Collingwood has started the 2025 season the way they finished the 2023 season with an emphatic 136-45 win over Port Adelaide.

Widely criticised for their lacklustre performance in their opening round loss to GWS last week, the Magpies put the Power to the sword in as new recruit Tim Membrey kicked four goals, while Brody Mihocek and Daniel McStay had three each.

The 91-point thrashing was the Pies’ biggest winning margin of premiership coach Craig McRae’s five-season tenure and Port’s heaviest defeat in 275 games under Ken Hinkley.

Pies veteran Steele Sidebottom showed the form that has made him one of the club’s best for more than a decade with 31 touches and a goal that capped off some great teamwork, which had the MCG crowd going nuts.

Power stars Connor Rozee (35) and Ollie Wines (34) were the leading ball-getters, but it meant nothing as the Pies stopped the Power from getting a foothold in the game, booting 12 second-half goals to Port’s two.

Ex-Port star Dan Houston was one of the Magpies’ best with 27 disposals, 10 intercept possessions and six score involvements.

All eyes were on the All-Australian defender who forced a trade out of Port Adelaide last October and made his belated Collingwood debut after completing a lengthy suspension.

Pies superstar Nick Daicos, who had come under-fire for being unfit because he was cramping in the loss to the Giants, hit back with 26 touches.

Daicos said after the game they played a “fun” brand of footy and he had “blocked out all the noise” during the week.

But he did admit the criticism was warranted and that drove his performance tonight.

“While last week was super disappointing we just got back to work this week on the training track,” he said.

“I stayed off socials this week and just wanted to get back to work. It was very abnormal for me to be cramping, especially so early. I just wanted to prepare as well as I could.

“I tried to block out all the noise however I do pride myself on my professionalism so I thought it was quite disappointing to be cramping and thought a lot the comments were fair enough.

“So it was on me to come out, really drive the pressure and run tonight and I thought I was able to do that.”

Flat six days earlier against the Giants, Collingwood dialled up their tackle pressure and dominated contested possession and clearances when it mattered early in the match.

The Pies also enjoyed a landslide 65-47 advantage in inside-50s.

Former Gold Coast utility Jack Lukosius’s first kick as Power player was a goal - the first of the game - but Membrey kicked the next three in a hot start for the home side.

Lachie Sullivan was helped off after a bone-crunching bump from Darcy Byrne-Jones and Houston had a rare bad moment when he was caught holding the ball right in front of his defensive goal, leading to a Jordon Sweet major.

But the Pies led by 21 points at the first break, having dominated clearances (16-7) and inside-50s (21-9) to that point.

Port veteran Travis Boak booted the first goal of the second term just 38 seconds after the restart, but the visitors didn’t kick another major for almost an hour.

Collingwood piled on 10 consecutive goals in that time to break the game wide open and went into party mode after the main break.

Even defender Brayden Maynard got in on the scoring act, kicking two goals in as many minutes during the third term.

Houston bombed a long goal from a Lachie Schultz hand-off early in the final term but it was disallowed because the umpire was still setting the mark, much to the disappointment of Pies fans in the crowd.

The Pies led 41-20 at the first break before extending their lead to 61-27 at halftime.

A seven-goal third term put the match beyond doubt as they passed triple figures to lead 105-35 at the last change.

The pain continued for Port Adelaide in the last quarter with Collingwood keeping their foot on the pedal with six majors.

With AAP