COLLINGWOOD captain Darcy Moore has been ruled out of the Anzac Day blockbuster against Essendon, but Jordan De Goey and Steele Sidebottom will both return at the MCG on Saturday.

Moore has missed the past three games with a hamstring strain and has only featured in one match this year after a delayed start to the season because of calf strains. 

The 30-year-old trained fully at Olympic Park on Thursday morning and was still completing running with new development coach Dyson Heppell after the session, while Magpies coach Craig McRae spoke to reporters.

But after breaking down in his first game back against Greater Western Sydney in round three, Collingwood has taken a conservative approach with the All-Australian defender.

McRae said the five-day break into Hawthorn next Thursday night was a key factor in the decision.

"He won't play, he is still out there now, but we've got a five-day break into next week, so it just makes sense that we work through his loads," McRae said.

"Are we being conservative? Probably a little bit. But the future game is maybe the one that is making the decision a bit harder; he plays this game and then there is a five-day break. Ultimately, he hasn't quite got enough load."

De Goey exited concussion protocols on Thursday after missing the win over Carlton last Thursday night, while Sidebottom proved his fitness after injuring his hip at Gather Round.

"Jordy and Steele will both be available and they'll play," McRae said.

"It will be exciting to see those guys running around with their experience. We're looking forward to having them back in the team."

Scott Pendlebury will move to within one game of Brent Harvey's games record of 432 on Saturday. The Magpies are working through what his workload will look like if he is to play against Hawthorn next Thursday night as well.

McRae indicated that Nick Daicos will spend more time forward after tearing the game apart in the fourth quarter against Carlton last Thursday night, with 13 disposals, nine contested possessions and five score involvements, including a goal and two goal assists in the final 30 minutes.

"Can you imagine Nick and Josh in the living room as kids? Things they would have watched their dad do and Peter teaching them dribbling balloons through goals," he mused.

"He does love the (forward) craft and the opportunity to grow as a player; he speaks openly about [Isaac] Heeney and these other guys going forward. 

"The trick is, and I've watched this with St Kilda when they move Nas [Wanganeen-Milera] forward and don't get the ball down there, and the game sometimes has that. You can have your best players sitting in the goalsquare, but what happens if the ball doesn't go down there? It is always a balance."

McRae said his players didn't raise concerns during the game regarding Elijah Hollands' on-field demeanour last Thursday night, but did so in the days afterwards. 

Collingwood GM Charlie Gardiner checked in with the players that raised it at the club early in the week. McRae admitted the situation will change how the club checks in with players pre-game and in-game.

"I honesty have (reflected on that)," he said. "What is this game going to look like in five years, in 10 years? I think with AI and other avenues, we do GPS and we do weights and we do meetings and we constantly want to set our players up to be successful with other things like meditation, but how do you really know if they are performance ready?" he said.

"We have 24 hours between the last session and the game quite often, and it's just 'we'll see you matchday with your footy bag and ready to go'. Maybe we can explore more."