Head Coach Craig McRae spoke to the media on Thursday about a range of topics ahead of Collingwood's Round Two clash against Port Adelaide. 

The key takeaways:

HOWE IN GOOD SPIRITS

Jeremy Howe is in good spirits following surgery earlier this week.

“He wanted to come in today and the Doctor kept him away.”

“My understanding is he will be in early next week and I’ll get a bit more of a clearer idea of how long he is going to be out, then.”

“He’s an incredible leader around our place and we’ll miss him on and off the field.”

BILLY FRAMPTON WILL PLAY

Fly confirmed that Billy Frampton will debut against his old Club, Port Adelaide on Saturday.

“Billy Frampton will play.”

“I had a conversation with him last week. We recruited Billy for a reason.”

“He’s got that ability to take a big target away.. and allow others to get to work.”

“I’m excited to see what he can do.”

THERE'S WORK TO BE DONE

Despite defeating the reigning premiers in Round One, Fly and the group are aware of the challenges ahead.

“We’re still realistic. It’s Round 1.”

“We’re a process driven team. It’s nice to get affirmation (about) things we are doing well.”

“We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

MCINNES 'A WEAPON'

Reef McInnes’ development has Fly excited for the future.

“It’s affirmation for his pre-season.”

“He can come on, he can impact."

“His height is deceptive. He’s the same height as Checkers. And slightly smaller than McStay. He is a weapon.”

“You come here on a Sunday when everyone else is at home on the couch. He’s in here working. He’s that kid that you walk in and you go: ‘this kid is going to get the best out of himself.’ And we love that around our environment and he gets rewarded for that."