ONE-TIME St Kilda captain Luke Ball looks set to tackle his former club in a NAB Cup opener on February 19.

Collingwood will kick off its pre-season campaign against the Saints and the Pies' edict of hitting the pre-season competition in top gear means they will field close to a full-strength line-up for the match at Etihad Stadium.

Ball's first official match in black and white will also be the first time he will come face to face - at least on the field - with his former teammates since walking out on the Saints late last year.

That occasion, along with it being the first Friday night game in Melbourne for the year and between two of the city's strongest clubs, should ensure a healthy crowd for the pre-season fixture.

Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh said Ball and fellow big-name recruit Darren Jolly were on track for the clash.

"Luke will play, barring accidents between now and then," Walsh told collingwoodfc.com.au.

"He's up and going and is training well, so we'd expect Luke to play … the same with Jolly."

Ball has been among the eye-catchers at Collingwood training in recent weeks, including Monday's 7am session at Gosch's Paddock before the squad left for its community camp in northern Victoria.

Brad Dick is the only player certain to be missing from the start of the season as he continues his recovery from a shoulder reconstruction.

Walsh said Travis Cloke was battling some bruising to his left knee, which was believed to be first injured in last year's preliminary final loss to Geelong.

However, the forward didn't require surgery and is training.

"Whether he plays the first [NAB Cup] game, you know that'll be up to us as to whether we think he’s done enough in terms of preparation," Walsh said.

"He won’t be far away. He'll be right when the AFL season starts. He'll get some games under his belt during the NAB series."

The Pies have turned their focus to the Saints, and are looking forward to measuring themselves against one of 2009's best teams.

"We’ll approach it like every game - we'll be trying to win," Walsh said.

"We'll be picking the best side available. We want to be competitive, we want to go as far as we can in the NAB Cup because it's always great opposition and you get to play on the best grounds.

"We'll be having a good crack … they were almost the measuring stick last year. They went within an inch of knocking them (Geelong) over, so there's no better team to start off with."