It's safe to say Craig McRae is keen to face his former club this Saturday.

"This is obviously the first time as a senior coach I've played against Richmond," Fly said (with a beaming smile) when he fronted the media on Thursday.

"I can't speak highly enough of my time there and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity.

"I wouldn't be here now without that opportunity."

While Dustin Martin will make his hotly-anticipated return, Collingwood has lost a few players to the flu this week.

Taylor Adams, Nick Daicos, Brayden Maynard and Reef McInnes missed training on Thursday and will be assessed 48 hours out.

"It's good to see Dusty back - you only want the best for players like him," Fly said.

"We have the man flu still going through the club - there's a bit of carry on.

"A lot of players played unwell (last week) and unfortunately it's carried over.

"Jordy and Will in particular did really well to get up last week."

Richmond handed the Eagles a 109-point shellacking last round and Martin's return will bolster Richmond's forward line.

"They played extremely well against West Coast and they are full strength," Fly said.

"I know they will bring their best and we need to make sure we're ready.

"The reality is we've improved in some key areas but there's other parts of our game where we have a lot of work to do.

"We are in a position right now where we can attack Richmond with great confidence.

"Some of those lessons we learnt in our losses helped us win the last couple of games."

Aiden Begg will be named after he impressed in his debut last week.

"Beggy will play - we were rapt with him," Fly said.

"He had 15-odd disposals in 15 percent game time, that's big numbers for a first game ruckman.

"It wasn't just about numbers though, it was his presence and his ability to play his role.

"We want our young players to get opportunities to keep playing when they can."