COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley expects to increasingly use Jordan De Goey in the midfield as the fourth-year match-winner continues to blossom.
De Goey was the catalyst in the middle for the Magpies' crucial victory over in-form Melbourne on Monday after separate five and six-goal hauls in attack earlier in the year.
The 22-year-old, who is out of contract at season's end, has attracted comparisons to reigning Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin and securing his signature is a major priority for Collingwood.
CLASSY PIES PREVAIL: Full match coverage and stats
De Goey finished the 42-point win with 30 disposals (13 contested), 12 inside 50s – 10 in the first half – seven tackles, four clearances and 10 score involvements.
"Melbourne has got a midfield full of (big players) – (Clayton) Oliver, (Jack) Viney and clearly (Christian) Petracca, when he's in and about – and Jordy's a big-bodied midfielder and he's got that burst and real power," Buckley said.
"I thought he and Tay Adams, (Adam) Treloar, clearly 'Pendles' (Scott Pendlebury) and Steele (Sidebottom) were as sharp in and around the contest (as we have been).
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"Jordy drove that in the first five, 10 minutes. He really stamped himself on the game and we look forward to him doing that more as a midfielder as he understands his capabilities and the requirements of playing that position.
"It's a pretty exciting start."
Buckley emerged from the coaches' box "extremely" satisfied at his side's eighth win from 12 outings, but planning to dissect areas of improvement in review on Tuesday.
WATCH Nathan Buckley's full post-match press conference
Part of that may focus on the Pies' turnovers, which cost them five second-quarter goals and threatened to waste the ferocious five-goals-to-one start that set up their afternoon.
But the good far outweighed any bad, with Mason Cox slotting a personal-best five goals and Collingwood dominating the clearances (45-26) and inside 50s (63-42) with a long list of contributors.
Brodie Grundy took the honours in his much-discussed ruck match-up with All Australian rival Max Gawn, too.
But Buckley wasn't ready to publicly reassess his ambitions for this year.
Either way, this current version of the Magpies is a vast improvement on the sides of the past four seasons that sat out September and almost cost the coach his job.
So what's changed, other than the majority of Buckley's coaching staff?
Not reflecting too much on the difficult recent past and doing the basics that bit better, according to the man himself.
"It's quite marginal, the game," he said.
"At the elite level, you only have to be off one or two per cent either way and it's a fairly significant difference.
"We're not going to revise too much. We can't do much about what's gone; we'll look after what's coming."
Collingwood is still looking forward to regaining injured trio Darcy Moore, Jamie Elliott and Ben Reid at some stage after this weekend's bye and it looks to have dodged a bullet with Daniel Wells.
The former Kangaroo limped from the MCG in the second quarter with a foot strain, but won five of his eight disposals in the final term.
"We'll have a pretty quick turnaround and review the game tomorrow, then the players will get their time (off)," Buckley said.
"We'll come back refreshed – hopefully body, mind, spirit – and be able to put in another good preparation for Carlton on the other side of the bye.
"We're enjoying our work, but we're enjoying our preparation, we're enjoying the environment at the place (and) we're not going to forget the building blocks of what we need to put in place.
"So we'll take a breather then come back and do that."
