Collingwood have the AFL’s pacesetters Geelong and St Kilda in their sights after rocketing into the top four. And Magpie midfielder Dane Swan is convinced the side has the arsenal to topple the unbeaten duo.
Bolstered by a key win over Sydney last Saturday, Swan said Collingwood feared no one.
“We all know Geelong and St Kilda are the two benchmarks. Everyone is a fair way off them,” Swan said.
“But if we get our side up and running and we have a good day we’ll give anyone a challenge.
“I think from the start of pre-season we’ve had a strong belief in our side (that) if we got everyone playing well and everyone on the park we can definitely challenge to be a part of the top four and I think we’ve shown that over the last month.”
Collingwood’s run of four straight wins has been soured by the loss of Scott Pendlebury with a knee injury which Swan described as a huge loss.
“He has probably been our best player this year but I think we showed on the weekend Alan (Didak) can come in to the midfield and play as well as anyone and Leon (Davis) has obviously stepped up,” he said.
Pendlebury is set to miss at least two games and Swan said his absence might force some adjustments in team strategy.
“We haven’t really played without him before so I suppose we’ll find out Saturday how it changes,” he said.
Small forward Paul Medhurst, who injured an ankle in round six, is likely to come under consideration for a recall. While forward Anthony Rocca’s return may be less certain, Swan said there was still a place for the big spearhead.
“We certainly want him back in the side,” Swan said.
“He adds a dimension that we probably don’t really have, someone we can get out of jail (with). Kick it long and he certainly creates a contest.
“I don’t know where he is with his (knee) injury at the moment but when he does get back and has a couple of games in the twos to get some fitness under his belt he’s definitely wanted in the senior side,” Swan said.
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