What names, numbers and stories matter this week?

Collingwood Media has outlined the key figures leading into the club’s clash with Fremantle at Domain Stadium on Sunday.

Which Dockers are unavailable?
A week off was all Aaron Sandilands needed to overcome hamstring soreness. The 34-year-old ruckman has been one of the competition’s best (and not for the first time) all season, but he sat out last week’s 100-point loss to Adelaide. It opened the door for Sam Jacobs to dominate the stoppages, but Brodie Grundy will have no such opportunity this week, with the 211cm veteran recalled immediately.

Other big name Dockers who will miss include Hayden Ballantyne (hamstring), Harley Bennell (calf) and Zac Clarke (knee).

Fremantle’s injury list
Hayden Ballantyne (hamstring) – 3 weeks
Harley Bennell (calf) – 4-5 weeks
Matthew Uebergang (hamstring) – TBA
Zac Clarke (knee) – TBA
Alex Pearce (leg) – TBA
Michael Apeness (knee) – season

Collingwood’s record in the west
The Magpies have not enjoyed flying to Perth in recent times.

Since 2012, Collingwood has a 0-5 record at Subiaco Oval (now Domain Stadium) with an average losing margin of 41 points.

The closest the Magpies have come to victory is seven points, losing to Fremantle on a Thursday night in 2015.

The match looms as Collingwood’s last at the venue, with West Australian football set to move to the Perth Stadium in the years to come.

Since 1987, the Magpies have an 8-17 record at Subi.



The Collingwood players of 2011 sing the song after the club's most recent win in Western Australia in round 23 of that season.

Avenging February’s result
Let’s face it: Pre-season results don’t linger long in the mind.

How many supporters would recall Fremantle’s one-point win over Collingwood in the second round of the JLT Community Series?

The win, recorded in country WA, was secured courtesy of an Ed Langdon kick after the siren.

Langdon, of course, is the younger brother of Collingwood defender, Tom.

Another week of growth?
If Collingwood is going to make a run for September honours, get used to seeing the players sporting a beard.

“I’m growing the beard because we lost the goal kicking competition to our coaches three weeks ago, and we will continue growing the beard as we continue to win games of football,” Scott Pendlebury told Jay Clark on the Jock and Journo podcast.

“We’ve been growing them for three weeks, because it started the day after we lost to the Giants.”

Let’s hope we continue to see the growth around the players’ chins for the weeks and months to come.

How will Fremantle respond?
Until last Saturday night, Ross Lyon had never coached a team to a 100-point loss.

But once Adelaide got hold of Fremantle, it wouldn’t let go.

A 33-point quarter time lead evolved into a 91-point lead at the final change, and the Crows went on with the job, running out 100-point victors at home.

The Dockers of 2017 are not to be underestimated, though.

They won six of their seven games leading into last week’s loss, three of which were by less than a kick.

Crucially, their only loss at Domain Stadium during that run was against fellow Sandgropers West Coast. They have not lost to a travelling team since falling 42-points short of Geelong in round one.