Round 3: The Team

Collingwood v Geelong Saturday April 5, 7.40pm MCG Fox Footy / 7mate 7.30pm Weather: Min 14 Max 20 Chance of rain 70%: 1-5mm Wind: SSE 22kph Betting: Collingwood $2.30 Geelong $1.63

B: Heritier Lumumba, Jack Frost, Nick Maxwell
HB: Alan Toovey, Lachlan Keeffe, Tom Langdon
C: Alex Fasolo, Dane Swan, Clinton Young
HF: Scott Pendlebury, Jesse White, Brent Macaffer
F: Jamie Elliott, Travis Cloke, Sam Dwyer
Foll: Brodie Grundy, Luke Ball, Dayne Beams

Int: Tyson Goldsack, Jarryd Blair, Taylor Adams, Steele Sidebottom
Emg: Ben Kennedy, Marty Clarke, Jarrod Witts

IN: Alex Fasolo, Lachlan Keeffe
OUT: Nathan Brown (shoulder), Ben Sinclair (hamstring)

Collingwood News Collingwood utility Alex Fasolo will line up for his first senior game in nearly a year after he was named in the side to face Geelong at the MCG on Saturday night. After enduring a torrid run last season which saw him sidelined for much of the campaign with a foot injury, a sequence of strong performances with the VFL Magpies has placed Fasolo back in the selection spotlight, earning him a call up alongside Lachlan Keeffe for the round three clash. While Fasolo rose to prominence as a silk-skilled small forward, the West Australian has been fielded in a variety of roles over the pre-season, with his sole NAB Challenge outing against Richmond seeing him line up across half back in a bid to harness his incisive foot skills. That scenario was replayed within the microcosm of a single VFL match last weekend, with Fasolo commencing the season opener in defence before pushing into attack during the third term, producing a game breaking burst which saw him slot a crucial goal and hand Collingwood the ascendency. Such versatility, powered by his efficiency in disposal, makes Fasolo an asset at either end of the ground, providing senior coach Nathan Buckley with considerable flexibility on match day. Keeffe meanwhile steps back into the fray to replace Nathan Brown after the defender was ruled out for the next four to five weeks with a shoulder injury. A fixture of the Magpie side throughout the latter part of last year, Keeffe was overlooked for the opening two rounds of the current campaign after coaching staff instead opted to reward the irrepressible pre-season form of youngster Jack Frost. Boasting impressive mobility for his height, Keeffe’s composure and strength in one-on-one contests have seen him earmarked as potential anchor of the Magpie defence in the years to come, while the esteem in which he is held by his peers was demonstrated by his elevation to the club’s leadership group for the 2014 season. Ben Kennedy and Jarrod Witts remain on the emergencies list for another week, and will be joined by Martin Clarke, who replaces Quinten Lynch.