Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has conceded his side has "a bit of work to do" after they suffered a disappointing loss to Greater Western Sydney in Thursday night's JLT Community Series clash in Canberra.

The Magpies were competitive early but faded badly after quarter-time to lose by 60 points at UNSW Canberra Oval.

Buckley's men gave up six unanswered goals in the third quarter as the home side dominated with slick ball movement and strong work around stoppages, while the Pies failed to score.

While Buckley said there's plenty of time to get things right before the season proper, he gave a typically honest appraisal of his team's effort against GWS.

"We didn't do the basics well and our disposal was poor, and we got smacked in the clearances after quarter-time," he said.

"The third quarter was particularly poor.

"We threw things around a bit, I think there was a bit of posturing (from the coaches) given we play each other in about a month, so we definitely had a look at four or five things that we've been practicing.

"A couple of them went OK, a couple of them didn't, so we'll be able to go back to the tape and take the learnings from that."



Tom Phillips had 15 disposals in Collingwood's loss to Greater Western Sydney on Thursday night.

The Magpies kicked just five goals for the match with scoring again an issue, but Buckley saw some positives in the form of key forwards Mason Cox and Ben Reid.

The pair shared 21 possessions and eight marks and booted one goal each.

"The forward line really relies on getting its fair share of supply, and after quarter-time that didn't happen," Buckley said.

"But 'Coxy' looked dangerous and probably could have taken a few more grabs, and 'Reidy' worked hard, so we think those two can really set us up in regards to having a structure around them.

"There just wasn't enough ball for them tonight."

The Giants were sparked by Dylan Shiel after half-time, with the All-Australian midfielder brilliant with 10 possessions and two goals in the third quarter, also spending some time as a resting forward.

GWS stand-in coach Mark McVeigh said Shiel and fellow midfield stars Josh Kelly, Stephen Coniglio and Callan Ward have the potential to all spend more time inside 50 this year.

"When we look at what they can provide when they go forward, and we have some success with it, you've got to weight it up," he said.

"They're our main onballers and we know that for us to win games they've got to spend big time in there, but when they rest, we've got to work out where we can use them best.

"We've got some opportunities there so we'll assess that, but it's nice to have those players who can play multiple positions."