Collingwood has named three inclusions for its Gather Round fixture against Fremantle on Friday night.

Stars Nick Daicos and Scott Pendlebury return to the side after both missing last week through injury, while mature-age recruit Angus Anderson will make his debut in the Round 5 clash as announced on Wednesday. 

Adelaide Oval will host the game between the Pies and Dockers in a nice bit of symmetry for Anderson, with the debutant earning best on ground honours in his last game at the venue in last year's SANFL premiership for Sturt.

That was the game that confirmed the Pies' interest in Anderson and ultimately led to taking him with pick 57 in last year's draft. The midfielder has since put together a brilliant pre-season and two standout VFL performances to earn his topflight debut. 

Daicos and Pendlebury meanwhile have proved their fitness after suffering separate injuries over the past fortnight.

Pendlebury experienced achilles tightness in the Pies' Round 3 win over GWS and was subsequently ruled out of last week's Easter Thursday clash against Brisbane. After training strongly this week, he will line up for game number 429 this week.

Daicos was a late out of the Round 4 match against the Lions, with the young star unable to get over a corked calf. The 23-year-old will return to the side for the clash with the Dockers having recovered over the past week.  

Ed Allan, Lachie Sullivan and Will Hayes are the outs for this week’s clash.

The Pies’ record sits at 2-2 after their first four games of 2026, with Friday night’s game looming as a crucial juncture in their season.

The Dockers have started the year strongly on the back of three consecutive wins and have proved tough opponents in the recent history between the two sides.

The Pies and Dockers split the honours with a win each in their two meetings last year, while their 2024 clash at Optus Stadium ended in an infamous draw.

The game will be a headline fixture as part of the AFL’s Gather Round in what is the fourth edition of the event.