Collingwood coach Craig McRae has hailed Darcy Moore's "remarkable" performance after the Magpies captain starred in a 28-point win that turned up the heat on traditional rivals Carlton.
Moore claimed 17 intercept possessions and six contested marks to go with his 25 disposals in a 13.7 (85) to 7.15 (57) victory in front of 80,354 fans on Sunday at the MCG.
Blues spearhead Charlie Curnow kicked three goals and Harry McKay two, but Moore led from the front and was the most influential player on the ground.
"At times you'd think he was the forward," McRae said.
"He just outworks the opposition and he's playing on incredible players - they're no mugs in the game - and he out-positions them.
"He just had a day out. The way he's playing right now, he's at the top of his game for sure."
Collingwood (9-1) comfortably secured a sixth straight victory that kept them a game clear on top of the ladder, while compounding the pressure on Carlton (4-1-5).
Tom Mitchell completed plenty of grunt work, finishing with 26 disposals, 15 contested possessions and eight clearances.
Jordan De Goey (27 disposals, 13 contested possessions, five clearances) and Scott Pendlebury (21 touches, eight tackles) were also important, while Brody Mihocek (four) was the game's leading goal-kicker.
Brownlow Medal fancy Nick Daicos was shadowed by Ed Curnow after half-time and finished with 27 disposals.
He will come under scrutiny for a blow to Blake Acres' stomach, which will likely attract a financial sanction.
Ash Johnson's huge mark on Marc Pittonet's shoulders and Bobby Hill's scorching run down the wing to set up a Mihocek goal were fitting highlights in the Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round.
The Magpies kicked nine of the first 11 goals and led by 44 points before half-time, effectively ending the contest early.
"You just never know how games are going to progress but I think the way we set the game up in the first half was obviously the reason why we got the job done," McRae said.
Adam Cerra (33 disposals, three clearances), Sam Docherty (34, five) and Sam Walsh (29, four) worked hard against the tide for Carlton.
Trailing by 35 points at the main break, the Blues had a dozen scoring shots to five in the second half but couldn't get closer than the final margin.
It left them with a fifth loss from their last six outings.
"Collingwood are the top team for a reason. They're not going to surrender that (lead) back too easily," Carlton coach Michael Voss said.
"We were able to get in the fight a bit but the fight doesn't win you the game.
"So we find ourselves in a situation where right now we're not good enough, and we've got to find a way through that pretty quickly."
No.1 ruckman Darcy Cameron was a late inclusion for Collingwood and had nine touches on return from a knee injury.
Johnson was substituted out for Jack Ginnivan during the final term after both players had been in doubt during the week due to illness.
