Collingwood has moved its training away from Olympic Park to private school Melbourne Grammar's oval in a bid to allow for higher intensity sessions and avoid injuries as the season turns to the home stretch.
The Pies have multiple programs sharing the grounds at the KGM Centre, and have begun staggering sides through the oval to allow it to recover from the weather whilst finding temporary fields.
"It's a bit soggy and hard as well. We've got some work to do on it, so it's not a quick fix, unfortunately," Collingwood coach Craig McRae said.
"Probably needs a full reconstruction at some stage."
The Pies journeyed to Flack Park in Port Melbourne, and ventured up to Gold Coast earlier than usual last week to give the ground reprieve. They will return to Olympic Park on Thursday for captain's run ahead of the North Melbourne clash.
McRae said the club wanted an oval that would facilitate the capacity for high-level training, which would help assimilate to fast-track venues such as Marvel Stadium and People First Stadium.
They also had an eye to preventing injuries, which the premiership coach flagged as an issue they experienced in July, 2025.
"We reviewed our season last year and the oval out here wasn't quite at the level that allows us to have the high intensity required," he said.
"Particularly when we play on Marvel, indoors, and fast track, and then we go to the Gold Coast where it's a fast track.
"And we had a lot of injuries last year around this time. We thought the ovals that contribute to that.
"We're not alone in the middle of winter in Melbourne. I think there's a few other clubs with similar issues, so we're looking for high performance and intensity in what we're doing, and we found an oval that allows us."
Collingwood has won its past three encounters, and is looking to continue its impressive form against the Kangaroos.
When quizzed on whether the change of venue has assisted in the results, McRae was confident the ability to train harder sets the players up for success.
"There's a number of things maybe you can't measure," he said.
"In terms of our load, and our intensity in our training, suggests that we're training at a good intensity. We always think internally that training standards equate to good performance, whether that's a placebo or not, we certainly think it is."
McRae confirmed premiership defender Isaac Quaynor won't return on Friday as he tends to an ankle injury while veteran Scott Pendlebury is available for selection.
