YOUNG midfielder Jordan De Goey will learn from the events of the past week according to Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley.

The 21-year-old lied to his coach about how he had broken his hand only for the truth to be revealed soon after Buckley went public with De Goey's fabricated story.

It gave the Magpies unwanted headlines leading into round one for the second successive season, but the coach did not think it had an affect on the team's performance.

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Buckley said De Goey made two mistakes but he could make up the ground he lost if he followed the program set out for him over the next few months.

"He will learn a lot from it, but he's a good kid and he made bad decisions. We have got a plan in place for him and it is an opportunity for him to grow and to learn," Buckley said.

The headline grabbing event was the least of Buckley's worries however, after he watched the Magpies fall short to the defending premiers on the scoreboard despite winning most of the statistical measures.

The Magpies were more than competitive, winning the inside 50 count and clearances by 18, contested possessions by 26 and had one more scoring shot but still fell 14 points short of the defending premiers.

Buckley said it was poor ball use and inefficiency inside 50 that was the difference in the end, but the overall effort was strong.

"In many ways it is a missed opportunity for us," Buckley said.

"But if that is our brand…if that is the way that we play we'll win a lot of games of footy."

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Collingwood faces a huge game next Thursday night against Richmond, after the Tigers defeated Carlton in the opening game of the season on Thursday night.

The Magpies are unlikely to include injured forward Jamie Elliott, although he is yet to be ruled out entirely, and will still be without injured trio Levi Greenwood, Daniel Wells and De Goey.

Buckley, however, said he saw enough signs to suggest Collingwood would be very competitive against Richmond, with only a lapse in the third quarter proving costly.

"If we persist and become more consistent in our application of the way we want to play then we will become a better team," Buckley said.

The coach was pleased with the defence but said the use of the ball forward of the centre exposed the Magpies more often than he would have liked.

He defended the selection of Chris Mayne ahead of Tim Broomhead after James Aish was a late whithdrawal due to a virus, and said the forward structure was not an issue once they began rotating tall forwards on and off the ground.

"There was a lot to like," Buckley said.