Pendlebury poised to face Power as Magpies reset

Collingwood have received a handy boost ahead of their blockbuster clash with Port Adelaide with veteran Scott Pendlebury poised to be fit to face the Power.

The smooth-moving midfielder was substituted out of Collingwood’s Gather Round win over Hawthorn with fractured ribs and had appeared touch-and-go for Saturday’s match at the MCG.

But Pendlebury, 36, trained normally at Thursday’s main training.

“Pendles got through training. So we’ll assess that, how he pulls up,” coach Craig McRae said.

“He’s a marvel with his ability to recover and get ready to play. So it might be hard to leave him out, we’ll see how it goes.”

Last week’s bye gave Pendlebury extra recovery time, and Collingwood a chance to reset.

“We probably needed it more than we realised,” McRae said

“Really heavy start to the season with six-day breaks, travel.

“We did a good recap of the first five weeks and where we’re at – what we’re doing well, what we need to get busy with.

“It was a good chance to reset ourselves physically but then also look at how we’re playing.”

Collingwood dealt with Nathan Murphy’s enforced premature retirement this week through concussion.

“This is something that’s been sort of stewing in the background for a while, so this is not a sudden moment of shock,” McRae said.

“But any time one of your valued players and cultural guys decides to walk away from the game it’s difficult.

“We’d like to see him around the club for the next period.

“We’re working through that at the moment, whether it’s coaching or in other parts of our club. It’d be sad to lose him.”

Retired premiership defender Nathan Murphy is a big loss for Collingwood. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)

Collingwood are also pondering how to best replace the reliable key defender on the field, while deciding on their best forward mix without Dan McStay (ACL).

“We’ve had to do some different things and we’re not there, we’re not finished,” McRae said.

“There’s a lot of sleepless nights working out what the next move is. But we’ve got what we’ve got and we’ve got to keep working with what we have.”

McRae noted big man Billy Frampton was “playing the best footy I’ve seen him play” as Murphy’s replacement.

The in-form Power (4-1), headlined by dynamic midfield trio Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis, should prove the ideal litmus test for the reigning premiers (2-3).

“We’ve had a great rivalry in recent times against Port, they’re a quality opposition and games tend to be tight and contests are strong,” McRae said.

“We’re looking forward to it.”

McRae wouldn’t be drawn on trade links to sidelined Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith.