The Magpie match committee has elected to go with the same 22 players that smashed the Western Bulldogs by 62 points in the qualifying final.??
The win saw the club have a week off which benefited Sharrod Wellingham’s case for selection, as the midfielder has now fully recovered from an ankle injury he sustained in the finals week one win.??
The news wasn’t as good for defender Simon Prestigiacomo who is still suffering from a corked thigh and will miss another week. The 233-game veteran trained with the playing group on Thursday and was extremely close to being available.??
“Prestigiacomo trained today and ticked most of the boxes but unfortunately, needs another day or two to get himself fully fit,” the club’s chief of football Geoff Walsh told Collingwoodfc.com.au on Thursday.??
The three emergencies include Tarkyn Lockyer, Paul Medhurst and Tyson Goldsack.???
Collingwood vice captain Scott Pendlebury will celebrate his 100th AFL match when he runs out on Friday night.
Geelong, meanwhile, has also gone in unchanged after it knocked out Fremantle by 69 points last Friday night. The Cats have left defender Andrew Mackie out of the side for the second straight week and have named him as an emergency.
First Preliminary Final
Collingwood v Geelong
Friday 17 September
MCG, 7:45 PM
Collingwood
B: Nick Maxwell, Nathan Brown, Alan Toovey
HB: Harry O'Brien, Ben Reid, Heath Shaw
C: Sharrod Wellingham, Dane Swan, Ben Johnson
HF: Alan Didak, Travis Cloke, Luke Ball
F: Dayne Beams, Chris Dawes, Steele Sidebottom
Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Dale Thomas
Int: Jarryd Blair, Leon Davis, Brent Macaffer, Leigh Brown
Emg: Tarkyn Lockyer, Paul Medhurst, Tyson Goldsack
Milestones: Scott Pendlebury (100 AFL games)
Geelong
B: Josh Hunt, Matthew Scarlett, Darren Milburn
HB: Corey Enright, Harry Taylor, James Kelly
C: Cameron Ling, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Corey
HF: Paul Chapman, James Podsiadly, Mathew Stokes
F: Steve Johnson, Cameron Mooney, Travis Varcoe
Foll: Brad Ottens, Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett
Int : Tom Lonergan, Tom Hawkins, David Wojcinski, Shannon Byrnes
Emg: Andrew Mackie, Taylor Hunt, Mark Blake
