MELBOURNE, Australia -- An impressive second-half response has seen Collingwood come-from-behind to snap a five-game losing streak against the Western Bulldogs and jump inside the top eight on the AFL ladder.
The Magpies, who now hold a 6-4 record through the first ten games of the season, trailed by 25 points at quarter time and 18 at the main break before booting eight goals to just four behinds in the second half to run out 35 point winners at Etihad Stadium.
Brodie Grundy continued his super season by dominating the ruck contest while Adam Treloar and Tom Phillips had plenty of the ball, combining for 76 disposals.
Here's three things we learnt from the game...
Run, run and apply pressure
Without any doubt whatsoever, Collingwood's finest moments on Friday night came when they were running hard into space and looking to share the ball.
There were at least half a dozen occasions during the game where the Magpies were able to rebound from the defensive half off Bulldogs turnovers and flick the ball around -- both with hands as well as long kicks -- before setting up a chance inside 50.
Steele Sidebottom and Treloar's gut-busting efforts along with the raw pace of Will Hoskin-Elliott and Jaidyn Stephenson proved too much for the Dogs defenders who were often left scrambling to get back into their defensive structures.
The other facet of Collingwood's game which improved drastically after halftime was their willingness to tackle. They laid just 21 tackles to the Bulldogs' 36 in the first half but managed to end the game with a level count at 56 apiece.
This sense of urgency, pressure and hunger is similar to what the Bulldogs succeeded with 24 months ago en route to the 2016 premiership and is something Collingwood must continue to adopt going forward.
Collingwood's ball use must improve
In Round 9 last year Nathan Buckley claimed Hawthorn's Tom Mitchell wasn't having any impact in a game against Collingwood, despite accumulating a mammoth 50 disposals. Buckley was adamant that possession counts don't tell the full story and wasn't concerned Mitchell had reached the half century.
Fast forward 12 months and it's quite ironic that Collingwood is now the AFL's disposal leader yet it doesn't seem to be hurting their opposition as much as it perhaps should. The Pies have been averaging 420 disposals per game in 2018 and on Friday night racked up 467, but at times it wasn't pretty.
As good as they were in transition, they let themselves down on a number of occasions with simple skill errors which would have been punished by a stronger team.
The fact Collingwood couldn't take a mark inside 50 until midway through the second quarter highlights the ball use issues they are having at times.
They may have banked the four points but there's still plenty for Buckley to work on.
De Goey isolation should be used sparingly
With Jamie Elliott, Alex Fasolo, Jarrad Blair and Darcy Moore all injured and out of Collingwood's side you can understand that Buckley is running out of options in the front half.
Isolating Jordan de Goey in the forward 50 worked a treat against Brisbane in Round 7 and again last week against St Kilda but it isn't something that's going to pay dividends on a weekly basis, particularly when efficiency is low.
De Goey had just five touches and one tackle to his name at halftime and hadn't impacted the scoreboard in any way. However, a second half switch into the midfield saw the predictability taken away and the tables turn dramatically.
De Goey helped Collingwood wrestle back the centre clearances -- particularly in the third quarter -- as the Magpies took control of the game.
He has already proven what a talent he is both forward and as a midfielder so managing that balance is something to keep an eye on.