Peter Jackson VFL action heads to Gippsland this weekend, with Collingwood hosting Richmond at Morwell Recreation Reserve.
Collingwood has a long association with the Gippsland region, with captain Scott Pendlebury, Jarryd Blair, Brent Macaffer and Tyson Goldsack all on the current Magpies list, and local Gippsland products.
All four made their way to the AFL via TAC Cup club Gippsland Power, which boasts 27 current AFL players including names such as Jarryd Roughead, Brendon Goodard, Dale Thomas, Dyson Heppell and Robert Murphy.
New Collingwood VFL recruit Mat Suckling said taking the game to Morwell was an opportunity for regional Magpie fans to see some of the up and coming talent at the club, while at the same time seeing a great standard of football.
"It is a great opportunity for the Collingwood supporters to get to see us play live.
"We have a strong contingent of AFL players despite the AFL list of injuries being quite significant," Suckling said.
"One of the values of the football club is community. The club has a strong emphasis of giving something back to the community, and if it is an opportunity to represent the Gippsland Magpies supporter base, I know the playing group are really excited about that.
"Hopefully we get a big crowd as we love embracing that side of our club values."
Collingwood currently sits in seventh spot on the VFL ladder, and faces twelfth placed Richmond. Back to back defeats against Sandringham (44 points) and Footscray (45) has seen the Magpies slip from the top four, and Suckling believes they need to work on the basics to arrest their slide.
"We just need to do the basic things well.
"Things like the way we want to defend as a team, the mechanics behind that and making sure we are doing those things well and sticking to our structure," Suckling said.
"On the weekend (versus Footscray) we had specific plans regarding kick outs which cost us a few goals as we did not do what the coaches asked of us as a playing group.
"It was things like missing tackles and letting our opponents get forward of the ball. If we tidy up those elements of our game, then all of a sudden you are not conceding a five goal lead at quarter time, it might only be a goal or two and you are well and truly in the game and not playing catch up for the rest of the match."
A win for Collingwood on the weekend could see it return to the VFL top four, while a defeat may see the Magpies drop from the eight if results go against; so close is the competition this season.
Richmond are desperate for a win to keep it in contact with the top eight teams, with the Tigers currently sitting two and a half games behind eighth placed Northern Blues.
CLICK HERE to hear the full interview with Collingwood's Mat Suckling.
Last Modified on 26/06/2014 01:10