COLLINGWOOD expects Jarrod Witts' return will help combat Giant Shane Mumford in the ruck this Sunday and is hopeful Taylor Adams will also be back to face his former team.
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley said Witts and Brodie Grundy would be looking forward to testing their mettle against Mumford's physical approach to rucking.
"Any young player with a bit of go in them likes taking on an experienced player with a bit of go in them," Buckley said on Wednesday.
Mumford has been one of the game's premier ruckman for several seasons while Grundy and Witts are two of the AFL's most promising young talls.
Witts was a late withdrawal against Melbourne due to soreness but the Magpies expect to recall him for the crucial MCG clash.
"When you are getting to the pointy end of your sport there is a fair bit of grunt that takes place, [a] fair bit of 'two bulls in a paddock' and you have to work it out," Buckley said of the forthcoming ruck contest.
The coach remains hopeful that former Giant Adams will be available to play but indicated the Magpies would be conservative in their decision.
"I don't know how Taylor will go. Missing one week was ideal for him," Buckley said.
"He might be one who benefits from another couple of weeks off."
The Magpies also expect to see tough on-baller Levi Greenwood play his first VFL game this season since being recruited from North Melbourne.
Greenwood broke a leg in the final pre-season game in March and the club hopes he will be available for senior selection in three weeks.
Ben Reid will continue his comeback by playing a third consecutive VFL game.
Buckley admitted the clash with the Giants represented a significant challenge for the Magpies.
"They (the Giants) have got great talent and over the past 18 months we've seen that moulded into a pretty significant team unit," Buckley said.
"Games like this go some way to giving you more information around where sides sit."
The seven wins for the Magpies this season have come against the teams currently filling the bottom seven spots on the ladder.
After the game against the Giants, Collingwood has a bye before playing Fremantle away, Hawthorn at the MCG and Port Adelaide away.
Buckley said results in the next four games would go a long way towards shaping their season, but said the Pies had at least six players currently outside the team who had legitimate claims to be in the best 22 by year's end.
"I still think there is a lot of challenge to the individuals on our list to prove they are in our best 22 come the end of the year for us, and working forward into 2016 and 2017 because we feel we are going to get better as we go," he said.
