SOUTHPORT, Melbourne Grammar and now La Trobe University.
Collingwood has trained away from Olympic Park across the past month and doesn’t know when its training ground will be ready to use again due to wet weather and high foot traffic leaving it soggy, hard and uneven.
The KGM Centre is one of the leading facilities in the competition, but the Magpies are a tenant of Olympic Park and use the ground across all four teams, with the public also accessing a ground that has struggled to repair through winter.
Collingwood isn’t the only club dealing with this problem. North Melbourne and Richmond have had ground issues this winter.
Craig McRae’s team trained out at Bundoora on Thursday morning ahead of Saturday night’s blockbuster against Carlton at the MCG.
With a five-day break into next Thursday night’s game against Adelaide in South Australia into another Thursday night game against Geelong at the MCG, Collingwood is set for a light few weeks on the training track anyway, but the coach doesn’t know if they will get back on their home training deck this season.
“Yeah, that's going to be an interesting one. We're not sure. It’s the middle of winter. It's difficult. I probably can't answer that is the short answer. So we'll have to wait and see on that,” McRae said on Thursday.
“It's a concern and we reviewed it last year. We've got work to do, but we're not alone. You know North Melbourne had their oval redone two years ago and they're not training over at times. I think there's one other club in Melbourne too.
“We're looking for a high performance. Plus also you've got to work out where we're playing, too. We play at the Gold Coast on a fast track and dry. And then you go to Marvel. There's no rain there. So you work around those things.
“But if anything, it's given us a nice little (opportunity off-site as a) travelling party to just get out and about and embracing what it is. It's working for us.”
Collingwood will make at least three changes ahead of round 19 with veteran defender Jeremy Howe managed with the tight turnaround next week a factor in that decision.
Isaac Quaynor will return after missing the past fortnight with an ankle injury.
Lachie Schultz will be sidelined for up to a month with a syndesmosis injury. Harvey Harrison and Charlie West have both been recalled by McRae.
