> Nick Maxwell addresses the media before Friday's trainingCOLLINGWOOD captain Nick Maxwell says teammate Alan Didak has matured beyond the point of being distracted by any on-field harassment.
Maxwell, who returns from a calf injury against Richmond this weekend, doesn't expect a repeat of last year's fiery clash where an all-in melee followed Didak's second-term altercation with Tigers defender Jake King.
Despite being shadowed by Clint Jones - one of the competition's best run-with players - Didak was best on ground in last week's 48-point win over St Kilda.
"Dids gets tagged every single week, and everyone tries to get under his skin," Maxwell said before training at Gosch's Paddock on Friday morning.
"I'd be very surprised if he wasn't All-Australian [this year] ... just the way he's matured over the last few years with those roles.
"When someone's really getting under your skin and tagging you hard, he's just shown he can still be a very good player."
Maxwell made headlines following the round 20 encounter, labelling Richmond's attack on the ball as "pretty average".
With the Tigers out of finals contention, he believed his September-bound teammates couldn't fight back.
But almost 12 months on, Maxwell says Collingwood has great respect for Richmond.
"Just to see their team, you can just see in a few years they're going to be bloody hard to stop. They're going to be right up there," he said.
"They've won five out of their past six and they've beaten contenders like Fremantle, so I think we've got to make sure we're right on our game."
Maxwell admitted his four weeks on the sidelines had been a frustrating time.
He sustained his injury in the Queen's Birthday clash with Melbourne and said he had taken far longer to recover than he anticipated.
"I've felt bad about this for a few weeks, for lying to the media a little bit and saying that I'd miss one or two [matches]," he said.
"But to be honest, you just never know [with soft-tissue injuries] ... I've missed four games.
"You've just got to take it slow. It's 100 per cent [now]. I wouldn’t be playing otherwise."
Maxwell said Heath Shaw, who will miss Saturday's game with a back injury, should be ready to return for next week's match against Carlton.
