Collingwood will make at least three changes to its team for Sunday’s clash with Fremantle at the MCG.

Brody Mihocek, Brayden Maynard and Daniel Wells are the confirmed additions to the side that defeated the Western Bulldogs last weekend.

Jarryd Blair, Ben Crocker, Sam Murray and Adam Oxley have also been included on the extended bench.

Travis Varcoe (hamstring), Ben Reid (leg) and Jeremy Howe have gone out of the side.

Howe has been sidelined by bone bruising in his knee.

"He was out on the track on Thursday and felt some soreness in his knee," said Collingwood's General Manager of Football, Geoff Walsh. 

"There’s still a lot of season to play out, so we’re taking the long-term view."

Mihocek, a 25-year-old rookie-listed player, will make his AFL debut, while Maynard is back for his first game since suffering an ankle injury in round six.

Wells returns for his third AFL game of the season after being rested last weekend. 

The final 22-man team will be named at 5pm on Friday.

MIHOCEK’S WINDING ROAD
Brody Mihocek’s tale is one of persistence. Touted as a draft prospect when he was a teenager in Tasmania, he has had to fight harder than most to achieve his dream of playing in an AFL match. In recent years, Mihocek, whose father played a few games for Essendon in the 1970s, has played in the now-defunct VFL Development League and has played senior VFL footy with Werribee and Port Melbourne. He never gave up on making it to the game’s highest level and now his persistence has paid off. 

Brody Mihocek playing for Tasmania at the national under-18 championships in 2011 (AFL Photos)

HISTORY ON THE PIES’ SIDE
Collingwood’s record against Freo at the home of footy is sensational. Indeed, the Pies’ last loss to the Dockers at the MCG was way back in round 15, 2006. The last time the teams met at ‘G was on an arctic Friday night in late June 2016, when Collingwood won by 48 points in front of a crowd of just 20,320. 

Collingwood v Fremantle
AFL Round 11
Sunday, June 3, 2018
MCG, 3.20pm

Collingwood
B: Brayden Maynard, Lynden Dunn, Jack Crisp
HB: Levi Greenwood, Matthew Scharenberg, Tom Langdon
C: Steele Sidebottom, Scott Pendlebury, Tom Phillips
HF: Jordan De Goey, Brody Mihocek, Will Hoskin-Elliott 
F: Josh Thomas, Mason Cox, Jaidyn Stephenson
Foll: Brodie Grundy, Daniel Wells, Adam Treloar
Int (from): Taylor Adams, Flynn Appleby, Jarryd Blair, Ben Crocker, Josh Daicos, Chris Mayne, Sam Murray, Adam Oxley

IN: Jarryd Blair, Ben Crocker, Brayden Maynard, Brody Mihocek, Sam Murray, Adam Oxley, Daniel Wells
OUT: Jeremy Howe (bone bruising), Ben Reid (leg), Travis Varcoe (hamstring)
NEW: Brody Mihocek (26, Port Melbourne)