Luke Mason, collingwoodfc.com.au’s Digital Content Producer, was at Victoria Park to watch the club’s intra-club match for 2013. He has listed his observations from the scratch match below.

The intensity of the average pre-season scratch match often fluctuates as players blow out the summer cobwebs and ensure that their bodies get enough conditioning to be prepared for the NAB Cup.

The above certainly doesn’t apply to Collingwood’s Friday morning intra-club match at Victoria Park.

There was no sign of tentativeness or self-preservation as the players went hell for leather over the course of four 20-minute quarters.

Collingwood’s Football and Coaching Strategist Rodney Eade agrees.

“There are obviously some things that we'll need to work on but I thought, having been involved in a lot of first up practice matches, that one was as good as you could have hoped for,” Eade told collingwoodfc.com.au.

“That (intensity) is probably one of the other pleasing things. I thought that was good. It was a bit better for the first scratch match than we've probably seen in the past at clubs so I think overall it was pretty good.”

Three of the most impressive players spent their morning inside 50. Quinten Lynch, Andrew Krakouer and Jamie Elliott all caught the eye at different stages and served notice that they are set to collectively add more bite to the Magpies’ forward line in 2013.

Lynch timed his leads well and often pushed up the field, even as far as the centreline on occasions, and didn’t appear to have any issues when teaming with Travis Cloke.

In a sign of things to come, he unleashed one of his trademark bombs from at least 65m out from goal. Although he didn’t split the middle, the ease with which his kick carried the distance was the best seen at the club since the Rocca brothers were in their prime.

Although Ben Hudson and Jarrod Witts shouldered the bulk of the ruck duties, Lynch filled in for them at different stages at both the centre bounces and around the ground. Although he only stands at 192cm, he competed well with taller opponents and had no issues covering the ground.

Krakouer looked slicker than ever in attack, dobbing a handful of goals and setting up several others. But more importantly, it was his clean ball handling and smooth turning circle that made the forward line sing.

He does not appear to be hindered by the knee injury he sustained last February and should make a huge impact to the functionality of the Magpies’ forward line in 2013.

Others to stand out included established senior players Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury, Jarryd Blair and Dayne Beams, while Harry O’Brien spent some time on centre wing, potentially forecasting a new role this season. It must be added that he did spend plenty of time in defence, making his role in the NAB Cup all the more intriguing.

Two of the club’s VFL recruits, Kyle Martin and Sam Dwyer, both made an impact in the midfield. Dwyer’s pace and knowledge of the game shone through and at the age of 26 he represents a ready-made inclusion should the coaching staff look his way.

Marley Williams, playing his first match since dislocating his shoulder in round 15 last year, found plenty of the ball and Paul Seedsman showcased his predilection for running the lines off half back and down the wings.

On the subject of run and carry, Ben Johnson provided his usual drive through the centre and looms as a key component of Collingwood’s assault on season 2013.

Ten VFL players helped make up the numbers and didn’t look out of place. Matt Boland, in particular, was prominent in attack and provided a great leading target for his midfielders.

Boland kicked a bag of six in last year’s win over the Northern Blues in round four before spending the second half of the season on the sidelines due to injury, and will be a player to watch under new VFL coach Dale Tapping.

Of the new draftees, Ben Kennedy lived up to his billing as a tenacious onballer and regularly flung himself into dangerous positions at ground level. Tim Broomhead flitted in and out of the match at half forward and the re-drafted Peter Yagmoor received special praise from Rodney Eade for his performance across half back.

Importantly, while the players were exhausted after running their hearts out in the late-morning heat, they appeared to pull up well and played with an intensity that they will look to replicate when they face Essendon and the Western Bulldogs in the NAB Cup opener seven days from now.