Collingwood duo Jamie Elliott and Darcy Moore have passed their first major test with Elliott snaring two early goals and Moore overcoming an early niggle to show some attacking flair from defence in a scratch match loss to Melbourne at Olympic Park on Friday.

Like Moore, returning Magpie star Dayne Beams improved as the game wore on, kicking two classy running goals, including a delightful left-foot snap, and winning his share of possessions in a solid first up showing in a team that was well beaten.

The Pies' stand-in coach for the day, Robert Harvey, acknowledged the Pies only "looked good in patches" in their 11.6 (72) to 7.6 (48) defeat at Olympic Park, but he was pleased to get game time into Moore and Elliott, who have battled hamstring issues in recent times.

"They're probably the two that we were obviously keen to get through and push through. Those guys have trained most of the pre-season and done nearly all of the minutes so they're ready to go," Harvey said.

"Getting back into that match simulation stuff against another team was what they needed so they ticked that box very nicely today."

Late in the first quarter there were fears that key defender Moore had suffered a recurrence of his hamstring woes when he left the field and then grimaced and looked proppy as he jogged along the boundary line. However, it was just a hit to the hip region and he returned to the action at the start of the second term.

The athletic tall didn't run as freely as he would have liked thereafter but he fought through the discomfort to take some contested marks and intercept some Melbourne forward thrusts.

"He's been 100 per cent, he just copped a knock, so he was just battling that. But he was keen to stay and get through this game and he pushed through that," Harvey said.

At the other end, Elliott slotted the first two goals of the game from set shots about 45 metres out to give the Pies a jump start before Melbourne rattled on the next five majors. The livewire forward was quieter after that blazing start but lacked quality supply.

"Bar a minor hiccup pre-Chrissy, we're just so happy with where he's at," Harvey said of Elliott.

"To get him through a game like today is just a massive tick in his corner. We're really rapt to get him through. He looks sharp, he looks like he's back to moving at his best, he looks fast."

Beams' performance was a shining light in a Pies' midfield that understandably struggled given the quality of players missing from their onball brigade.

"(Beams has) had a slightly interrupted pre-season so to get him through today, he looked pretty sharp, he looks fit, and he's come back really well," Harvey said.

The Pies were without skipper Scott Pendlebury and dual reigning club champion Steele Sidebottom, and they missed the line-breaking speed of fellow AFLX players Travis Varcoe and Jaidyn Stephenson.

The biggest omission, though, was gun ruckman Brodie Grundy, who returned to full training this week after overcoming a toe injury. In Grundy's absence the Pies were monstered in the ruck by Demons pair Max Gawn and Braydon Preuss, who proved too powerful for rookie Max Lynch and forward/ruck Mason Cox, while ex-Bulldog Jordan Roughead left his defensive post in the last quarter to spend time in the ruck.

The Pies were also without star defenders Jeremy Howe and Jack Crisp, and veteran Tyson Goldsack.

There were good signs from Pies runners Brayden Sier, Tom Phillips and Josh Daicos, while Brayden Maynard and James Aish were solid in defence.

In a high intensity hitout, Melbourne's pressure and slicker ball use proved the difference.

Collingwood's top draftee Isaac Quaynor made his much-awaited entry to the contest in the third term, and Pies fans cheered when he got his first touch, receiving a handball on the wing and turning on a burst of speed before hitting a leading Adam Treloar at half-forward with a sizzling pass.

Soon after the physically developed teenager earned a free kick when he ran down Josh Wagner close to Melbourne's goal.

Harvey said the medium-sized defender would come into contention to make his AFL debut in round one against Geelong.

"He's definitely in the mix. He's a first-year player so we can't put too much pressure on a player like that, but he shows enough like we saw today. Clearly he didn't look out of place. He's going to be around the mark," he said.

Swingman Ben Reid also showed he might well have turned the corner in his battle with injury by kicking two last-quarter goals.

Harvey had further good news about star forward Jordan De Goey, who last week suffered a mid-foot sprain.

"He's walking around fine, so he's recovering better than we thought. To put a timeframe on that we're not sure but he's bounced back really well," he said.

Collingwood faces Fremantle at Joondalup in a JLT Community Series game on Monday March 4.