IT'S NOT quite panic stations, but Collingwood should be concerned about getting smashed again in an area that is typically its trademark.

IT'S SOOO COLLINGWOOD Headlines, hypocrisy hit Pies

Fremantle is ranked 13th in contested possessions in 2020 while Collingwood is ranked second, but the Dockers had 36 more contested possessions and 15 more clearances against the Pies in round nine.

Nat Fyfe, David Mundy and Caleb Serong combined for 47 contested possessions and 27 clearances between them, despite Collingwood winning the hitouts by 23.

By contrast, Collingwood's main midfield trio of Adam Treloar, Taylor Adams and Jamie Elliott gathered 33 contested possessions and 19 clearances.

Even the ever-dependable Brodie Grundy could muster only three contested possessions, nearly seven fewer than his season average.

Coach Nathan Buckley must be questioning whether the depth of his inside-bull options stack up in a side missing champion Scott Pendlebury and the dynamic Jordan De Goey.

Collingwood's win-loss record since 2015 is just 38 per cent when Pendlebury doesn't play.

Rupert Wills and Brayden Sier have been given the opportunity to step up, but haven't hit the marks they need to. Meanwhile, Buckley made a statement on Wednesday by dropping defensive mid Chris Mayne - who has been a mainstay of the team for two years - and bring in Callum Brown and debutant Trey Ruscoe.

West Coast took it to Collingwood in the contested area of the game in round eight, despite that not being a hallmark of Adam Simpson's style in 2020.

Buckley responded by omitting Wills after he gathered a season-low four contested possessions against the Eagles.

Sier (66 per cent time on ground) and Fremantle midfielder Connor Blakely (game-low 61 per cent time on ground) were both brought into their respective sides for their first games of the year on Sunday evening.

Blakely lacked cleanliness, but gathered 12 contested possessions to just the five from Sier as the two played similar roles.

Clearly the length of games impacts the stats, but it's a long way off where Sier was two years ago when he averaged more than 12 contested possessions per game over the last eight weeks of Collingwood's 2018 campaign.

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The Magpies are running out of depth options in the midfield to provide a spark, so it's clear the improvement must come from those already in the team, or else another surprise loss could be on the cards.

The other glaring issue sits up forward, with the plethora of medium-sized forwards failing to make an impact on the scoreboard.

The Magpies have averaged just 51.6 points per game over their last five matches, kicking 36 goals and 42 behinds in that period.

Elliott has been the trump card around the middle for Buckley this year, but it could be robbing Peter to pay Paul as his forwards group struggles to have any sort of impact.

THE FULL INJURY LIST Who is racing the clock?

The games are shorter and stylistically different this season, but the basic numbers drop away massively when you compare this year’s Collingwood model to the 2018 side that made the Grand Final.

The Magpies had six players kick 25 or more goals in 2018.

In 2020, only Brody Mihocek has hit double figures as we approach round 10.

The current forward line is a little different with Josh Daicos kicking six goals from his eight games, while Darcy Cameron has managed two goals from his four appearances.

Elliott missed all of 2018, but has slotted four goals from his nine outings this year in a different role.

THE LADDER Where is your team sitting?

Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne loom next for the Magpies – all teams on paper they should have a significant edge over.

If Collingwood cannot fix these issues in its next three matches, the alarm bells will be ringing.