Where and when: MCG, Saturday, April 3, 2.10pm
Head to head: Collingwood 140 wins, Melbourne 79 wins, four draws
Last time: Collingwood 19.12 (126) d Melbourne 8.12 (60), round 11, 2009 at the MCG
MISSING IN ACTION
Melbourne
Daniel Bell (shoulder) - 4 weeks
Max Gawn (knee) - indefinite
Neville Jetta (groin) - 3-4 weeks
Liam Jurrah (shoulder) - 13 weeks
John Meesen (ankle) - indefinite
Cale Morton (knee) - 6 weeks
Colin Sylvia (jaw) - test
Luke Tapscott (hip) - indefinite
Austin Wonaeamirri (hamstring) - 2 weeks
LAST WEEK
Melbourne 8.13 (61) lost to Hawthorn 17.15 (117) at the MCG
In their first up showing for 2010 the Demons put in a lacklustre effort, booting just one goal in the opening half as the Hawks ran away to a 56-point lead at the main break.
Tom Scully and Jack Trengove, last year’s top two draft picks, worked their way into the contest and were a shining light for their club.
Melbourne's young tall defenders including James Frawley did a reasonable job but its more experienced forwards such as Brad Miller and Matthew Bate had forgettable season openers.
It was a disappointing day for the red and blue, with the performance placing pressure on third-year coach Dean Bailey.
Leading goalkicker: Brad Green, Brad Miller, Ricky Petterd (2)
Leading ball-winner: Cameron Bruce, James Frawley, Jack Trengove (23)
DANGER MAN
Cameron Bruce is one of the few hardened bodies in the Melbourne midfield. The 30-year-old also likes playing the Pies, averaging 27 disposals in his past five matches against them. Bruce wasn't at his best last week but still had 23 touches and nine marks. In his good mate Brad Green's 200th AFL match, expect the prolific onballer to be determined to again figure prominently.
WHAT THE OPPOSITION SAYS
"On Monday, at our team meeting some home truths were spoken ... we're really looking forward to the challenge of taking on Collingwood, who had a great win on the weekend.
"Some of the players know where they stand coming into this week's game.
"I reckon we played stop-start footy and Dean has been drilling it into us to play exciting footy. We've just got to get the ball going, play on at all costs and get it into our forward line as quickly as possible." - Melbourne veteran Brad Green
WHAT THE PIES SAY
"We feel that, physically, we've got to take it up to them. We'll approach it like we did with the Bulldogs. If we go in with the intensity like we did with the Bulldogs, I'm pretty confident we should be able to win.
"While our players [on average] might be a couple of years ahead of their development, they’ve got some strong players ... Brad Miller, [Aaron] Davey, James McDonald have got some experience and we've got to consider their strengths as well.
"Brad Green, you've got to play him close - especially when he's forward because he's a multiple goalkicker and he's a proven goalkicker.
"We're pretty thorough in going over the opposition, so we like to think we've planned for everything." - opposition coach Paul Hudson
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
