The two forwards had been under an injury cloud for most of the week but trained strongly enough on Friday morning to convince Scott they were fit.
But the Kangaroos have made one change with Levi Greenwood replaced in the 22 by Cruize Garlett. Scott confirmed Greenwood’s withdrawal on Friday.
“He’s a little bit sore so unfortunately we had to withdraw him and we let Collingwood know as soon as we knew," Scott said.
"We thought the doubt was over Hale and Edwards so we named two key forwards in our emergencies. Then to lose a midfielder, we brought Cruize in from outside our emergencies.
“[Hale and Edwards] trained and we put them under a brief fitness test under the watchful eye of a Collingwood scout.”
Scott spent three years sitting alongside Malthouse as an assistant, but he believed his time in the Magpies’ inner sanctum did not give him a huge tactical advantage in the lead-up to Saturday night’s game.
“I don’t think it makes too much difference. In terms of inside knowledge, I’ve got a pretty good idea of the personnel but six months in footy is a long time,” he said.
“Things have changed, their coaching staff has changed, their personnel with Luke Ball and (Darren) Jolly has changed. I don’t think with structure that inside knowledge is any great advantage, the only possible advantage is to really understand their personnel.”
The game against the in-form Magpies shapes as Scott’s biggest test as a senior coach but he was keen to deflect attention away from himself.
“To test yourself against teams that are up the top of the ladder, and I consider genuine premiership contenders, then that is always going to be a test for our young group,” he said.
“We had that test in round two (against St Kilda) and failed dismally. We are really going to have to improve on that performance. I think over the past month we’ve improved and started to play some better football. Playing against Collingwood on Saturday night at the MCG is a great opportunity.”
Malthouse said his former assistant had already made an impact at his new club and looked set for a bright future as an AFL coach.
“If you’ve got your systems right, they pick it up pretty quickly, they know right from wrong and they start to reflect that coach so I’m seeing that now. It’s a very good point to have as a young coach and there’s no reason he can’t be a career long-term coach,” he said.
