since round 21, 2001, and snapped a five-game losing streak against the Magpies.
The result is sure to see the Blues hyped as a premiership contender, and questions asked about whether Collingwood's glory days are past.
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley almost admitted as much after the game.
"We clearly haven't got the gap that we enjoyed towards the end of 2010," he said.
"That gap clearly whittled away to nothing towards the end of last year, and perhaps we've got some catching up to do."
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.
