Collingwood’s depth has been well publicised this year and Dawes says he and most of his teammates could be only one poor performance away from being dropped to the VFL.
“I'm aware that I’m playing for my spot most weeks," Dawes said. "Obviously I’m confident of staying in there because I think the setup we have up forward is working but I’m wary that a poor performance will put real heat on me for my spot.
“It’s not as comfortable as I’d like to be but there is a strong argument to say that it is a good thing to have pressure for spots because there is pressure to perform.”
Collingwood added yet another string to an impressive bow in Friday night’s win with the performance of young midfielder Jarryd Blair who starred in the midfield.
“That is something we pride ourselves on - our depth through the ranks," Dawes said.
"For Jarryd to come in and get close to 30 touches and have a real impact says a lot about our side and where we’re at,” Dawes said.
One of the players who has suffered from that impressive depth is big man Josh Fraser who hasn’t played since the round 12 draw with Melbourne.
Ruckman Darren Jolly came off with what appeared to be a leg injury late in the game and Dawes said if he had to miss he was confident his spot could be filled.
“If Darren were to go down I don’t know what has happened but you’d think Josh or Cameron Wood would be right to go,” he said.
Dawes’ fellow tall forward Travis Cloke has been heavily scrutinised for his kicking for goal in recent weeks.
Cloke kicked 5.5 against the Bombers but Dawes said there was no cause for panic just yet.
“He was 5.1 at one stage and missed a few shots from the boundary. He has definitely improved and I wouldn’t have thought it was a massive cause for concern,” Dawes said.
“He’s been working on it lately and soon enough 5.5 will turn into 8.2.”
