While Craig McRae will be without the services of defender Brayden Maynard for the opening fortnight of the 2022 season, the first-year coach has claimed that Collingwood won't be approaching contests any differently this year.
Following Maynard's spoiling effort that left Giants forward concussed during the Pies' AAMI Community Series clash with GWS last Sunday, the 25-year-old was slapped with a two-game ban.
Although Collingwood saw fit to challenge said suspension, the South Australian's appeal was thrown out by the tribunal on Tuesday night following brief deliberations.
RELATED: AFL tribunal reach verdict on Maynard ban
Speaking on Wednesday morning, McRae claimed that while the AFL has laid down the latest marker in their crackdown on head-high contact, eradicating it altogether may prove an impossible task.
"The game itself is so 360 degree [and] it's really difficult to say, 'Don't go at the football hard'," McRae was quoted by AAP.
"There's always going to be some form of contact in our game.
"I think the players do evolve though and there are interpretation changes within the game that we've seen over the years, [such as] with the contact below the knees, and players do adapt very quickly.
"We'll have to adjust."
With Maynard's magnet now removed from McRae's whiteboard until Round 3, Collingwood's already thin defensive unit has been dealt another hammer blow.
SEE ALSO: Best 22 in '22 - Collingwood Magpies
Despite the likelihood that Isaac Quaynor and Jeremy Howe appear set to return from their respective concussion and groin complaints, the Woods will still be without Jordan Roughead (shoulder), Nathan Murphy (ankle) and Charlie Dean (foot) for their Round 1 date with the Saints.
However, McRae was adamant that his burgeoning backline wasn't in "dire straits" ahead of next Friday night.
Collingwood and St Kilda will open their respective seasons when they meet at Marvel Stadium on Friday, March 18.
Each foundation side will enter the season proper with 1-1 records from their pair of pre-season outings.
