COLLINGWOOD is considering recalling Ben Reid for his first senior game for nearly 12 months as the Magpies try to halt their losing streak at the MCG on Saturday against Carlton.
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley said the 26-year-old had played some solid football in the VFL and was a chance to be part of the squad when it was finalised on Thursday.
"Our first port of call is making sure he is robust and able to play multiple games and stand up to the rigours of the rest of the season and not just the one game," Buckley said.
Reid's most recent senior game was against the Brisbane Lions on August 16, 2014 and he has played just four games since the start of last season, enduring a horror run of soft tissue injuries.
"He hasn't played football for a long time, so when we pull the trigger on him we would expect him to bring competitiveness and play his role, not unlike anyone else," Buckley said.
After six losses in a row, the Magpies face some interesting selection dilemmas.
They will also consider bringing in a first-gamer in Jonathon Marsh, who was outstanding in the VFL last Sunday and has been consistent all season.
The 19-year-old Marsh is 194cm, has pace and if selected would be the fifth Magpie to debut this season, following Matt Scharenberg who made his long-awaited debut against Melbourne last Saturday when Tyson Goldsack withdrew late.
Buckley was not keen to discuss selection matters, saying Jesse White had faced tough conditions in the VFL but would be part of the discussion, and he expected Goldsack to be available.
The Magpies kicked just seven goals against the Demons in the absence of White and Travis Cloke.
Buckley said the expectations on Darcy Moore had been no different against Melbourne than they had been against the Western Bulldogs, when he impressed kicking five goals.
"We had the same number of forwards last week as we had the week before, as we had the week before that, so there is an expectation on them all to play their roles," Buckley said.
"We thought our resting ruckmen had very little impact on the game in front of the ball and that was disappointing and we also thought our ball use going inside (50) was very poor."
The Magpies have been disappointing in the past two games after a strong start to the season, losing to Melbourne last week for the first time since 2007.
They have dropped from fourth to 11th and Buckley said they had forgotten how to win to some extent.
He conceded consecutive losses made life a little harder, but said the team had "performed admirably" through most of the season.
"There is pressure every week we play, but it does build when you have got the losses that add up," Buckley said.