Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says Saturday night’s game will be won in the contest, praising the ability of North’s midfield brigade.

The Magpies boast one of the stronger on-ball groups in the competition, with the likes of Adam Treloar, Steele Sidebottom and Taylor Adams all perennial ball-winners.

But without their captain Scott Pendlebury, missing for the third week straight with a finger injury, the task becomes tougher in the middle.  

“North are definitely a very strong contested-ball side, with (Ben) Cunnington, (Jack) Ziebell, (Andrew) Swallow, (Trent) Dumont and (Shaun Higgins) going through there,” Buckley said.

“… we expect (Todd) Goldstein to maybe come into that mix and Majak Daw. There’s some big boys and that’s an important part of the game.”

Cunnington is the leading clearance player in the AFL this year, while Adams and Treloar are both in the top 25, making for an intriguing battle at the stoppages.

Pies’ big man Brodie Grundy sits only behind Stefan Martin when it comes to clearances by a ruckman. Last week, North opted to play both Braydon Preuss and Majak Daw, with the mix still to be decided for Saturday night. Goldstein performed strongly in the VFL and is a chance to return.  

“The grunt inside is certainly something that the better sides do really well, but as if we’ve consistently said, we are focused on the shape element as well and getting that balance of offence and defence right,” Buckley said.

“The game starts in the contest and the transition comes from the contest so we’ve got to get those elements right.”

Adding to Collingwood’s midfield strength in recent weeks, Daniel Wells, who polled the two votes as the dominant midfielder on the ground when the teams last met, lining up for the opposition.