Last night's clash between Collingwood and Hawthorn was billed as the match of the round, with the two top eight teams ready to see how their game stacked up nearing the half way point of the 2025 season.
Come the final siren, the Magpies knew how their game stacked up against another potential premiership contender, while the Hawks were left licking their wounds, having lost three games on the trot now against top four sides, with the 51-point deficit showing that there is plenty more for Sam Mitchell's men to work on if they want to make the finals this year.
The first quarter and a half showed some promising signs for the Hawks, who were trying to atone for their lacklustre performance against the reigning premiers the week before.
After being 4 points down at the first break, the Hawks started to lose composure and were slaughtered on the turnover, with the Collingwood system allowing their attack to click into gear as they raced to a 24-point halftime lead.
Throughout the contest, whenever the Magpies put their foot down, the Hawks were left chasing dust, with the Pies fast ball movement and conversion from inside 50's showing the gap between the best in the competition this year and the rest.
"That Collingwood team are super sharp. We played Brisbane last week and they're very good as well, but that was another level today. That's what we need to aspire to and above to beat them when it matters. We've got plenty of work to do," said Mitchell after the poor performance.
At halftime, the Mapgies had been inside their forward 50 19 times and had kicked 10 goals, such was their efficiency inside the forward half.
Jamie Elliott and Brody Mihocek kicked 9 goals between them as the Collingwood forward line took advantage of the massive amounts of space left in their forward 50.
Sam Mitchell has preached all season that the Hawks were a work in progress, having failed to live up to the same heights that saw them take the AFL world by storm last season.
Last night's game showed the gulf between the young Hawks who stormed into the AFL finals last year and were a kick shy of a preliminary final berth, and this year's version, who currently sit at 7-5 and look a shell of their former selves.
After being scrutinised for recording a poor number of tackles against the Lions in round 11, the Hawks emphasis against the Magpies was on tackle pressure and defence, however they failed to deliver on this front.
The Hawks recorded a total of 38 tackles for the game, with five Hawks failing to register a tackle, while the Pies appetite for pressure was on display as they recorded 82 tackles and a team record differential for tackles in a game.
Hawthorn's inability to pressure or stick a tackle allowed Collingwood to waltz their way around the MCG, with their kicking slicing the Hawks apart as the Magpies took control of the game with ease.
"We've got some work to do in enabling positions where we can get our players in the position to tackle more often. Because you're not going to beat a side like that if you can only lay 38 tackles," Mitchell said.
A glaring statistic saw eight Collingwood players, led by former Hawk Ned Long with 11, record more tackles than the Hawks' top tacklers for the evening, which showed a lack of will and fight to want to defend, which is in stark contrast to what made the Hawks the team they were last season.
Last season's "Hokball" craze was built around pressure and defence, allowing the team to counter on turnover and look exciting in attack with waves of runners.
Last night, the Collingwood team rang rings around the Hawks, with their work rate and spread seeing waves of black and white steaming through the MCG unattended and leaving the Hawthorn backline all at sea.
Despite recording their first win at centre clearances in the last month, the Hawks butchered the ball going forward, with their forward line often found playing behind the Collingwood defenders.
Missing star midfielder Will Day, who will be sidelined for at least another two months, the Hawks' composure going inside forward 50 has diminished, with players failing to take the right option and leaving the forwards at a disadvantage and often outnumbered in marking contests.
The Hawks recorded 45 inside 50s, one more than Collingwood, but often watched as the ball bounced out of the Magpies defensive half at will, with Jeremy Howe, Josh Daicos and Harry Perryman the main benefactors of the Hawks lack of forward half pressure from being outnumbered in contests.
Last night's lack of appetite for the contest and to want to defend was plain to see under the marquee Friday night time slot and will leave Sam Mitchell and his coaching group with more questions that answers.
The Hawks have a six-day break before their next clash against the Western Bulldogs, where they will need to arrest their dwindling confidence and regain their composure when under pressure as they look to stop their slide down the ladder.
