Collingwood senior coach Craig McRae has confirmed forward Beau McCreery will return this Saturday night for the blockbuster match against the Adelaide Crows, overcoming his hamstring injury with a full block of training this week.
McCreery's selection provides a much-needed boost to the Pies' speed in attack, which has struggled in Collingwood's disastrous last fortnight. However, the electric flair of Bobby Hill could be absent for another week, as his selection remains a question for the match committee despite positive signs at training on Thursday.
"Beau will definitely play, he's been raring to go," McRae told the media.
"Going back to Adelaide, we're looking forward to getting him back in the team.
"Bobby will have a bit more of a deeper dive in the match committee. We'll weigh up his loads, weigh up his training, which today was fantastic, and other areas of what the team needs this week."
In more good news for the Magpie Army, key defender Jeremy Howe has progressed through concussion protocols strongly since being involved in a frightening head clash with Hawthorn's Jai Newcombe, which left him unconscious, with McRae hoping he'll be made available for their final round blockbuster against Melbourne.
However, as he'll miss this weekend's game, McRae expressed the side's need to focus on the system to support each other in defence, with the Magpies conceding on average 84.5 points in games without Howe in the back six.
"[Jeremy Howe] is really good. He's going through protocols at the right rates," McRae said.
"We're anticipating, all going to plan, he'll be available next week.
"The reality of what he's been for us is a glue for our defence, but we can't rely on one person. Our system has let other parts of it down; we've got to all play a role in that.
"In match committee, we'll weigh up whether we play taller or play smaller and what our backline looks like. Those decisions will be made shortly."
There's been plenty of discussion surrounding the play of Collingwood captain Darcy Moore in Collingwood's recent month of struggles, with the two-time All-Australian making a number of unfortunate errors in the 64-point loss to Hawthorn in particular. McRae admitted he and Moore have addressed the concerns, hoping to remind the skipper of what he can achieve at his best heading into September.
"You can make a case of a lot [the impact on Darcy Moore is due to Howe's absence]. You show evidence in recent times, you can probably make a case," McRae said.
"I'm watching footage with Darcy this week and last week and the week before of things that he can do better as a leader and how he can lead from the front.
"His marking, at its best, is as good as anyone in the competition. We don't want to make it a one-person thing, but you have to do your job in the system to make others better.
"We have weekly catch-ups; this is not something unusual. We want to get better for our fans and put on a good show for them.
"We're not going to stand still in terms of our want to grow, whether it's a captain, whether it's me, or whether it's someone in our environment."
