Chief Executive Officer Gary Part says Collingwood is a stronger team with an in-form Travis Cloke taking up a key position in the forward line.

Speaking on Collingwood Media’s ‘The Agenda’, Pert expressed hope for the 238-game, two-time All Australian to regain form and return to the Magpies’ starting 22.

“He’s still got the fitness, he’s still got the strength, and he’s still got the ability to be in our best team and to play a really important role,” Pert said.

“We’ve a better team when that’s happening.”

The CEO pointed to the 2016 form of teammate Alex Fasolo as an example of a player who has successfully found confidence at VFL level.

“When we put players back into the VFL team, it’s so they can get some confidence,” he said.

“We’ve seen it so many times, like with an Alex Fasolo and like we’ve had with others, where they come back in.

“They rebuild their confidence and momentum and come back and play a critical role.”

Cloke and Fasolo are just two of a long list of forwards currently sitting outside Collingwood’s best team due to form or injury.

Pert believes the unavailability of the Magpies’ first-choice forwards has led to an underwhelming start to 2016.

The CEO described the first half of the season as “disappointing” and added that injury had “thrown the dynamics” of the team.

He named Fasolo, Dane Swan, Jamie Elliott and Tim Broomhead as injured players he expected to see firing in the forward line this year.

“I’ve been most disappointed that because of the injuries, we haven’t been able to play the style of game that we showed in the pre-season, Pert said.

“I watched the group develop to play a style of football that I think will do well in the finals and we’ve lost so many players, and then had to play other players out of position, I just haven’t seen that flow of the game that we set to play this year.

“If I was to pick that (an ideal forward line); I’d have Clokey in there, I’d have Swanny in there, Fasolo, Jamie Elliott. I’d have Broomhead, Jeremy Howe was going to play in the forward line.

“All those blokes are sitting in the grandstand. Jeremy Howe has had to go into the backline and while he’s doing a good job, it’s really thrown the dynamics of the team.

“We’ve played more players pretty well than any other club… that doesn’t set you up to be performing consistently for four quarters in a predictable manner."

After a round 13 bye, Collingwood will resume its season on Friday night when it takes on a resurgent Fremantle at the MCG.

Sitting fourteenth on the ladder with four wins and eight losses, the refreshed Magpies will clash with a Dockers outfit whose three 2016 wins have come in the last three weeks.

While Pert admits a finals berth appears unlikely in 2016, he stressed the importance of winning games of football in the latter half of the season.

“I think the important thing is to draw a line through the first half of the season and say ‘that didn’t go to plan’,” he said.

“We’ve got another half now and it’s really important that we win games.

And in doing so, Pert hopes to unearth players who will be valuable to the club in not only the rest of the season, but for years to come.

“It won’t be a wasted run from this point,” the CEO said.



WATCH - Michael Christian and Michael Gleeson review the first half of the 2016 home and away season.