COLLINGWOOD has maintained its clear break at the top of the ladder with a 16.12 (108) to 11.8 (74) win against a determined St Kilda on Saturday night.

The latest of possible changes threw a spanner in the works for St Kilda before the bounce, with returning young gun Mattaes Phillipou withdrawn from the game with a calf problem, offering Ryan Byrnes a reprieve.

It wasn't a game where either team established a sense of flow across the opening half, instead it was stunted and littered with interceptors.

St Kilda seemed to have a directive to move the ball patiently down the wings, rarely attempting any forays into the corridor. Its slow build up was an attempt to allow representation to get forward to combat Collingwood's disciplined defensive setup.

It was then with forward pressure where the Saints thrived. An early patch of limited pressure – just four first-quarter tackles stark on the stat sheet – was soon rectified, and although they finished trailing the tackle metric 65-46, there was a more concerted effort to close space and cause turnover.

Poor conversion was the only real reason St Kilda went into the main break trailing on the scoreboard, and two quick goals to open the third quarter levelled the playing field, putting the Pies into a position they haven't often been this year.

St Kilda came again in the last with the first two goals of the term, but Collingwood's class came to the fore.

At the other end of the ground, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was important dashing out of defence, with 35 disposals and 632 metres gained for the game, and Callum Wilkie (20 disposals, eight intercepts) once again offered an anchor point behind play.

Trouble before the bounce
Desperately late in the final warmup, returning St Kilda youngster Mattaes Phillipou made his way to the bench alongside a club doctor with a calf concern. The 20-year-old sat down and put his head in his hands, looking devastated as club officials scrambled to get a very late change approved. With just four games under his belt this year, Phillipou has battled a stress fracture in his leg early in the season, before being subbed out of St Kilda's round 12 win over Melbourne with a plantaris tendon (calf) injury. It is an unfortunate setback for not only Phillipou, but the Saints, who are desperate for his class and grunt on the field.

COLLINGWOOD         5.1    8.5    12.9   16.12 (108)
ST KILDA                   3.3    6.5    9.6   11.8 (74)

GOALS 

Collingwood: Cameron 2, McStay 2, Lipinski 2, Elliott 2, Membrey 2, Crisp, Perryman, Pendlebury, N.Daicos, Mihocek, Hill
St Kilda: Wood 3, Butler 2, Wilson 2, Sharman, Owens, Hall, Marshall

BEST 

Collingwood: Cameron, Sidebottom, Pendlebury, N.Daicos, J.Daicos, Lipinski
St Kilda: Wanganeen-Milera, Sharman, Wilkie, Macrae, Owens

INJURIES 

Collingwood: McCreery (hamstring awareness)
St Kilda: Nil

SUBSTITUTES 

Collingwood: Lachie Sullivan (replaced Beau McCreey at quarter-time)
St Kilda: Tobie Travaglia (replaced Isaac Keeler in the fourth quarter)

LATE CHANGES 

Collingwood: Nil
St Kilda: Ryan Byrnes replaced Mattaes Phillipou (calf)

Crowd: 43,039 at Marvel Stadium