TOM MITCHELL and Dan McStay may have attracted all the attention from a Collingwood perspective in last year's trade period, but the Magpies' other two recruits – Billy Frampton and Bobby Hill – have also mounted compelling cases across the summer to be selected in round one.

While the Brownlow Medallist (Mitchell) and the free agent (McStay) generated headlines and made an instant impact across the pre-season, and barring injury will debut for Collingwood against reigning premiers Geelong at the MCG on March 17, Frampton and Hill have also impressed many inside the AIA Centre over the past four months.

Both turned up to the club in great shape in December and have trained strongly over summer to put their magnets firmly in the mix ahead of practice matches against Carlton and Hawthorn in the coming weeks.

While the most important phase of the pre-season is still come in the next few weeks, Frampton and Hill have been featuring in the first-choice side in match simulation in recent weeks, including in a hitout at Victoria Park on Saturday and in some drills on Monday.

Frampton arrived in Melbourne late last year with 24 games (three for Port Adelaide and 21 for Adelaide) to his name from eight seasons in the AFL, with the West Australian predominantly used in the ruck or inside 50.

But after moving to defence in 2021, Frampton caught the attention of Graham Wright and Derek Hine while playing in the SANFL last year. He has trained in the backline over summer and is positioning himself to be slotted into a defensive unit that is built around Darcy Moore and Jeremy Howe.

With Charlie Dean moved to the inactive list for the second consecutive year due to another foot injury, Frampton is competing for a spot in the back six with Nathan Murphy – who played in the final 16 games of 2022 after recovering from injury – and Will Kelly, who has also banked a strong pre-season after earning a contract extension in October. 

Collingwood's defensive resources were stretched thin last year due to the mid-season retirement of Jordan Roughead and Mark Keane's decision to walk away from his contract, and the likes of Charlie Curnow, Tom Lynch, Jeremy Cameron and Joe Daniher all had big days against the Pies in 2022. At 201cm and 99kg, Frampton has the physical attributes to hold his own against the biggest forwards in the game.

The Magpies struck gold with Roughead when they acquired him for pick No.75 in 2018, a steal for a premiership player from the Western Bulldogs. Frampton cost Collingwood just a future third-round pick in October and he could prove to be one of the best budget deals of last off-season.

Hill, meanwhile, was the first player to move clubs during the trade period, landing at Collingwood from GWS in a deal that also sent pick No.40 to the AIA Centre in exchange for pick No.43 and a future second-round pick.

It ended a challenging 12 months for the livewire forward; having been denied a trade request to Essendon at the end of 2021, the 23-year-old's world was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer last May. But after he was medically and physically cleared to return, he played the final round of the VFL season before requesting a trade, having played 41 games across four seasons at the Giants after being selected at pick No.24 in 2018.

Since then, the Perth product has completed the full program and, like Frampton, has been picked in the stronger side across match sim sessions in what might be a sign of things to come.

Hill is competing for a spot with gun small forward Jack Ginnivan, who stunned the AFL in 2022 by kicking 40 goals from 23 appearances from the rookie list, as well as Beau McCreery and country football recruit Joe Richards.

Where Hill and Frampton sit in the scheme of things will become clearer in the next few weeks in their practice games at Ikon Park and the University of Tasmania Stadium. But what is clear right now is the Magpies have serious pressure for spots across the ground, which they didn't have in 2022.

Meanwhile, Collingwood coach Craig McRae wasn't at the AIA Centre on Monday and won't be at the club this week after having surgery last week on a sinus-related condition he has dealt with since his playing days.

Director of coaching Brendon Bolton and head of strategy Justin Leppitsch will run the program in McRae's absence before the scratch match against Michael Voss' side across town next week.

Ruckman Darcy Cameron has returned to full training after a low-grade hamstring strain earlier this month, while new skipper Moore completed Monday's session and is building towards a round one return following a bone infection in December.