COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley has brushed aside any concern over midfielder Taylor Adams' injury, effectively declaring him a certain starter for round one.
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Adams took no part in the second half of Sunday's Marsh Community Series defeat to St Kilda at Morwell Recreation Reserve after pulling up short just before half-time.
The 26-year-old felt for his groin while receiving treatment on the boundary – after missing almost three months with an adductor setback last season – but the Pies reported a hip complaint.
"He jarred his hip in that incident at the front of the interchange bench late in the second quarter (and) we just pulled the pin on him then and get him set for round one," Buckley told reporters.
"He wanted to keep playing but then he could be missing an arm and he'd want to do the same thing."
Buckley was most disappointed with conceding 35 inside 50s in the second half as the Saints won by 11 points after Collingwood kicked four of the first five goals of the game.
He was pleased with how usual forwards Jordan De Goey and Jamie Elliott fared in their midfield stints, while Josh Daicos' performance on a wing and up forward also caught his attention.
However, Buckley hinted that Mason Cox, who largely struggled on Sunday, would hold onto his senior spot ahead of recruit Darcy Cameron for the season-opener against the Western Bulldogs.
"There's no doubt (Cameron's) performances have been really strong the last two weeks and he understands we probably need to see a bit more of him forward of the ball," he said.
"When you're playing well onball but have an All-Australian ruckman (Brodie Grundy) in front of you, you need to be able to do the job in front of the ball.
"So he's going to continue to work on that and be an ongoing challenge for Mason, Brody Mihocek and 'Reidy' (Ben Reid) as well."
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten was unsure what to make of his team winning both its Marsh matches, with a greater focus on establishing chemistry with his five recruits.
Bradley Hill and Dougal Howard were the best of them against the Magpies but Zak Jones, Dan Butler and Paddy Ryder all had a say in the result.
Ben Long enhanced his round one hopes more than any other Saint, performing a starring role across half-back with 24 disposals.
"He was pretty solid today, Ben. He's been working really well through the pre-season and developing his game," Ratten said.
"He's one that probably, early doors, (the question was) 'is he a half-forward or half-back' when he came to St Kilda.
"But with the things I've seen him do, I think he's more of a half-back, so he'll probably play there."
Ratten wasn't quite ready to reveal whether early draft pick Max King would be in the Saints' round one side but said he had "done enough to put his name up for selection".
St Kilda stars Jade Gresham and Seb Ross were late withdrawals because of soreness and will take part in match simulation on Friday.
