COLLINGWOOD ruckman Darren Jolly says he expects Dale Thomas to take his spot in the side for Sunday's clash with Essendon at the MCG.

Thomas suffered a corked thigh in the Magpies' win over Gold Coast last Saturday at Metricon Stadium and was in some doubt for this week's clash despite being named in an extended squad.
 
Jolly said Thomas trained on Thursday and had declared himself fit to play.

"I asked him and he said he was ready to go, so I think he was just trying to milk the week out as much as he can," he said.

Meanwhile, Jolly will return to the side for his 200th AFL game after missing last week with illness.

He said his milestone match, achieved after stints at three clubs including Melbourne and the Sydney Swans before Collingwood, had provided time for reflection on his career to date.

"I sat down the other day and looked through the things I've kept over the years and reflected," he said.

"Certainly it's been a fantastic journey from where I started and to where I've come to, and I'm really blessed to be here and I was blessed to play in the grand final at Sydney and certainly back here.

"I'm loving playing footy and hopefully I can play a few more yet."

Retiring Western Bulldog and former teammate Barry Hall recently said he felt like a Bulldog despite his premiership with the Swans and fact he played more games for his second club than his third.

Jolly said it wasn't as black and white for him.

"To be honest, I see myself as a Swans player and I had a lot of great memories up there, and I certainly see myself as a Collingwood player as well," he said.

"I love both clubs dearly and I've certainly got a lot of good memories here."

Jolly said he had been floored by a bad flu last weekend but denied he had been suffering from pneumonia, which has been speculated this week.

"It knocked me about a bit," he said.

"I feel really good now, I trained really well and I'm ready to go now.

"I've had pneumonia in the past [in his second year at Melbourne], 10 years ago, but this was just a pretty bad case of the flu."

Jolly was at the Royal Children's Hospital on Friday to help promote Finnan's Gift, which is an appeal started by club board member and winter Olympian Alisa Camplin and her husband Oliver Warner.

The gold medal-winning aerial skier and Warner lost their 10-day-old son, Finnan, to congenital heart disease in March this year, and are attempting to raise $300,000 to fund an echocardiology ultrasound machine for the hospital.