Collingwood's AFL finals hopes are slipping away but coach Nathan Buckley insists their latest defeat isn't a fatal blow.
The Magpies looked a long way off top-eight contention on Saturday in their 31-point loss to Port Adelaide at the MCG.
With just five wins and eight losses, the 13th-placed Magpies could fall into the bottom four, depending on other results over the weekend.
Buckley, however, isn't giving up hope that the even nature of the competition this season might still work in the Pies' favour.
"It's pretty tight," Buckley said.
"A loss is not fatal but it doesn't help.
"If a side can go on a four or five-week winning run, you're going to put a fair bit of a dint in it, especially as we play a lot of sides that are going to be through the middle or the higher part of the ladder."
Sydney's remarkable resurrection - after losing their first six games but recovering to sit eighth with a 6-7 record - has shown few sides can be ruled out of contention this year.
The Pies' hopes of following suit are complicated by their tough fixture, with five of their final six games against current top-eight sides.
"I still think that we can win lots of games of footy," Buckley said.
"We got schooled today by a side who have won eight, so they're three games ahead of us and they're a top-four side.
"We're not giving up on it. We've got to keep finding our best and improving our best because it's a tough comp."
The Pies face Hawthorn next Sunday (July 2) at the MCG, with Travis Varcoe and Jamie Elliott a chance to return from injury.
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