Current ladder position: 5th (eight wins, six losses)

The run home:
Adelaide (5th) at the MCG
North Melbourne (10th) at Telstra Dome
Essendon (12th) at the MCG
Hawthorn (3rd) at the MCG
St Kilda (8th) at the MCG
Port Adelaide (13th)at AAMI Stadium
Sydney Swans (4th) at Telstra Dome
Fremantle (14th) at Subiaco Oval

Where to from here?
The Pies leave Melbourne only twice after round 14, and those two appointments are against bottom-eight sides. But their run home is punctuated by tough assignments against highly-placed teams. They play the Swans again in round 21, as well as Adelaide (fifth), Hawthorn (third) and St Kilda (eighth), before travelling twice in the final three rounds to meet Port Adelaide and Fremantle interstate.

After round 14, the side enters a stretch of five games in Melbourne, of which four are at the MCG and two are should-wins against North Melbourne (10th) and Essendon (12th). This presents an opportunity to get some wins together before hitting the road ahead of finals, while the side still has plenty of chances to measure itself against finals contenders before September.

Crunch games:
Round 18 – Hawthorn (h)
Round 21 – Sydney Swans (h)
Round 22 – Fremantle (a)

Punished by 65 points by the Hawks in round seven, the Pies get another chance to measure themselves up against a side cemented in the top four before September. They then face the Swans in round 21, which could be a crucial match, given that by then the Swans' could be the only top-four spot up for grabs. Collingwood will want winning momentum heading into the finals, and a victory in Perth in the final round would provide that.

Injury list:
Ryan Lonie (shoulder) test
Josh Fraser (knee) test
Leon Davis (ankle) test
Brodie Holland (achilles) 1-2 weeks
Ben Reid (foot) 6-8 weeks
Anthony Rocca (ankle) 6-8 weeks
Sean Rusling (shoulder) season
Brad Dick (knee) season

Who's gonna save us?
Josh Fraser. The ruckman and club leader has not been the same since injuring his knee in the Hall of Fame Tribute match back in May, and with key forwards Anthony Rocca and Ben Reid all but ruled out for the season, the side has never needed Fraser fit and firing more. The coaches have indicated their desire to play Fraser as a forward, with Chris Bryan and Cameron Wood capable of shouldering the ruck between them, and with the Pies in desperate need of some tall timber in attack, his fitness in the final nine rounds could prove imperative to a crack at September glory.

What the club says:
"We've got three more interstate games over the next nine weeks, and I think that's an advantage for us compared to some of the other sides.

"We play Sydney this weekend then we go to South Australia and Perth later on. That's not a bad draw for us. You'd rather less travel than more, but you just work around that and you go with what you get.

"There's no point complaining, and you just manage the program accordingly.

"Playing at the MCG four more times is definitely an advantage for us. It will be interesting how the other sides go over the next couple of weeks. We can't control that, so we'll just focus on our mechanisms and processes, and just keep refining them and managing them right so we do come up well towards the latter part of the season." – director of sports science David Buttifant

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.