Jordan De Goey's AFL exile will end next Monday as the Collingwood bad boy continues his push for a return to senior football.
Magpies captain Scott Pendlebury said he and other club leaders have stayed in touch with De Goey during his club suspension.
The midfielder has trained with Collingwood's VFL squad and worked during the day in landscaping after last month's drink driving offence.
A hamstring injury has complicated De Goey's AFL return and he is definitely sidelined for round one.
"From all reports, he is going well," Pendlebury said.
"The training he's been doing with the VFL was really good until he hurt that hammy.
"From all reports he's going really well and I think I've said it before, we know that footy's not the issue - he does that really well.
"We're just trying to teach him some life lessons ... you don't want to baby him, but you keep in touch, make sure he's going okay."
De Goey's off-field drama has added to a challenging off-season for the Magpies, who have also managed several injuries to key players.
But Pendlebury said the squad is in good shape and they will have 28 players vying for selection ahead of their round-one game against Hawthorn.
"That's probably the excitement for me, I'm not sure who's playing round one," he said.
Pendlebury added newly re-signed coach Nathan Buckley had made some lifestyle changes, but otherwise is much the same man he has worked with for 15 years.
"Bucks is doing a lot more yoga this year, so I think that's changed in his approach, and he's dropped a little bit of weight - I don't know if that's helped him relax," Pendlebury said.
"This is all serious.
"But in terms of his coaching, it's very much the same ... maybe the yoga has been good for him.
"He's been great, he's been a rock for the whole football club."
While Collingwood finished 13th last year, their biggest losing margin was only 37 points.
Their finals hopes were cruelled by a 2-6 start to the season.
"We were happy with the way we were playing, we just couldn't finish off our work," he said of their errant goalkicking, a big weakness last year.
"Everything was holding up really well, but then I think the guys got a little caught up with looking at the ladder."
One big potential gain is Darcy Moore switching from attack to defence.
"He looked really good down back and Tommy Langdon - another one, a bit of a forgotten player," Pendlebury said.
"Darcy, Howey (Jeremy Howe) - it's a pretty strong half-back line that can take marks and fly for the ball."
