Collingwood coach Craig McRae provided an insight into the ladder leader's last month as the club ramps up its preparations for September.
The Pies were all but confirmed to return to the finals series at the end of June, meaning McRae and his coaching staff could tinker with how their program looked heading into Spring.
With multiple short turnarounds against fellow contenders Brisbane (six-day break) and Hawthorn (five-day break) in the next fortnight, Collingwood opted to increase its training loads in recent weeks in order to get the sessions in.
"It didn't contribute (to those losses against Gold Coast and Fremantle). I will never make excuses as a coach; that's just part of what we have to do to be the team we want to be. Hopefully, that serves us later on. Time will tell," McRae said on Sunday after the 36-point win over Richmond.
"Because we've got a six-day break into a five-day break, [high performance manager] Jarrod Wade, who I rate as the best I've ever worked with, we won't train much in that six days and five days, so the last two or three weeks we've been training hard, doing stuff that we think will stack up later. It is what it is."
A part of that plan has been managing some of their stars, with the evergreen Scott Pendlebury the latest to be rested (with soreness) in order to prime him for when it counts.
Bobby Hill, Jordan De Goey and Billy Frampton all featured in the VFL in a bid to return to the senior side in the coming weeks, which, as McRae puts it, would be "handy" to get them back.
Hill kicked three goals from 12 touches, while De Goey had 19 possessions and six tackles.
Bobby Hill has TWO in his return game in the VFL 💫👏
The small forward sells the candy before finishing from 50m out! pic.twitter.com/TSqnZZEzbv
— Collingwood FC VFL (@CollingwoodVFL) July 26, 2025
"It's about continuous training now with Jordy. I'm not sure (if he needs another game at VFL level), but he is a handy player to get back at this time of year," McRae said.
"Really pleased that both of them got through 70 per cent of the game. That was the target over four quarters. There were just moments of Bobby doing his thing, and the same with Jordy. It was pleasing. Jordy missed 15 weeks, and Bobby four or five.
"It was important to get out there and get the cobwebs out; the game time was the big one. We'll wait and see how they pull up."
However, the news isn't as positive for young midfielder Lachie Sullivan, who went down with a suspected PCL injury, putting his season in doubt.
"It's a PCL. Scans will determine how long, we'll wait and see. (Season over) could be the reality, but we won't know until we get the scan. There is a big range of what that will look like."
Collingwood holds a one-game buffer on top of the ladder, as they prepare for clashes against the Lions, Hawks and Adelaide, before a Round 24 contest with Melbourne.
