Collingwood regained its hunger for the contest to snap a two-game losing streak by thrashing an ordinary Essendon by 73 points in their Anzac Day clash at the MCG on Friday.
In front of 88,999 fans, the Magpies, led by a six-goal haul from Anzac Day Medallist Paul Medhurst, set up their 23.16 (154) to 12.9 (81) romp with a run of eight unanswered goals either side of half-time.
Leading by six points at the 12-minute mark, the Magpies kicked six goals in 15 minutes to lead by 31 points at half-time before drawing further away in the second half against an undermanned Essendon side sapped of confidence and crying out for a rest.
The Bombers' woes worsened when star defender Dustin Fletcher's game ended abruptly in the third term with a groin injury.
Not only did the Magpies have 18 more scoring shots, but they had a staggering 74 more possessions and 27 more entries inside 50. But that did not stop them laying 51 tackles, an area of their game which has dipped this season.
Maligned for an unwillingness to get his hands dirty when at Fremantle, Medhurst played one of the best games of his 122-game career.
Too strong overhead initially for Jason Winderlich, Medhurst also proved a handful for Mal Michael, particularly at ground level where the former Lions star resembled more a rabbit stuck in headlights than the confident and aggressive defender he was in his prime, and Adam Ramanauskas.
Too often Michael was caught with the ball in general play rather than spoiling with authority. He was the biggest loser in Matthew Knights' decision to switch Fletcher into attack, which proved the classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
It did not help either that Fletcher, who led and marked strongly, was wayward in front of goal with 1.2.
Courtney Johns was outclassed early by Scott Pendlebury, while Paddy Ryder could not negate Travis Cloke, who with 14 marks and five goals provided the sort of target across half-forward Essendon so desperately needs in Scott Lucas' absence.
But it was in the midfield where the Bombers were being put to the sword. Too often, the Bombers would handball to a flat-footed team-mate - Bachar Houli was a major culprit - who would either turn the ball over or find himself under enormous pressure.
Furthermore, their defensive pressure was befitting of a side which has leaked 103 goals in the past five weeks.
Already without Mark McVeigh and latest injury list addition Alwyn Davey, whose season hinges on the results of knee scans on Monday, the Bombers could not match the Magpies' run or their appetite to sacrifice and work hard for their team-mates.
That Fletcher did more in less than three quarters than a lot of his team-mates who finished the game illustrated how meekly Essendon played.
It is only Round 6 but a season which started so promisingly for the Dons has already been unravelled by injuries to two of their elite players and several other speedsters instrumental to Knights' high-voltage game plan.
COLLINGWOOD: 5.3, 11.7, 15.12, 23.16 (154)
ESSENDON: 5.2, 6.6, 7.7, 12.9 (81)
GOALS: Collingwood: Medhurst 6, Cloke 5, Lockyer 3, Davis 3, Johnson, Thomas, Goldsack, Swan, Wood, Didak
Essendon: Lloyd 3, Nash, Laycock, Fletcher, Reimers, Welsh, Stanton, Michael, Johns, Dyson
BEST: Collingwood: Medhurst, Pendlebury, Cloke, Swan, Johnson, Davis, H.Shaw
Essendon: Fletcher, Watson, Slattery, Houli, Stanton