Speaking after his team belted a disappointing Carlton at the MCG on Saturday, Maxwell and his team were immediately turning their attention to their next task.
That lies in the form of the Cats - a team the Pies have beaten just once in their past six clashes.
However the Collingwood skipper wasn’t building up the Cats, or the significance of the round 19 match which for the second time this year will feature the top-of-the-table teams.
“They’re just another team,” Maxwell said of Geelong.
“It’s just another four points up for grabs and we’re looking forward to it.”
Just a few weeks ago the Pies dispatched recent bogey team St Kilda. Beating Geelong would give Mick Malthouse’s team a further confidence boost on the eve of its September campaign.
However Maxwell was uncertain about the importance of this pre-finals meeting.
“Every week’s significant because there are things that we want to achieve each week,” he said. “Next week we’ll want to play the way we want to play, it doesn’t matter who the opposition is, it’s just a faceless team, we want to beat anyone we play.
“We’ve lost games this year that we think we shouldn’t have lost.
“Certain stats have been in our favour and we still haven’t won the game. Geelong (in round nine) was one of them, as were a couple of others that we lost.
“We’ve just got to make sure we play the way that we want to play. If we do, we’ll get the result."
Collingwood was ruthless in the opening three quarters against Carlton, opening up a 50-point lead by half time and extending that to 10 goals at the last break.
Only a six-goal final term salvaged some respectability for the Blues.
Maxwell said it was a hunger to remain in the team that was driving many Magpies, with competition for spots hotting up in the run to the finals.
Collingwood has arguably more depth than any other side in the competition and with several big names playing in the VFL, those in the senior side know they must perform each week to keep their spot.
“I suppose what we’ve shown is names aren’t everything. If guys can come in and play the roles they’re given [they’ll keep their spot],” Maxwell said.
“Five weeks ago if someone had have said that Jarryd Blair, coming off the rookie list, would be playing every week and playing well, people would have been very surprised.
“But it’s about taking your chances. He’s done that and he’s keeping guys like Jack Anthony, Josh Fraser and Medders (Paul Medhurst) out of the side and he might play in September.”
