Collingwood assistant coach Matthew Lappin told AFL.com.au starting the season off on the right note had been a specific focus this pre-season.
"We've got a big start to the season," Lappin said.
"Our first five or six games are against some really good opposition, from last year, so we've made a bit of an emphasis on making sure we hit the ground running.
"Those losses (last year) have been in the back of our minds and it's driven us over this pre-season."
The Magpies begin the season with a huge clash against North Melbourne in round one, before blockbusters against Carlton and Hawthorn in rounds two and three.
The Kangaroos defeated the Magpies by 30 points in their round 21 encounter last season while the Hawks and Blues notched convincing wins in both their clashes with the Pies last year.
Former Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse's appointment at Carlton will also add extra spice to the traditional rivals' contest.
The Pies have also been working to eradicate the defensive lapses they suffered at times last season.
During last season's review, Nathan Buckley and the club's coaching unit recognised that rivals were scoring too heavily against them.
"We allowed too many scores per percentage of inside 50s and we allowed too many inside 50s. So it's definitely a focus of ours," Buckley said in January.
Lappin said progress in the defensive structures would be expected in the club's NAB Cup openers against Essendon and the Western Bulldogs on Friday night.
"We've spent time on it," Lappin said.
"We haven't neglected our ball use or our stoppage structures. Team defence is just one part of that, so we hope to see improvement in that area starting on Friday.
"We're going to obviously be well below our best, but we'd like to see guys tracking in the right direction."
However, the Collingwood line-up may unsettled early in the season, with some important players battling to prove their fitness for round one against the Roos.
Dale Thomas in particular faces an uphill battle to be fit as he continues to be limited with his ankle injury.
Prime midfielder Luke Ball is expected to be available late in the club's NAB Cup campaign, while Tyson Goldsack should be right to go.
"Both Ball and Thomas are hopeful they'll be right for round one, Goldsack definitely will be," Lappin said.
Key defender Lachlan Keeffe has been progressing solidly in his return from the torn ACL he sustained in May last year.
Lappin nominated rounds seven, eight or nine as the expected time frame for Keefe's return.
Follow AFL Media reporter Ben Guthrie on Twitter @AFL_BenGuthrie
