Draw assessment
The Magpies face a challenging draw, with two clashes against Hawthorn, Carlton, Essendon, Geelong and West Coast, but only one against Gold Coast, Port Adelaide and Greater Western Sydney. Collingwood has five Friday nighters, travels interstate five times, including two trips to Sydney, and have a four-day break between round four and Anzac Day. But the Magpies have all Saturday games between rounds 16 and 22.
Pivotal match
The Magpies meet Geelong in round eight for the first time since the Grand Final. In the same game last season, they lost a thriller by three points, but it was more about the psychological advantage it gave the Cats as they went on to smash them by 96 points in round 24 and then of course, win the decider by 38. It's a result that could count more above the shoulders than when it comes to premiership points.
Injury list
Dayne Beams (shins), Alan Didak (adductor), Ben Johnson (hamstring), Chris Tarrant (foot) and Cameron Wood (shoulder) missed out on NAB Cup action but the club is confident they'll be ready to play at some level in round one. Nick Maxwell rolled his ankle in the final pre-season game but is confident of facing the Hawks on March 30 while Nathan Brown (knee) is due to play in rounds two to four. Tyson Goldsack and Sharrod Wellingham are improving after knee problems but Andrew Krakouer and Brent Macaffer are both expected to miss the season after knee reconstructions.
Track specialist
Darren Jolly, after a forgettable 2011 marred by a mid-season knee complaint and an adductor problem that robbed him of mobility in the Grand Final, has had a terrific summer. The 30-year-old played in all of the pre-season rounds, and carried nearly the entire ruck load against St Kilda in the final week as the lone big man. He bettered his personal best in a time trial during summer, and elected not to nominate for the leadership group to focus on form and body.
Dream Team special
The role vacated by Leon Davis has opened up opportunities for players such as Martin Clarke ($141,500) and Peter Yagmoor ($98,700). The latter caught the eye more in the pre-season while Clarke had to readjust to the game that has changed in the two years he's been absent. Either way, both should get a chance to play early and they're cheap.
Draftee watch
The excitement surrounding Jarrod Witts has been a tad premature, with the hulking teenager playing just one pre-season match before hurting his ankle. Instead, it's been key position player Jackson Paine who has made immediate in-roads, playing forward alongside Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes. A misdirected kick from the No.50 overall draftee against GWS resulted in a goal and a Collingwood win, while he also made a good impression against St Kilda that caught the eye of the coach.
Needs a big year
Alan Didak had a season to forget last year after a compromised pre-season owing to recovery from surgery on his torn pectoral. He played 20 games but didn't kick a goal in the last nine, and averaged just shy of 18 touches a game. He also missed five mid-season games because of a calf injury. He will be hoping to recapture his 2010 form this year but he has already been limited with a restricted summer.
Best and fairest tip
It's hard to go past last year's first and second placers in Scott Pendlebury and the 2011 Brownlow medallist in Dane Swan. Both have had solid pre-seasons; Pendlebury slotted into the team in week two of the NAB Cup and looked like he hadn't missed a beat while Swan played every week. If they carry on that form and even come close to repeating the years they had in 2011, they'll be hard to beat.
The Magpies will have a good year if…
…the transition from last year's coaching structure has a positive effect and tweaks to the Pies' proven game-plan are merely that. They also need more luck with injuries, with the struggle to consistently play their best 22 the main factor that robbed them of back-to-back flags. Jolly and Didak are important to that while Dawes also needs to rediscover his form of 2010.
The big issues
The ruck situation. Leigh Brown's departure left a hole as far as a versatile pinch-hitting ruckman was concerned. Wood missed all pre-season games and Jonathon Ceglar and Witts are still developing. They tried many combinations - Jolly with one of the young guns, Jolly with Dawes in support - across summer, and it will be interesting to see what they settle on in round one with no rush on Wood.
The pre-season injuries. The Pies have played it down but four regular starters haven't played a game yet and another couple are out for the year. The depth will be tested and players such as Luke Rounds, Lachie Keeffe, Ben Sinclair and Kirk Ugle need to take a step.
The forward line. Too much was left to Cloke last year. He kicked 69 goals last season and the next best was Krakouer, who booted 35. As stated earlier, Dawes needs to carry on the form from the last pre-season game and Didak needs to hit back and support the big guys, along with Beams, Alex Fasolo and Jarryd Blair.
Best 22
B: Nick Maxwell, Chris Tarrant, Harry O'Brien
HB: Alan Toovey, Ben Reid, Heath Shaw
C: Dale Thomas, Dane Swan, Steele Sidebottom
HF: Alex Fasolo, Chris Dawes, Sharrod Wellingham
F: Alan Didak, Travis Cloke, Dayne Beams
FOLL: Darren Jolly, Luke Ball, Scott Pendlebury
I/C: Cameron Wood, Martin Clarke, Ben Johnson
Sub: Jarryd Blair
AFL.com.au predicted ladder finish: 2nd
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
