"IF ANYTHING strange is going to happen, it will happen to 'Swanny'."

They were the words from Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley after hearing champion midfielder Dane Swan was mistaken for a bikie the night before his 250th game.

On Wednesday night - ahead of Thursday’s Power-Magpies contest - Swan was picked up from his hotel by his mate, former Swans defender Gerrard Bennett, to grab a coffee and was almost immediately swarmed by police cars and officers.

Five talking points: Power v Pies

After viewing Swan's extensive coverage of tattoos and Bennett’s hoodie, police mistakenly thought the pair were bikies.

Nick Butler, from 3AW, said Bennett picked up Swan from the team hotel before the incident occurred.

“They get about 200m down the road and they are swarmed by police cars - (there was) officers everywhere,” Butler said.

“[They were] told to get out the car, hands in the air.

“(The) story goes that SA police officers had been sweating on some bikies ... they saw Gerrard in his hoodie (and) then 'Swanny' with his tatts, (and) they thought they were bikies and swooped.”

The unusual pre-match incident didn't seem to affect Swan, who produced a typical brilliant game with 33 possessions and 11 clearances in a losing cause.

After Collingwood’s three-point loss to Port, Buckley said he hadn’t heard about the incident, but he wasn’t surprised it happened to the Brownlow medallist.

“If anything strange is going to happen, it will happen to ‘Swanny’,” he said.

Swan's laidback personality is at odds with the famously intense Buckley, but the Collingwood coach said it was obvious that once on the field, Swan could be counted on to deliver.

"'Swanny' will tell you 'it's just a game, I plug away and I'll keep doing what I do'," Buckley said.

"When it gets to the crunch, he loves the contest and gives everything for his teammates."

The Pies fell just short of a milestone win for Swan but Buckley said there was still a lot of good footy left in his premiership player.

“(I) think his words over the past few days have been really positive around how he's feeling about his footy," Buckley remarked.

"One thing he should feel really confident about is his contribution to it.

"He's done it in his own way and he'll continue to do it in his own way."