THE FALLOUT from Collingwood’s six-point loss to Sydney has worsened, with coach Craig McRae delivering the grim news that young ruckman Oscar Steene likely suffered a season-ending knee injury on Friday night.

The Magpies were already undermanned after resting number one ruck Darcy Cameron with an ankle injury, leaving the bulk of the duties to Steene. 

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However, the young tall's night ended prematurely when his left knee buckled awkwardly during a heavy contest in the third quarter, leaving him visibly distressed as he was helped straight to the rooms.

"Yeah, it's not looking good, unfortunately," McRae told media post-match.

"The early diagnosis is a full reconstruction, but we’ll have to get scans to confirm all that. It's sad to see, especially given what he was capable of against Brodie Grundy, who is clearly one of the better ruckmen in the competition."

Steene's exit left Collingwood without a recognised ruck on the field, triggering a major tactical reshuffle where McRae was forced to use undersized players to compete in the air. 

The primary burden fell on key forward Dan McStay, who was thrust into the middle to battle against his former teammate Grundy.

The mismatch proved decisive, as Grundy was subsequently awarded the Goodes-O'Loughlin Medal for the player judged best afield. He finished with 34 disposals, 12 clearances, and 46 hit-outs, spearheading Sydney's dominant third-quarter blitz.

"Oscar was really holding his own, and we had a lot of ascendancy from that — I think we might have been 16 points up around that time," McRae said.

"Then the game changes because you have to go to the 'next man up'. We’ve got Dan McStay, Jack Buller, and then Billy Frampton trying. But not many teams can cope when their ruckman goes down like that against an opponent like Brodie."

In addition to Cameron's absence, captain Darcy Moore and Patrick Lipinski stayed at home while undergoing concussion protocols following last week's loss to the Cats, joining Harry Perryman and Tim Membrey on the sidelines as they recover from hamstring injuries.

Asked if he expects his missing troops back to face Waalitj Marawar next Saturday night, McRae was "hopeful".

"They've done everything (required) to now. If they get through next week, they are likely to be available," he said of Moore and Lipinski.

"Darcy Cameron is likely to be available, too. So, we’ll get a few troops back. 'Pendles' (Scott Pendlebury) will be back for his big milestone, and we're looking forward to celebrating that."

When probed about the decision to rest Pendlebury for the trip to Sydney, McRae brushed off criticism from those who suggested the veteran's presence might have tipped the result in the Magpies' favour.

"Well, do you want to celebrate the record for the most games in the history of the game here tonight, or would you rather do it next week at the MCG?," McRae asked. 

"That's a simple question. Respectfully, when Pendles has played that many games, we want to make sure we celebrate him in the right manner. 

"His body isn't as bulletproof as you think; with five and six-day breaks, the data shows he is just getting to the line. We're looking after him, and we’ll celebrate him appropriately."