Collingwood are expecting Port Adelaide's very best football in Thursday night's AFL clash, the Power's first game since the shock death of Phil Walsh.
Port coach Ken Hinkley has spoken this week of his difficulty in preparing for the match after the sudden loss of Walsh, a long-time assistant coach at the club and a close friend.
Collingwood played Hawthorn in an emotion-charged encounter on the same day that Walsh was stabbed to death, allegedly by his son, and coach Nathan Buckley can empathise with Hinkley's position.
"I know exactly how he's feeling - last Friday was a haze for me," Buckley said from Melbourne airport.
"But one thing I can assure Ken is that as soon as he gets to the ground ... with his players and his coaches with a job to do - they'll be galvanised towards that."
The game will be the first played at Adelaide Oval since Walsh's passing after last Sunday's clash between Adelaide and Geelong was called off.
Emotional tributes to Walsh occurred at venues elsewhere across the country last weekend and Buckley expects similar scenes to play out on Thursday night.
"I think what happens is it puts a bit of perspective in footy," he said.
"We've all got the connection to our clubs and to our teams and to our players and coaches internally, but I think you probably take a step back and reflect and see the bigger picture.
"We're all part of the football community, so I think that's the type of support that will come over the fence."
After tight losses to Fremantle and the Hawks in the past fortnight, fifth-placed Collingwood are looking to stay in touch with the top four, while Port, who sit in 12th with a 5-8 record, desperately need a win to get their season back on track.
Far from being disheartened by successive defeats, Buckley said the Pies had been buoyed by their performances.
"Our best footy is pretty good - it stacks up," he said.
"We can trouble sides with our strengths and we can cover for each other at other times, so it's been a really positive period for us.
"At round 23 it all accumulates into wins and losses and you find out where you finish that year but we're taking a bigger picture mentality.
"We're improving week on week, and we'll have blips along the way, but we're encouraged by the attitude, effort and consistency from the playing group."
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