That’s the view of Pies’ midfield coach Mark Neeld, who will help guide his side’s on-ball group when it comes face to face with a Cats engine-room led by names such as Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood.
The top-of-the-table clash on Friday night has assumed blockbuster proportions, with a full house expected at the MCG for what some are thinking may be a grand final preview.
The two teams met in the penultimate week of the season last year, with the Cats far too good on that occasion as their midfield reigned supreme.
But Neeld, like most observers, believes his team has made ground.
“We’re in better form now than we were when we played them in the preliminary final,” he said ahead of training at Gosch’s Paddock on Thursday morning.
“So we’re going to back it in that our midfield will take that form into tomorrow night’s game.”
Neeld said his team’s improvement could be attributed to a range of factors, although the development of several players, along with the Pies’ number of options in the middle, has been noted this season.
“Younger players [are] probably being more consistent in their efforts,” Neeld said.
“A couple of players are beginning to mature, for example Dale Thomas. He’s definitely had a more consistent season and [we’ve had] the input of Darren Jolly and Luke Ball, so we’ve changed personnel and a couple of boys have improved.”
Neeld, a former defender at Geelong and Richmond before starting his coaching career, has seen plenty of the Cats in recent seasons in his role as special comments man with a Geelong radio station.
And he says the reigning premiers have evolved from the 2009 model.
“They’re a little bit different this year,” he said.
“They’ve got a different forward set up and we know that [James] Podsiadly has come in. They may have changed slightly but on the whole they’re still the standout side of the past three seasons, for certain.”
A squad of 25 Collingwood players trained on Thursday morning, although captain Nick Maxwell and Heath Shaw - who will play his 100th AFL match against the Cats - did their work indoors.
Darren Jolly also did some light running and left the ground before the main group hit the track, although Neeld said it was not unusual for players to follow their own programs the day before a game.
Sharrod Wellingham was among the 25-man squad to train, although Paul Medhurst - who also missed last week with a foot injury - was unsighted.
Veterans Simon Prestigiacomo and Tarkyn Lockyer were also among the extended squad.
