A NEW coach and a fresh gameplan, followed by an injury crisis and four straight losses to open the season.

Just over a third of the way through the season, where does Collingwood go from here?

And what can we expect from the Magpies for the rest of the year under Sam Wright?

It's not yet the Pies' worst start to a year, after 2019 saw them sit at 0-6 before nabbing one win in the last round of the year, in Wayne Siekman's last season in charge.

"We're all in this industry because we're competitive and we want to get wins on the board. But what it has looked like is very process driven," head of women's football Jess Burger told AFL.com.au.

"As cliched as that sounds like, we are very clear on what the type of environment we're trying to create, very clear on what game system we're trying to paint the picture of each week. 

"We're not satisfied with playing really solid first halves against quality outfits and actually being really competitive and then falling away. But what that has given us, is really clear evidence on what it does look like to play our system, and then what it doesn't look like when we don't execute. 

"To play a certain system, you need continuity, and we've seen the best sides for a long time. There's no secret as to why Brisbane and Melbourne and those sorts of teams have been up the top for so long. It's because they've had that shared experience, that continuity in game style, coaches and those sorts of things."

The medical department at Collingwood has been working overtime, with an average of seven players unavailable each week, for a squad of only 30 players.

The Magpies will be without their entire first-choice midfield of Bri Davey (concussion), Brit Bonnici (calf) and Mikala Cann (suspension) for their vital clash against fellow winless side the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.

Cann was cited for a dangerous tackle on Bella Lewis, and accepted a one-match suspension rather than challenging it at the Tribunal, despite the team's lengthy unavailable list and the West Coast midfielder playing out the match.

"When you look at how it was graded, there was very little room to be able to challenge what that looks like," Burger said.

"It's careless. Her head does make contact with the ground as a result of the tackle, so there is high contact received, and the League has been very clear around any sort of dangerous tackle will be graded as medium impact.

"That doesn't leave us with much wriggle room to try and challenge around that. Mikala knows she's got a duty of care, she's a physical player, and I would say nine times out of 10, she's executing her tackles really well. We'll continue to educate and train on what it looks like to tackle hard but fair."

Kalinda Howarth was recruited with the knowledge she still had quite some way to go in her ACL recovery, but the Pies had hoped ex-Docker Mikayla Hyde would have been right to go in round one, despite a foot issue.

Instead, the lively small forward suffered a setback with irritation in the affected area, and is still building her running loads after missing most of pre-season.

The two long-term injuries immediately cut the list from 30 to 28, while integral forward Nell Morris-Dalton (back) and classy runner Aishling Sheridan (personal) had already been ruled inactive and replaced in the primary squad during pre-season.

The attack was always going to be skinny this year – the Pies having struggled to find a quality forward since the departure of Chloe Molloy – but Morris-Dalton was set to play a key role as leader of the forward line.

Collingwood has kicked a total of 13.22 in its first four matches this year.

Imogen Barnett – who missed nearly the entire 2023 season with a broken ankle – is carrying a heavy load as the near-sole tall target, and her absence is noted when she rotates into the ruck to give Sabrina Frederick a chop-out.

Top-up player Jordi Ivey plays for Collingwood's VFLW side, and is technically a train-on player with Geelong, training with the Cats over pre-season, but AFLW list management rules allow her to be temporarily elevated by another side to broaden the replacement pool across the League.

Ivey has been a preferred selection in attack over Erica Fowler and draftee Georgia Clark, but at 175cm, is not the tallest forward going around.

Fellow top-up player and Pies VFLW midfielder Sarah Ingram will play against the Bulldogs.

"It was a pretty easy phone call for us to make, to say, 'Hey, can you get yourself back up the highway?'" Burger said.

"Her (Ivey's) experience, her level head, her knowledge, and she's been completely unfazed to come in and play a really difficult role.

"For someone to come in off limited education – in terms of within our system – but she certainly hasn't had limited preparation, she's played a lot of footy this year. She's been able to do it seamlessly, and it's a credit to her and what she's been able to do to get herself right.

"She's obviously had a bad run with injury (foot issues), but I think the experience that she's had playing at multiple clubs has held her in really good stead, because she's been able to come in and get the job done, no matter what we've asked of her."

Most expected Collingwood to bounce back from last year's 11th-place finish, given the four straight finals appearances that had preceded it.

But it's become clear we've had to re-adjust our expectations as to what the Magpies will look like for the rest of the season because of squad unavailability, teething issues around adopting the new gameplan, and the simple fact of improvement from the rest of the competition.

It's no surprise Wright came from the powerful North Melbourne, given his continual discussion at press conferences of "the system", a common refrain at the Roos. But limited numbers on the track means it's harder to get everyone on the same page at the same time, and training bodies and minds to act instinctively to a new system, while under pressure, doesn't happen overnight. 

It's just going to take time.

"Absolutely, the injuries do take their toll, but what we've seen is when the players have come back, they've actually made an impact straight away," Burger said.

"We desperately want to have our best outfit out there, but I guess the silver lining is now it's really clear that almost every player on our list (bar Clark) has been exposed to our system in terms of what it does and doesn't look like, and the role they can play within that.

"It also gives us a really good look about how we're going to continue to move forward, and who's able to contribute to the roles we need for that, too.

"The exciting thing is, we're going to have more reinforcements over the coming weeks, and touch wood, we continue to build on the roles that the players are playing at the moment, to be able to demonstrate that execution of that system. 

"What that then hopefully translates to is some results and some excitement around it, because we do genuinely think that the brand that we're going to be executing will take the game forward. We want to be playing a quick, up-tempo style that allows us to score. We certainly want to reinforce that with a really consistent defensive system."