COLLINGWOOD is likely to be without small forward Jamie Elliott for the vital game against Essendon at the MCG on Sunday.
Elliott missed last Saturday's loss to Gold Coast due to a hamstring problem and is set to miss another week as he struggles to regain full fitness.
After just one win in four games and only four wins since the bye in round eight, Collingwood could slip out of the eight if it loses to the Bombers.
It will benefit from the return of the experienced duo Nick Maxwell and Luke Ball, who have missed games recently with calf injuries.
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley said on Wednesday he is less concerned with who has been in or out of the team than he was with the team's overall form.
"We were playing better footy before the bye with similar names so it has got nothing to do with personnel. It has got a lot to do with how we execute the way we play," Buckley said.
"[We're] not playing well enough."
The loss of Elliott does reduce Collingwood's goalkicking power, as he has kicked 30 goals this season (and along with Travis Cloke (31 goals) provided 33 percent of the Magpies goals), but Buckley said the team was capable of kicking a winning score without him.
"[It's] not about who. It's about but how we go about it and how we move the ball," Buckley said.
The coach conceded the team used the ball poorly going inside the forward 50 on Saturday against Gold Coast but its kicking efficiency had improved overall in recent weeks.
While the dropped mark of Clinton Young late in the game against the Suns and Travis Cloke's inaccuracy in front of goal received plenty of attention, Buckley was not asked about those incidents specifically.
He acknowledged skill errors hurt, but he was more concerned about the players' effort being right for four quarters.
"The skill errors are disappointing. There is no doubt about it. For all the work that you do, to not reward yourself by completing a simple handball or kick here or a mark or a fumble, that hurts," Buckley said.
"It hurts the individual. It hurts the team. More important than skill execution for us is effort and our effort was good in the first half [against the Suns] and it was poor in the second half."
Buckley said Reid was still sore after suffering a corked calf late in the first half of the VFL game on Sunday and suggested that in-form recruit Patrick Karnezis, who kicked four goals in the VFL, was building towards being fit enough to play a full game of senior football.
As to whether the game against Essendon was a season-defining game, Buckley said every moment in a season was important.
"Our destiny hinges on every action we're a part of and are a party to," Buckley said.
