COLLINGWOOD captain Scott Pendlebury has urged disgruntled Magpies supporters to "stick with" out-of-sorts key forward Travis Cloke.
Cloke was held goalless by Richmond backman David Astbury in the club's 38-point Friday night win, leading some Magpies fans to voice their displeasure about Cloke’s performance.
The Magpies forward has booted just two goals from four games this season and is likely to face star North Melbourne defender Scott Thompson when the clubs meet at the MCG this Saturday afternoon.
Thompson kept Sydney Swans spearhead Lance Franklin goalless in North's 43-point victory at the SCG on Sunday.
"It must be tough for him at times but we just keep telling Trav to compete," Pendlebury said on Monday.
"It's a tough game at times, but don't forget how hard he works for the football club.
"He rarely gets beaten. Everyone expects him to kick a few goals a week and take big marks, but at the moment he's providing a good contest and he's bringing Jamie Elliott, Jarryd Blair and all those guys into the game.
"So, yeah, just stick with him."
The Magpies stuck by Dane Swan through an uncharacteristic quiet patch at the start of this season and reaped the rewards when he delivered against the Tigers.
Swan had 27 possessions and kicked two goals to indicate he had turned the corner.
"I thought Swanny played really well on Friday night. He looked to have a bit more run in his legs," Pendlebury said.
The battle between Tigers star Trent Cotchin and Brent Macaffer gathered plenty of air time, with some accusing the Pies tagger of "illegal tactics".
Pendlebury's response to the duel was as measured as ever.
"The talk about illegal tactics and all that sort of stuff, yeah he (Macaffer) did use illegal tactics and he got pinged five times for it. So he'll clean that up this weekend and do another role for us," he said.
Pendlebury watched bits and pieces of the Roos' win over the Swans and, after seeing them in action, is sure North is going to be a tough proposition this weekend.
"Ideally we'd be four and zip and I'd be pumping us a little bit more, but we're two and two and there's a big challenge this week," he said.
"We've got a few tough games to go. North have played some really good footy the past three weeks – they've beaten some good sides.
"They're running out games really strongly, so we're under no illusions that it's going to be a real battle."
