COLLINGWOOD is carefully managing the training loads of a number of players on the comeback from injury, as match simulations kick into gear.
Skipper Darcy Moore (calf) wasn't sighted on Friday as the Pies completed a three-hour session under the hot sun, inclusive of two match simulation periods with AFL umpires.
Jeremy Howe (calf) completed some handball work with other sidelined teammates, while Isaac Quaynor (hamstring) was running strongly as he builds into his pre-season.
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Injury-prone key forward Dan McStay (hamstring) was also moving particularly well – albeit with the rehab group – while Beau McCreery (off-season foot surgery) was charging up and down the sidelines, alongside Reef McInnes (ACL).
Unsurprisingly, it was Nick and Josh Daicos who caught the eye in the main group, the former gliding through the midfield and the latter creative off half-back.
In promising signs for the Pies, injury-riddled pair Jordan De Goey and Jamie Elliott were looking secure, the former playing exclusively through the midfield for the entire session.
Ex-Swan Jack Buller will be looking to add to his 10 AFL games in 2026 – particularly after the departure of Brody Mihocek to Melbourne – and the key forward was presenting well at the footy, pushing high up the ground as a connecting mark.
Fellow tall Charlie West had a few nice moments, while the old firm of Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom controlled proceedings inside and outside the contest respectively. The former skipper also spent some time at half-back.
Billy Frampton was in strong intercepting form on the last line of defence, while the ruck was contested between Darcy Cameron and the yet-to-debut fourth-year Oscar Steene.
Tew Jiath laid some crunching tackles throughout the training session, and provided some nice run off half-back, and draftee midfielder Tyan Prindable bobbed up a few times in the centre and showed some promise.
Collingwood had a clear focus on forward handballs, at one point running a drill from the centre of the field to the goal line comprised entirely of moving the ball by hand.