Coach Nathan Buckley says Collingwood can salute in September without their injured stars returning in time for the AFL finals.
Adam Treloar - who Buckley says is "unlikely" for next Saturday's qualifying final with West Coast - Jeremy Howe, Tyson Goldsack, Darcy Moore and Ben Reid are all on the sidelines and determined to prove their fitness for the club's first finals campaign in five years.
The Magpies are undoubtedly a better side with those five available but their absence hasn't deterred Buckley's enthusiasm for their flag tilt.
"I understand there's going to be a lot of focus on potential inclusions," he said.
"But if our side didn't change we would back ourselves.
"If we had no access to anyone other than the 22 that played on the weekend, we still back ourselves to be able to get the job done.
"What we have is good enough."
Treloar trained well at the club's Olympic Park base on Wednesday and continues to push for a return.
Buckley said he was pleased with his recovery from a rare double hamstring strain which required surgery but the trip to Perth might come too soon.
"It's in the realms of possibility that it would be Saturday week but unlikely. It won't be far after that," Buckley said.
"He's looking very well. (He's) still very strong, still very powerful.
"He's working towards proving his capability to assist us over the next month. The training session today was impressive and we'll have some decisions to make."
Howe appears certain to make the trip, providing timely reinforcement in defence given season-ending injuries to Lynden Dunn and Matt Scharenberg - and the looming challenge of facing an Eagles attack spearheaded by Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling.
Goldsack, who hasn't played this season at senior level after an ACL injury and back issues, was also "a live chance" according to Buckley.
Either way, Buckley has confidence in his back six.
"We've got a pretty strong belief in how we defend. It's not just in the size of our tallest defender," he said.
"It's where we put our bodies, what sort of pressure we put on the ball. There are plenty of different ways to go about it.
"When the ball gets to ground we might have an advantage. We've got to keep looking for our opportunities not just the challenges."
Captain Scott Pendlebury was missing from training on Wednesday, quarantined after going down with a bug.
"His timing is immaculate, he's picked a good weekend off to get crook," Buckley said.
