GEELONG survived a late Collingwood surge to record its fourth consecutive victory with a 10-point win in their Round 11 Sir Doug Nicholls Round clash at the MCG on Saturday.

A superb defensive display by Geelong in the opening half helped setup the victory with Collingwood held goalless in for the first two quarters for the first time since 2005 at the MCG. 

Last year's Grand Finalists weren't necessarily firing on all cylinders, but barely needed to escape second gear to cruise to a comfortable 8.13 (61) to 6.15 (51) victory.

A neck injury to dual Collingwood best and fairest Brodie Grundy, which forced the two-time All-Australian to be substituted out of the match midway through the third quarter, compounded issues for the Magpies.

Brandan Parfitt (30 disposals, five clearances) gave the contest a touch of class that it desperately needed through the midfield, while Tom Hawkins (21 disposals, three goals) was the side's premier forward threat.

But the play – or, rather, lack thereof – was focused on the other side of the ground as the Magpies were held to just six goals for the afternoon in another seriously worrying and seriously impotent display.

If the warning signs were only flashing at quarter-time, with Collingwood again held goalless and only having Geelong's own wastefulness to thank for the margin not being greater, then they were blaring by the main break.

Tall trio Jeremy Cameron, Rhys Stanley and Hawkins added three goals in six minutes for the Cats midway through the second term, extending the lead to 31 points and threatening to completely break the game apart.

Collingwood chipped away at the deficit, kicking its first goal for the game early in the third term and ultimately going on to win the inside-50 battle and eventually draw level for scoring shots.

But it was an indictment on the side's first half performance that Geelong, who only kicked eight goals itself throughout a match that was often hard to watch, was largely untroubled for much of the afternoon.

Perhaps the lack of a crowd due to Victoria's COVID-19 lockdown lulled the Cats into a false sense of security, as the Magpies eventually whittled their lead back to 10 points. But the result had been a foregone conclusion for some time by that point.

Cats go full Cats before the bounce

Mark Blicavs underwent a rigorous last-ditch fitness test under the watchful eyes of coach Chris Scott and football boss Simon Lloyd 90 minutes before the bounce, ultimately withdrawing from the contest soon after due to what appeared to be a calf injury. Rhys Stanley was his replacement, despite Darcy Fort coming into the 26-man squad on Friday. Cam Guthrie, who had spent the week dealing with a shoulder injury, was also withdrawn amid a double late change from Geelong, with his brother Zach Guthrie replacing the important midfielder. Blicavs and Cam Guthrie had previously been named in the Cats' side on Thursday night.

Scoring woes hurting Pies

There was a lot of 2020 about this game … and this performance from Collingwood. Not only was there no crowd in the wake of Victoria's snap COVID-19 lockdown, but the scoring issues that have plagued the Magpies throughout last 18 months continued. A worrying goalless half to open the game, Collingwood's 14th and 15th terms without a major since the start of last year, meant it was the first time the club had been without a goal to the half-time break since 2005. Meanwhile, only last year's wooden spooners Adelaide has had more goalless quarters in that period with 16. Eventually, after around 56 minutes of game time, the Pies got on the board through Brodie Grundy. Needless to say, it was never going to be enough to inspire an almighty comeback.

COLLINGWOOD     0.3     0.7     1.11     6.15 (51)
GEELONG               2.3     5.8     5.11     8.13 (61) 

GOALS
Collingwood: De Goey 2, Grundy, Hoskin-Elliott, Mihocek, Maynard
Geelong: Hawkins 3, Cameron 2, Dahlhaus, Ratugolea, Stanley 

BEST
Collingwood: Mayne, Moore, Quaynor, Crisp, Bianco
Geelong: Hawkins, Parfitt, Selwood, Tuohy, Stewart, Narkle

INJURIES
Collingwood: Grundy (neck)
Geelong: C.Guthrie (shoulder) replaced by Z.Guthrie in selected side, Blicavs (calf) replaced by Stanley in selected side

SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Macrae (replaced Grundy)
Geelong: Clark (unused)