Collingwood forward Jordan De Goey is in "a good head space" and preparing for a return to the Magpies' line-up following his indecent assault charge.

De Goey was charged by Victoria Police following Collingwood's loss to Essendon in round five for an incident that occurred in 2015, his first year as a Magpie.

He missed the Magpies' subsequent clash with Hawthorn last week in Sydney and instead flew direct to Perth with a group of teammates, including suspended Pie Steele Sidebottom, after clearing further COVID-19 tests.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said the 24-year-old was available for selection to face Geelong at Optus Stadium on Thursday night.

"He trained today and he's fit and available for selection so we'll complete that this afternoon," Buckley said on Tuesday.

"Physically he's in great shape and mentally and emotionally he seems good. To be back in amongst the group I think has been good for both he and Steele (Sidebottom) and Ben Reid who was over here earlier, and a handful of our staff of course as well."

With rain forecast for Thursday in Perth,  the Pies could look to bring De Goey in for the injured Will Kelly, who injured his elbow in his debut last week.

"He's in a good head space," Buckley said.

While the Pies are set to welcome back Josh Daicos from an ankle tweak he suffered at training last week, Mason Cox's place is less assured in Collingwood's front half with Darcy Cameron and Reid also in consideration.

Cox has averaged six disposals and one goal in his four games this season.

Buckley admitted Cox's impact on games has not been to the level the Pies are expecting.

"Mason's performances have been under par and he's aware of that. So satisfied is probably not what I would describe of his performances, either from our perspective or from his, " Buckley said.

"He is a whipping boy. There's a massive expectation of what he's going to bring to the table. There's a lot of conversation around weather conditions and game conditions and whether it's conducive to his strengths shining.

"We have played a lot of night games and he has played in inclement games in the last couple of weeks. The role he plays does straighten us up and give us an aerial target towards our goal and I think his competitiveness has been OK.?"But clearly he and we would like to see more from him and he has a greater capacity from what we've seen displayed in the last couple of weeks."

Sidebottom is still to serve half of his four-game suspension for breaking the AFL's COVID-19 protocols, but Buckley said the Pies hadn't considered stripping the premiership midfielder of the club's vice-captaincy.

"No, that was all external commentary. It wasn't a consideration internally at any point once we were aware of the details of his indiscretions," Buckley said.?

As the AFL prepares to condense its fixture and potentially cram in an extra round over the next five weeks, Buckley joined Richmond counterpart Damien Hardwick in suggesting the interchange bench should be extended. The champion Magpie suggested an extra two players to added to each side during the upcoming period.

His first goal came in the opening two minutes and his fifth came in the last of the game. And in between, Jordan De Goey led Collingwood to a comprehensive win over Geelong to once again underline the Magpies' premiership credentials. 

Geelong entered Thursday night's clash at Optus Stadium as the competition's highest scoring team, but it was the Magpies who put on the afterburners, running away with the 22-point win in the final term. 

De Goey was central to things after returning to the Collingwood line-up for his first game since he was charged with indecent assault relating to an incident in 2015. 

The out-of-contract forward was the difference between the sides, but not the only facet of the Pies' 8.9 (57) to 5.5 (35) win given their control of the midfield and backline.

The Pies are the AFL's best defensive team and again their backline stacked up by keeping the Cats to their lowest score since 2001. 

The Cats didn't have Joel Selwood due to a hamstring injury in the first quarter and then lost youngster Jordan Clark in the third term with a shoulder concern, but the Magpies dominated proceedings after jumping out to an early lead. 

Moore and defensive partner Brayden Maynard put in further evidence why they could be first-time Virgin Australia AFL All-Australians this season with impressive defensive performances, while the midfield showings of Adam Treloar (34 disposals) and Scott Pendlebury (24) were also important. 

De Goey gets going
The Collingwood star couldn't have hoped for a better start in his return to the field. De Goey's mark in the opening two minutes saw him boot a long goal and be swamped by teammates, and he continued to be dangerous in attack with his power and explosiveness around goal. In a low-scoring game De Goey's influence was big, and his one-handed mark and then snap in the second term was something nobody else in black and white could have done. De Goey spent the majority of the contest deep in attack and showed he's at home close to goal, booting three goals in the final term to seal the win in his best game of 2020. 

Pies capitalise on Selwood absence 
The Cats needed a full complement of midfielders to match it with the star-studded Collingwood group, so the early injury to Selwood was a hammer blow to Geelong's hopes. The Pies made the most of that ascendancy, recording more disposals and engineering a play-on game style that ran the Cats ragged, particularly in the first half.. While Treloar, Pendlebury and Taylor Adams continued to dominate, the performance of Tom Phillips off a wing with 20 disposals – the best game of his season – also underlined Collingwood's brilliant depth around the ball. 

Clark's tough luck
Geelong youngster Jordan Clark didn't get much of a chance to enjoy his return to the senior side after suffering what appeared to be a serious shoulder injury in the third quarter. Clark, who booted the Cats' first goal of the opening term, found his right arm tangled in a contest at ground level with Collingwood big man Brodie Grundy. Clark immediately grabbed for his arm and ended the game in a sling. The West Australian talent, who hadn't played at senior level since round one, was a sensation on the wing last year in his debut season before an elbow injury saw him miss the Cats' finals series. 

GEELONG               1.1     1.3     3.5     5.5     (35)
COLLINGWOOD     2.2     4.3     5.7     8.9     (57)

GOALS
Geelong: Clark, Guthrie, Rohan, Simpson, Tuohy
Collingwood: De Goey 5, Adams, Daicos, Hoskin-Elliott 

BEST
Geelong: Dangerfield, Guthrie, Ablett, Menegola, Tuohy
Collingwood: De Goey, Treloar, Moore, Pendlebury, Maynard, Adams

INJURIES
Geelong: Selwood (right hamstring), Clark (right shoulder)
Collingwood: Cox (managed) replaced in selected side by Noble