COLLINGWOOD will continue with its plan to rest Scott Pendlebury next week to ensure his record-breaking AFL match will be played in Melbourne, despite a heavy loss to Geelong and a concussion for skipper Darcy Moore.

The inaccurate Pies were well and truly outplayed by the Cats, smashed by 54 points, with Pendlebury forced to move into defence to help cover for Moore in the second half.

CATS v MAGPIES Full match coverage and stats

Coach Craig McRae said the 38-year-old would be managed for next Friday night's clash with Sydney at the SCG, before breaking Brent Harvey's record against West Coast at the MCG on May 23.

"We're unashamed of the plan to play him the week after, all going to plan with his body. This is a plan that we stick to with high-performance, but also rewarding and celebrating one of the greats of our game, and we're excited for what that looks like in a couple of weeks' time," McRae said.

"We'll sit in this now, and have a shallow loss, and dust ourselves off quickly and get up to Sydney and put on a good performance for our fans – because it wasn't good enough tonight – and we're excited for that. But at the appropriate time, we'll make sure we celebrate 'Pendles' for what it is. 

"We'll pick 23 fit players to go up there and play the Swans who will be a good challenge for us."

For the second week in a row, the middle of the ground proved to be a tricky area for the Pies, who at least got their hands on the footy more than they did in the draw with Hawthorn, but bled badly the other way.

"There's a few areas that we've got work to do. Centre bounce continues to be a major concern for us - six goals tonight, just not at a level against teams like Geelong, we just can't afford to have that. The (raw) numbers balance around, that was pretty even, I think it was 13 apiece, but it's a little bit of inability to stop scoring out of that source," McRae said.

"I thought we were just completely challenged around our defensive system. It was the first time this year it really got challenged, around our mechanics of that, and they took over 20 marks inside 50, suggesting we're not defending that area as good as we can, or at a level that we have been all year. 

"We take great pride in last week, 62 inside 50s but kept a quality opposition (Hawthorn) from scoring, but tonight was just the opposite of that. There was just so many breakdowns, and well done to Geelong for challenging that part of our game. Some of it was fundamental stuff that we take great pride in, and other parts it's maybe just a bit outplayed in certain parts of the game.

"We've played Brisbane (54-point loss) and Geelong, last year's Grand Finalists. We just haven't been up to that level, yet. We've got work to do on our game. We played those two teams from last year, and I know that it's a different season this year, but it's just parts of their game are just challenging us a bit more than some of the other teams in the competition. What is it, round nine? It's nice to find out this stuff now, and we can get to work on it."

Geelong coach Chris Scott indicated that veteran Patrick Dangerfield will play next week off a five-day break and travel to Brisbane, despite being heavily managed this year.

He is optimistic Gryan Miers (damaged ACL) may feature, having made a successful return through the VFL on Saturday afternoon.

"Yep, yep. I'm emphatic because I spoke to (Dangerfield) late in the game, and it's an indication of how little control I have over these things. He said he's playing, so he's playing," Scott said with a grin.

"I'd have to spend a little more time with our medical staff and high-performance staff to give you an accurate answer (about Miers), but the feedback I've got so far is that the signs are good, and the plan that was laid out looks like it's working well. 

"We'll wait a little bit there, but I think the right thing for me to say is all the signs are positive. I'm not going to commit to playing him, necessarily, but my guess is the feedback will be 'you can if you want'."

Scott was pleased with how his side adjusted to Collingwood's overly aggressive defending, finding the gaps created by the defenders pushing high up the field.

"Against Collingwood more than most teams, that is a challenge because they prioritise getting in your face. From the bird's eye view – I share it with the fans as well – sometimes it looks like you have players really free, but the ability to get it past those guys who are pressuring can be more challenging than it looks," he said.

"And I thought maybe we just sort of rushed into those entries a bit more than we needed to in the first half, and just sharpened that up a little bit in the second."