AFL Rd 1 - Collingwood v Western Bulldogs
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 19: Adam Treloar of the Bulldogs shakes hands with Tyler Brown of the Magpies at the start of the match during the round one AFL match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Western Bulldogs at Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 19, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Saints great Nick Riewoldt has voiced his disgust at Collingwood's soft treatment of Adam Treloar in Friday night's blockbuster against the Dogs.

The Dogs ran out 16-point winners, with Treloar getting the last laugh over the club who shockingly outcast him during their infamous 2020 trade period.

The star midfielder spent five seasons at the Pies, appearing 94 times for Nathan Buckley's side, before making the switch to the Dogs after being unexpectedly forced out by the black and white due to salary cap pressure.

Many Pies fans were expecting the worse after a horror off-season, and just minutes into the game it seemed as if their trade period woes would come back to haunt them.

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Treloar set up new teammate Aaron Naughton with his first touch of the Sherrin in the fifth minute of the first quarter, slotting a neat kick inside-50 to give the tall forward a set-shot.

Overall, Treloar had a relatively quiet first outing in the blue, white and red, finishing the night with just 18 touches, but most importantly with a win under his new side's belt.

But it wasn't the performance of Treloar which irked Riewoldt, but the softness of the treatment given to him by his former side.

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During Fox Footy's On the Couch, the former Saint expressed his disappointment at a missed opportunity for the Pies.

"When I saw Adam Treloar walk out to his position I was fixated on him because I wanted to see what the Collingwood players did.

“When a player comes up straight away and gives you a hi-five, a big smile and a hug - give me a spell. I thought it was embarrassing.

“I cringed when I saw that."

The incident Riewoldt was referring to was young Pie Tyler Brown appearing to be jovial and welcoming towards Treloar as they lined up for the opening bounce.

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However, it wasn't just Riewoldt that was upset by the Pies' demeanor.

Kane Cornes too voiced his outrage on The Sunday Footy Show.

"I wanted to see some intimidation and some aggression from Collingwood to make life uncomfortable for him, because we knew he was nervous about this.

"But as the opposition you want to make life hard for the opposition. [Collingwood] made it easy."

"There was no physicality against Treloar."

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However, Garry Lyon countered their view, attributing it to a protest from the playing group against the Collingwood higher-ups.

"This is a footy club whose players distanced themselves from their administration over the ‘Do Better’ report ... they put the letter out and stood on their own.

“It looked like they’re saying to their coaches as Nathan Buckley looks down ‘you made the decision, we don’t agree with it, we’ll handle this in our own way.’”

Collingwood will have to be more physical this week against their arch rivals Carlton as they line-up in front of a potential crowd of 75,000 on Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, Treloar's Bulldogs have a stern test on Sunday when they go up against the Eagles at Marvel Stadium.