> Watch Leigh Brown address reporters at the Salvation Army in Bourke St, MelbourneCOLLINGWOOD may be on top of the AFL ladder but the Pies still aren’t ranking themselves the best team in the competition.
The Pies' win over St Kilda, coupled with Geelong’s loss to Adelaide last weekend, moved them to the top of the table but utility Leigh Brown said the club’s own measurements didn’t yet have his side at the top of the pile.
Coach Mick Malthouse is known to pay little attention to the AFL ladder, instead using his own formula to judge form.
“We’re going okay on that (Malthouse’s) ladder,” Brown said on Tuesday.
“We’re not quite up the top on that one. There are areas we need to improve on and still things we need to work on week to week and we’ll continue doing that this weekend against Richmond.”
Brown said Saturday’s clash with the Tigers would provide another big test against a team that had turned its season around in the past six weeks.
The Pies, meanwhile, are keeping a lid on their own hot form.
“To be top of the ladder is a good place to be, but there are still six rounds to go and plenty of action in September,” Brown said.
Competition for positions in the Magpies’ line-up is rife. Brown ensured he will play the supporting role to Darren Jolly for at least one more week following a 16-possession, three-goal effort against St Kilda.
Brown admitted it was one of his better performances but refuted a suggestion he had entrenched his spot in Collingwood’s best team.
“The pressure to perform is there each week,” he said.
“There’s a lot of depth, there’s a lot of guys in the VFL who have played some senior footy, so they’ve all got a fantastic attitude at the minute and are playing some really good footy.”
While the likes of Paul Medhurst, Josh Fraser and Shane O’Bree are battling to win back their spot via the VFL, skipper Nick Maxwell is close to resuming from a calf injury.
“He’ll probably train this week. He did most of the training last week, so I’m guessing he’ll be very close,” Brown said.
As for Dane Swan, who was involved in an altercation at a Melbourne nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning, Brown said his teammate was fine to play against Richmond.
“He trained yesterday, he trained again today, so he’ll be fine to play on the weekend,” Brown said.
“It was just one of those incidents that happen ... I think he copped a little poke in the mouth.”
