The final home-and-away round often throws up an unexpected result or a perverse twist, but for Collingwood their away trip to Fremantle represents more than a danger match.
Victory for the Magpies at Optus Stadium on Saturday will secure their first double chance since 2012. Furthermore, the club’s road trip to the AFL’s newest stadium – for the first time, no less – is more than likely a dress rehearsal for the opening week of the finals.
The Pies have had some good news on the injury front, with Tyson Goldsack (centre) and Jeremy Howe (right) progressing.
Naturally, it won’t be another match-up against Fremantle in a fortnight but, should results fall as expected this weekend, the Magpies will be taking on West Coast in the first week of September for the right to host a home preliminary final.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley is acutely aware of what’s at stake in the west but, even though the Pies tend to excel any time they go through Tullamarine, he’s describing the Freo clash as a "hit and run" mission.
The Magpies continue to juggle a tricky injury list and will travel west with only one emergency to Perth.
"We won’t have our whole squad together, not sort of solidifying a great deal other than seeing it as a ‘hit and run’. Get there and get the job done and then come back," Buckley said on Thursday.
"We do enjoy the time that the squad and the staff can spend together.
"I’ll let you know a little bit more about how well it went for us!"
What Collingwood are banking on, however, is a level of ‘bounce back’ from Fremantle after they were humbled by 133 points against Geelong last weekend.
"You don’t make it to this level without an element of pride in your performances," Buckley said.
"I daresay that there would be a bounceback from last week.
"(But) we can’t really control what Freo do as much as we can control what we do."
Potential player availability and injury management has been one of the constants of Collingwood’s season. It is destined to remain thus. On top of Adam Treloar returning to the training track this week, Tyson Goldsack will make his long-awaited comeback via the VFL this weekend. Buckley also disclosed that there’s a ray of hope for Ben Reid, not long after the Magpies effectively ruled the key position player out for the season.
And Jeremy Howe has been ruled out for the fourth consecutive week due to his severely corked thigh though the Pies insist the former Demon is close. The important defender will be high on the top of the list of Magpies applying selection pressure in coming weeks.
"Post surgery it’s come along really well," Buckley said of Howe and his unusual thigh injury.
"For us to want to go and operate on a perfectly healthy thigh – apart from the cork – shows you where we got to with that. The doctors had worked through plenty of normal possibilities, and it hadn’t acted or responded normally.’’
Goldsack (knee reconstruction) had been earmarked to play about a month ago before a back complaint delayed his comeback.
"He’s trained really well, 'Goldy,'" Buckley said, recognising his player's work ethic throughout his rehabiliation.
"Goldy gets a bit of a pay off now, and some possibility now, and he’s looking forward to that."
Buckley wasn’t, however, getting carried away with speculation about a dream return for Goldsack during the latter stages of the AFL finals series. Said Buckley: "Let’s just let him play his first game of VFL first."
Collingwood locked down their first finals berth in five years with last week’s impressive victory over Port Adelaide. They remain a hot pick for those pondering the scenarios of how the Richmond applecart can be overturned.
And with the club’s VFL team set for finals action of their own and selection intrigue around Howe, Goldsack, Treloar and Darcy Moore in particular, one thing is absolutely certain: the fierce glare of attention won’t deviate far from Collingwood and their fortunes over the closing weeks of the season.
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