Pre-Season Game 2: Big Guns Back

SUPERFOOTY

Pre-Season Game 2 Collingwood v Carlton Sunday March 15, 4.40pm Queen Elizabeth Bendigo Fox Footy 4.30pm Weather: Min 11 Max 26 Chance of rain 5%: < 1mm Wind: SW 15kph Betting: Collingwood $1.45 Carlton $2.75

COLLINGWOOD will welcome back big guns Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury against Carlton as Ben Reid creeps closer to a NAB Challenge hit-out.
The Magpies take on their arch rival in Bendigo on Sunday afternoon, aware they are still well short of finalising their best 22 for Round 1 against the Brisbane Lions.
Nervous Pies fans who watched injury-plagued Reid struggle through 2014 will be reassured he has not missed a beat since a minor calf muscle twinge in December.
Footy boss Neil Balme said yesterday Reid was basically ready to go, with the Pies now deciding whether to play him on Sunday or in the following weeks.
Swan, Pendlebury and Travis Cloke are expected to play this weekend after missing the club’s NAB Challenge win over premiers Hawthorn in Tasmania.
Scott Pendlebury is set to face Carlton. Picture: Colleen Petch
“(Reid) trained well today so he is pretty right, it will just be another conscious decision of when we play him,’’ Balme said.
“Maybe against Carlton but maybe not. It hasn’t been decided yet but to my mind he looks terrific.
“He has done the cadence, as they call it, built up in intensity so now he’s nearly there. It was a relatively minor issue but we had a fairly significant reaction to it because of his soft-tissue prevalence.
“But he’s been terrific since he’s been back.”
The Pies have a final NAB Challenge game against Richmond, with most sides expected to have a VFL practice match in the week before Round 1 to help players short on match practice.
Swan has built in intensity since another round of off-season surgeries while skipper Pendlebury has recovered from post-season shoulder surgery.
Both played in a recent intra-club, with Paul Seedsman only a few weeks away after hip surgery.
The Pies and Blues hope to sell out Bendigo’s Queen Elizabeth Oval, which has a capacity of 10,000.
Balme said the Pies had plenty of spots up for grabs with such a young list, which means the next fortnight is a virtual Round 1 audition for many youngsters.
The Pies will launch their season tonight, with the 1990 premiership side to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In the 44-point win over a half-strength Hawthorn young tall Corey Gault and Jordan de Goey both impressed, as did forwards Patrick Karnezis and Jesse White.