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By Collingwood AFL captain Scott Pendlebury’s own admission, the Magpies played their best and worst football during the pre-season cup.
But Pendlebury believes their form has sown the seeds of what will be a successful AFL season in 2015.
Collingwood began their pre-season matches with a morale-boosting defeat of premiers Hawthorn, before slumping to a 61-point loss to the Western Bulldogs last weekend.
Their riches to rags build-up to the season, which begins with a trip to the Gabba to play Brisbane, has many predicting a dire year for the Magpies.
But Pendlebury was keen on Wednesday to talk up the bright side of the club’s entire pre-season, which had included trips to Falls Creek, New Zealand and Tasmania.
“We’ve got 42 or 43 blokes on the track so we’ve certainly got a healthy list,” he said.
“Last year, we had about 28, 29 guys to pick from.
“(Coach Nathan Buckley) was almost going to have to pull on the boots at one stage.
“It’s massive because, throughout the pre-season, you train so much … to be able to have the whole list training and learning, it builds those bonds.
“I feel like we’re a lot further developed than we were 12 months earlier.”
Pendlebury’s assessment of the Magpies’ pre-season boils down to one key message: follow Buckley’s instructions.
“In the NAB Challenge, we got a good snapshot of our best footy and our worst footy three weeks apart,” he said.
“It just reinforces to the guys, if you don’t come to play AFL footy, you’ll get found out.
“On the other hand, if you come to play, you heed your structures and do the things coaches want you to do, it can be pretty rewarding.”
The Magpies’ early-season injury woes from last year are often lost to memory because of the way they finished the season.
Collingwood’s injury list reached double figures as the club slumped to three 10-goal losses in their final four matches.
The Magpies start 2015 in undoubtedly better – though not perfect – health.
Five players have been ruled out of round one – Levi Greenwood (ankle), Lachlan Keeffe (hamstring), Brent Macaffer (knee), Matthew Scharenberg (knee) and Clinton Young (hamstring).
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