Jamie Elliott headlines a pack of Magpies who are set to return to senior football after lengthy absences in Collingwood’s JLT Community Series opener against Essendon.

The team includes three untried players, four experienced recruits and a further four players who have not played senior football for some time.

The comeback kings
The match will be momentous for Elliott and young teammates Matthew Scharenberg and Jackson Ramsay, will play their first games of any kind since undergoing major surgery.

Elliott, as has been well documented, has not played senior football since the final round of the 2015 season. A back injury laid him low during the pre-season and eventually saw him sent in for surgery.

"To be honest, I didn't know what was going to happen (with my injury)," Elliott said during a live interview on Collingwood’s Facebook page last Wednesday.

"I had good days and bad days. I still do, but I am finding a way to manage my back in terms of preparation and recovery leading into training sessions."

For Scharenberg and Ramsay, the match will mark their returns from knee reconstructions.

Ramsay underwent his in April 2016 following a training mishap.

Scharenberg, meanwhile, has not played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during a training session in November 2015.

Back into the fray
Lachlan Keeffe is in line to make his return to senior football.

The 26-year-old’s two-year anti-doping suspension expired on 10 February.

Should he play against Essendon, it will 902 days since Keeffe’s last senior appearance against Hawthorn in the final round of the 2014 season.

Coach Nathan Buckley has already hinted that Keeffe, historically used as a key defender, may be trialled up forward.

“We know Keeffey can play down back if required but our depth charts indicate he may be a better chance of playing senior footy as a forward/ second ruckman,” Buckley wrote in an AFL Media Facebook Q&A.

“He has trained really well and will be ready when called upon. (He) came back very fit.”



Another Macedonian Marvel
Collingwood fans have been pining for the sight of a Daicos in a Black and White jumper since Peter’s final game in round 10, 1993.

For the most one-eyed of Pies, Thursday night could mark the end of a 23 year-7 month-6 day drought.

Eighteen-year-old Josh Daicos has been named in the 29-man squad after a fine performance in Wednesday’s intra-club match.

“Josh looked really good. Whichever grade he steps up to, he looks like he can handle it," assistant coach Brenton Sanderson after the game.

“He looks poised and balanced with the footy, a bit like his Dad.”

Daicos, along with rookies Liam Mackie and Max Lynch, are the three untried players in Thursday’s squad.



Josh Daicos impressed during Wednesday's intra-club match at the Holden Centre.

Old faces, new jumper
It’s not just the uncapped and once-injured Magpies who will be a little toey on Thursday night.

Lynden Dunn, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Chris Mayne and Henry Schade are in line to play their first games in a Collingwood jumper after arriving from other AFL clubs during the off-season.

All four performed well in Wednesday’s intra-club match and will be eager to develop an on-field chemistry with their new teammates.

Squad rules
Both teams are to name a 29-man squad before trimming the group to 26 on game day. Both sides will play with eight players on the interchange bench with no substitutes.



Chris Mayne joined Collingwood as a free agent after 172 games with Fremantle.

Absentees
Senior Magpies who will sit out Thursday’s match include Taylor Adams, Brodie Grundy, Scott Pendlebury, Ben Reid, Adam Treloar and Daniel Wells. In Pendlebury’s absence, Steele Sidebottom will captain the side.

Collingwood v Essendon
JLT Community Series Round One
Thursday 16 February
Etihad Stadium, 7.40pm

Collingwood Squad
1. Alex Fasolo
2. Jordan De Goey
5. Jamie Elliott
6. Tyson Goldsack
9. Jesse White
11. Jarryd Blair
12. Matthew Scharenberg
14. James Aish
15. Lynden Dunn
16. Chris Mayne
18. Travis Varcoe
19. Levi Greenwood
21. Tom Phillips
22. Steele Sidebottom
23. Lachlan Keeffe
25. Jack Crisp
26. Josh Daicos
28. Ben Sinclair
30. Darcy Moore
31. Jackson Ramsay
32. Will Hoskin-Elliott
37. Brayden Maynard
38. Jeremy Howe
40. Josh Smith
41. Henry Schade*
43. Adam Oxley
44. Liam Mackie*
45. Max Lynch*
46. Mason Cox*
*Denotes rookie

Essendon Squad
1. Andrew McGrath
3. Darcy Parish
4. Jobe Watson
7. Zach Merrett
8. Martin Gleeson
9. Brendon Goddard
11. David Zaharakis
12. Mark Baguley
13. Orazio Fantasia
15. Josh Green
17. James Stewart
18. Michael Hurley
20. Jackson Merrett
21. Dyson Heppell
22. Matthew Leuenberger
23. David Myers
24. Craig Bird
28. Mitch Brown
29. Patrick Ambrose
30. Kyle Langford
32. Travis Colyer
33. Jayden Laverde
34. Jake Long*
39. Heath Hocking
40. Ben Howlett
43. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
44. Shaun McKernan*
47. James Kelly
49. Matt Dea
*Denotes rookie