Lachie Schultz, a member of Collingwood's leadership group, has spoken openly about his club's joy at a return to footballing activities for the popular Bobby Hill.
Hill continues to work his way back from the personal issues that saw him out of the football program on Olympic Boulevard for much of the pre-season. An increasing workload in the VFL breeds confidence the electric 26-year-old is not far away from playing a role in fixing Collingwood's sputtering offence at the top level.
Speaking at the launch of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, an event Hill graced with his presence, Schultz was effusive in his praise of his fellow small forward.
"He played his first full game (in the VFL) and it was great to see him get through a full game.," Schultz said.
"Obviously we're not putting a timeline on Bobby at the moment; we were just happy to see him back at the club and enjoying his footy again.
"He's such an infectious character and everyone's loving having him around. He'll just keep building momentum as the season goes and we look forward to seeing what he can put together.
"We just love seeing Bobby being his bright and bubbly self. He's such a popular guy at the club and we just love having him around. To see him today, that cheeky smile on his face, it's just very special."
Sporting a guernsey designed to reflect the 2023 Norm Smith Medallist's footballing journey and cultural heritage, Schultz revealed his teammate's fitness has come along way since he first graced the KGM Centre again in March.
"I've definitely seen a big shift in his fitness and as he continues to put more minutes together in the VFL, we'll see Bobby (at AFL level) at some stage," Schultz said.
"He's a very special player in our forward half and someone that knows how to hit the scoreboard. We're seeing that in the VFL so far - he hasn't lost any of that. He's kicking goals and he's got his 'Bobby shine'. He'll obviously be a big help to our forward line, but it's also a team process and something that we're working on.
"We look forward to working on that this week, and hopefully improving it."
The Pies were abysmal in Saturday's loss to Geelong, with an inability to capitalise on repeat forward 50 entries, a feature of the loss. It was a stark contrast to the efficiency that characterised their breathless draw with the high-flying Hawks, a week prior. Schultz admitted the issues currently facing the forward line are not the same ones suffered early in the season.
"Early days, it was that final kick inside 50, but now it's (about) capitalising," he said.
Schultz was quizzed as to his feelings about the fanfare surrounding Scott Pendlebury's imminent breaking of the all-time games record, which includes him being rested for this week's monster clash with the Swans.
"That was nutted out early in the season," he said.
"We back in the team that we field each week. We'll make it work."
The manner in which the Pies capitulated against the Cats has prompted critics to encourage Collingwood to enter a rebuild, but such talk has not breached the thinking at Magpies HQ.
"There's no talk of a rebuild. We find ourselves well and truly in the mix. We know our best footy stacks up with anyone in the comp," a defiant Schultz offered.
"We've got some great youth coming through - guys like Angus Anderson, Oscar Steene, Will Hayes. We've got great faith in the youth we've got coming through and we feel like we're in really good hands."
The Pies face the Swans at the SCG on Friday night.
