Buckley demands AFL lift from rested Pies

Collingwood take on Fremantle at the MCG as they look to put a disappointing first half of the AFL season behind them.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley is demanding his rejuvenated and refocused Magpies attack the second half of their AFL campaign head on.

The injury-hit Pies were desperately disappointing as they stumbled to 14th spot with a 4-8 record, losing their last three games before the bye.

Buckley's men take on Fremantle at the MCG on Friday night, which the coach said was their first opportunity to attack their season with renewed vigour.

"It's always a lot better to go into a breather with a good performance but clearly we haven't got the luxury of taking the foot off the gas," Buckley said.

"When you get to a really clear break in the season that the bye provides you end up looking at the first half of your year ... what are our challenges, what are our opportunities and what can we do about it?

"We gave the players and coaches two or three days' breather ... you need to take a step back and recharge mentally, physically and emotionally then come back and reset yourself.

"That's exactly what we've done and it starts for us on (Friday) night."

Oft-criticised spearhead Travis Cloke gets the opportunity to be a part of the Pies' fight back, coming into the side with premiership defender Nathan Brown and young midfielder James Aish.

Buckley said young forward Darcy Moore had been "toouch and go" to return from a broken collarbone against the Dockers and should be ready to go next week.

Jarrod Witts and Jack Frost were dropped, while Ben Crocker has a knee injury.

Fremantle brought in Jack Hannath to replace Tanner Smith (hamstring) as they look for their fourth win in a row after starting the season 0-10.

"Form can shift and change pretty quickly, but what we do know about Freo is that their last four weeks have been really strong," said Buckley, whose side are 14th on the ladder with a 4-8 record having lost their past three games.

"Despite having their own injury issues the continuity in that last month has been really strong and the guys that are representing them are standing up and playing really good footy."


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Source: AAP



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