COLLINGWOOD coach Michael Malthouse was not about to show his hand when asked who would line up on brilliant Swans midfielder Adam Goodes in Saturday night's elimination final. But he said it would not be Harry O'Brien, the young defender torched by Goodes at the MCG two weeks ago.
The athletic O'Brien has been a handy addition to the Magpies defence this season. However, after lining up next to Goodes in the centre square, he was dragged out of his comfort zone by the dual Brownlow Medallist, who gathered 33 possessions and was clearly the best player on the ground, despite the Swans' 25-point loss.
Asked whether that had been a learning experience, Malthouse said: "For me."
The question of who will run with Goodes is certain to occupy a lot of time for the Magpies, given his remarkable return to form after an unusually quiet start to the season.
Much has been made of the Swans' vast potential for improvement after a sub-standard performance against Collingwood in round 21 - particularly with the addition of Leo Barry, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and, perhaps, Tadhg Kennelly to their defence. Collingwood's greatest potential improvement is to restrict Goodes's influence.
Outside the team that beat the Swans last time, one option raised yesterday was to recall Ryan Lonie, who has played just four games this year because of injury and indifferent form but who has performed well on Goodes in the past.
However, while acknowledging that the versatile Goodes was extremely difficult to counter, Malthouse was adamant the Magpies would not become too conscious of one opponent.
"I'm not here to pump up Sydney, but one of the greatest attributes they've had in the past few years is an even-ness," he said. "So for us to be successful, we can't get tied up into Goodes because he may or may not be the dominant party.
"There are other players who become crucial to them and we can't forget that … we have to put some pressure back on Sydney. You rarely win it with a nil-all draw these days."
Despite the likely return of power forward Barry Hall, the Magpies are prepared for the Swans to share the ball more in attack as they did in kicking 22 goals against Hawthorn on Sunday.
"Sydney have got the capacity to change it up," Malthouse said. "We have to get ready for any of those changes. We've got to make sure the side we pick does cater for those changes. It might be a little bit of a different mix. But we can't be spooked by who goes in and out of their side."
But he said there was one thing he counted on from Sydney - "a tough and relentless attack on the ball".
"I don't think they will be shaking in their boots thinking they have to change their game plan, because they have kept a similar game plan for for four or five years, but they do have the capacity to throw it around a little bit, so we've got to be ready for that," he said.
Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley has not announced if he will retire at the end of the finals series, and the club is going out of its way to make sure possible farewells do not become a distraction on Saturday night.
"I haven't contemplated it at all," Buckley said. "It's the last thing on my mind. I'm totally focused on what we have to do and getting the right result this weekend."
Meanwhile, influential midfielder Chance Bateman looks set to be named for the Hawks in their elimination final against Adelaide on Saturday after a reprieve from a hamstring injury which was originally thought to be serious, AAP reports.
Scans show the injury, sustained last weekend, was not as severe as first feared, giving Bateman and the Hawks a lifeline for the club's first AFL finals appearance in six years.
