COLLINGWOOD is bracing itself for one of its toughest match committee sessions in Nathan Buckley's two-year stint as coach ahead of Saturday night's elimination final against Port Adelaide at the MCG.

Buckley reported on Monday that key defender Nathan Brown (knee), forward Quinten Lynch (ankle) and swingman Ben Reid (soreness) all pulled up well from the clash against North Melbourne on Sunday.

Midfielders Luke Ball and Harry O'Brien will return from injury, meaning the deliberations at Collingwood, which were to start on Monday afternoon, will be long and intense.

"They're on the better scale," Buckley said of the injured players. "Three big units, all important to our structure and they've all come out of it OK."

"It gives the match committee a really tough task to pick the best 22 this week. We're blessed at the moment with as good an injury status as we've had for the last 24 months."

Forward Travis Cloke missed a media call on Monday because, the Pies said, he was having treatment on a back complaint.

 

Collingwood has used 40 players in its senior side this year, the sort of figure usually reserved for developing clubs.

 

The upside according to Buckley is that pretty much every player has shown enough to suggest that they could step up and contribute if required. 

 

"We've got players in good form putting their hands up, so we'll go into the contest against Port Adelaide with some good options," he said.

 

"But there's going to be players who are stiff to miss. That's our job."

 

"Everyone understands that it's the team first philosophy that matters," he said.

 

Collingwood skipper Nick Maxwell joined Buckley at the finals eve media event and said once again that the Pies could win the premiership from outside the top four.

 

"We've shown we can compete with the best teams and believe we are better placed than last year, even though we've won one less game and we're outside the top four.

 

"We've shown we can win four games in a row (in previous years) and if anyone can win it from outside the top four, we can."

 

Buckley praised the resilience of veteran goalsneak Alan Didak, who has been juggling off-field difficulties as well as a return to the senior side.

 

"His last six to eight weeks have been a fair example of resilience and staying the course. They're a long way from the traits 'Dids' has always been known for – the flair, the skills and the exceptional one-off acts on the football field.

 

"He has deserved his opportunities in the last few weeks and he is rightly in the mix," he said.

Teammate Heath Shaw backed Didak to be selected this week.

"I personally believe that he's in our best 22 and I think the match committee have got a pretty tough decision with a few guys this week," Shaw said.

 

Port handily beat the Pies by 35 points at AAMI Stadium in round 14 and Buckley is treading warily ahead of the rematch.

 

"I rate what they've been able to achieve this year. They knocked us over and that came the week after they knocked over Sydney. Port Adelaide are a very capable football side, and if you go through their personnel there's some talent in their side and they're well coached and well organized.

 

"When we played them, their intensity was greater than ours, so for all those reasons we understand we have a really fierce battle on our hands.

 

"We feel we are better in shape than back then, but that's yet to be proven. You have to earn the right to play your way and prevent the opposition from playing their way, and that's the challenge before us," he said.