Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says he's still searching for a formula to win the midfield battle ahead of their AFL meeting with Richmond.
The Magpies have seen their centre clearance numbers drop considerably in the last fortnight.
It didn't cost them against the Blues, but last Friday night against Geelong the Magpies were largely absent in the contest.
Buckley said it was not a fault of his bigger men, with Brodie Grundy "rucking particularly well" alongside Jarrod Witts.
But over the nine-day break between the last and next matches, it's a puzzle that Buckley will be spending his time on.
"We've been throwing it around a little bit," Buckley said.
"Our midfield depth has been tested but I think we've stood up pretty well.
"The last two weeks have concerned us, Carlton were plus 10 and Geelong were about plus eight in centre clearances.
"It puts pressure on your defence, it gives up ground position.
"With a longer break this week we're spending a bit of time on it."
One addition that should help is the imminent return of Paul Seedsman.
The Anzac Day medallist, who missed the match against Geelong with a glute injury, trained well according to Buckley and was poised to play against the Tigers on Sunday.
Earlier that day, their VFL sides will play off in a curtain raiser across Yarra Park at Punt Road Oval.
There, Ben Reid will turn out for the Magpies reserves as he attempts to get back into the senior side.
"There's still plenty of hurdles for Reidy to jump," Buckley said.
"One thing that we do know is that he's absolutely thrown everything into it,
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