Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley is cautious of an in-form North as the teams prepare to face off on Saturday.

The Magpies have enjoyed mixed results in the opening four rounds, albeit against quality opposition, but the clash against the Kangaroos could prove the biggest indicator as to where they are at.

“They (North) look really strong. Their last two performances against Port Adelaide and Sydney, two top six sides from last year, have been exemplary,” he said.

“Their defensive structure and their tall backs have been really strong. They’ve got a spread of ball-winners and a dangerous forward mix.”

At three wins and one loss, a victory could see North climb into the top four. Collingwood is aiming for back-to-back wins for the first time in 2014.

“They’ve got the runs on the board over the last couple of years,” Buckley added.

“They’ve gradually improved and they’ve got high expectations for where they’re going to go with their young group.

“It’s going to be a really good challenge for us to test our development and our recent form.”

Nathan Brown could return to the Magpies’ team, shaking off a shoulder injury suffered a fortnight ago.

“We still haven’t had our medical report from the docs yet, we get that before match committee this afternoon, but to the eye, he looks like he’s ready to go.

“He’s going to give us a selection quandary with our tall backs this afternoon.

“He’s had this injury before in 2010 and played through two thirds of the season then with the same injury, so it’s not something that he hasn’t had to deal with before.”

Sam Dwyer is also a chance to return, coming back from a knee injury, while off-season recruit Taylor Adams returns from suspension.