Collingwood crave what has been lavished on AFL premiers the Western Bulldogs - respect.
As he enters his finals-or-bust season, Magpies coach Nathan Buckley says he has never loved the job so much and has backed his team to cope better with the constant scrutiny that is aimed at the club.
Collingwood open their season on Friday night against the Bulldogs at the MCG.
Buckley noted they had no choice in their round-one opponent, but said the opportunity it presented was fantastic.
"They've earned everyone's respect and we want to do the same," he said.
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"They're still a really hard-running side, still a really strong defensive presence, multiple options in attack and probably one of the better contested-ball outnumber sides.
"So they're the premiers for a reason and they give everyone plenty to think about."
One of the features of the match will be former Collingwood key forward Travis Cloke playing against his old club for the first time.
Asked if it would be weird to see Cloke line up as an opponent, Buckley replied "of course it will".
"But he really is another opposition player when you get to game day," Buckley added.
"The guys are still great mates with him, still catch up, and he's given great service to this club.
"We leave that in the locker room and then we go to town when we play against each other."
Buckley also grinned and said Magpies fans should greet Cloke in "a very Collingwood manner".
Collingwood are likely to play several recruits, with Henry Schade, Chris Mayne, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Lynden Dunn in the selection frame.
Buckley is on record as saying this season is crucial to his future at Collingwood, given they have missed the top eight for the past three seasons.
"Personally, as a senior coach, I'm loving this role more than I ever have," he said on Monday.
"We can only look after the things that are in front of us and how we go about it.
"We've been really consistent in our work ethic and application."
He said others had noted how well Collingwood were progressing.
"I don't expect this to last, but I think there's a sense of goodwill even from non-Collingwood people, having a look at our playing list (and) the type of characters we have there," he said.
"We have some hard-working guys who just do their best.
"We feel like we might have been here a couple of times before, but not quite as robust.
"It's exciting times."
One player unavailable for round one is midfielder Jordan De Goey, who has a broken hand after an accident while playing with his pet dog.
A year ago, Jeremy Howe was also injured in the pre-season while playing frisbee with his dog.
"You have to laugh," Buckley said.
"We might try to find a way to lock the boys' dogs up at some point, through that last month of the pre-season.
"There is a bit of a pattern emerging here, playing with your pets."
