Collingwood Brownlow medallist Dane Swan won't play in the VFL this weekend as he prepares for his round 22 return against West Coast.

Coach Nathan Buckley said on Wednesday an appearance in Saturday's clash with the Casey Scorpions at Victoria Park had been ruled out.

"We've had a discussion about that and Swanny's got some really solid cross training work in and football work, and we'll take that opportunity for him to really feel on top of the ground," Buckley said.

"We'll get plenty of football touch into him and have him cherry ripe for West Coast."

Swan was suspended by the club last week for two games after breaking a team pledge not to consume alcohol before the end of the season.

Buckley said the 28-year-old had worked with a team of people including sports science director David Buttifant in devising a fitness program that included off-legs work and use of an altitude room.

He said it had been important to ensure Swan wasn't overloaded with fitness work, as he was injury-free.

Swan's attitude and response to the sanction had been pleasing. 

"He's been good. He's sought out 'Harvs' [midfield coach Robert Harvey] for extra touch sessions," Buckley said.

"Three or four of us sat down and put a program together as we do with all of our individuals to get the best out of them over that next period of time.

"Swanny's been diligent with that and speaking to him yesterday after watching the game on Saturday night he's pretty toey and looking forward to getting his hands dirty."


COLLINGWOOD Brownlow medallist Dane Swan won't play in the VFL this weekend as he prepares for his round 22 return against West Coast.

Coach Nathan Buckley said on Wednesday an appearance in Saturday's clash with the Casey Scorpions at Victoria Park had been ruled out.

"We've had a discussion about that and Swanny's got some really solid cross training work in and football work, and we'll take that opportunity for him to really feel on top of the ground," Buckley said.

"We'll get plenty of football touch into him and have him cherry ripe for West Coast."

Swan was suspended by the club last week for two games after breaking a team pledge not to consume alcohol before the end of the season.

Buckley said the 28-year-old had worked with a team of people including sports science director David Buttifant in devising a fitness program that included off-legs work and use of an altitude room.

He said it had been important to ensure Swan wasn't overloaded with fitness work, as he was injury-free.

Swan's attitude and response to the sanction had been pleasing. 

"He's been good. He's sought out 'Harvs' [midfield coach Robert Harvey] for extra touch sessions," Buckley said.

"Three or four of us sat down and put a program together as we do with all of our individuals to get the best out of them over that next period of time.

"Swanny's been diligent with that and speaking to him yesterday after watching the game on Saturday night he's pretty toey and looking forward to getting his hands dirty."

Darren Jolly, Nick Maxwell and Alan Toovey finished training early on Wednesday while Dale Thomas, who corked his knee against the Sydney Swans, Scott Pendlebury and Martin Clarke ended the session with run throughs.

Brent Macaffer, Andrew Krakouer and Ben Johnson trained but need at least one more game in the VFL before senior consideration.

Buckley was encouraged by Thomas' first quarter against the Swans before he was subbed out and backed him to build again when he faces North Melbourne on Saturday night.

"He really hasn't had a lot of momentum in his season, and it doesn't matter how good a player you are or how good your skill is or how good esteem you're held in … all you want is to get a good run at it," he said.

"Daisy needs some consistent footy. He's fit and firing and now he just needs eight solid quarters of footy in to be really cherry ripe to go into September.

"He's come up as well as we could have hoped and he's really looking forward to Saturday night."

The last time the Magpies faced the Kangaroos they ran out 117-point winners in round 16 last year.

Buckley said there were aspects of that win that remained relevant to preparation but analysing the Roos' recent form and run-and-carry, contested style was paramount.

"We really are facing a different animal to what we would have last year," he said.

"In many ways, we're a different team even though we basically play a similar style of football as we might have 12 months ago.

"There are tweaks and adjustments and the game changes but you definitely look at North's last three or four weeks and what they're been able to achieve … and how they've been able to get the game on their terms."

Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham.

Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham.