At selection
Just when things were starting to settle, the match committee has been dealt a new challenge.

Collingwood will be forced to make a minimum of three changes to Sunday’s team, given the confirmed absence of Taylor Adams (hamstring), Alex Fasolo (shoulder) and Darcy Moore (collarbone). That number could yet swell to four, with Alan Toovey being monitored after suffering from concussion.

Given that clubs that play on a Sunday must name extended 25-man squads, the Magpies will make a minimum of six inclusions on Thursday night.

What happens from there remains a mystery. Travis Cloke’s destination for the weekend has been hotly debated all week, and he, along with the likes of Ben Sinclair, Jonathon Marsh, Marley Williams, Travis Cloke, Tyson Goldsack and many others, are likely to be in contention for a return to senior action this week.

Port Magpies
The Power from Port has only been in the AFL since 1997, but the club has a rich history that dates back to 1870.

The Magpies, as they are known in the SANFL, have produced several players who have spent time at Collingwood.

Mark Williams, Greg Phillips, Bruce Abernethy, Paul Rizonico, legendary coach John Cahill and latter day Magpies Alan Didak and Tim Broomhead are all products of the Port Magpies.

The current senior coach also has ties to Alberton Oval. Nathan Buckley won the SANFL’s Magarey Medal while wearing the Port stripes in 1992, before joining the AFL the following year.

The winds of change
We don’t need any reminding of what happened in the 2013 Elimination Final.

(You don’t remember? Port Adelaide led from start to finish and won by four goals.)

It does serve as an example of how quickly the game can change. Seventeen of Collingwood’s 22 players that night, for various reasons, did not take to the field in a Black and White jumper last weekend.

A new time slot
For Collingwood, a 1.10pm match on a Sunday is a bit of a rarity.

It’s a time slot the club has played in just four times since 2011.

You have to go back to the final round of the 2001 season to find the last time Collingwood played in an early start match outside Victoria on a Sunday (for the record, it was against North Melbourne at Canberra’s Manuka Oval).

Port on the road
Since the 2014 Preliminary Final, Port Adelaide has a 7-7 record outside South Australia. In that time, they have played at the MCG just twice, breaking even at 1-1.

In 33 games at the home of football, the Power has won a 14-1-18 record, the one denoting its draw against Richmond in round 23, 2012.

Overall record (since 1997)
Collingwood v Port Adelaide
Played: 26
Won: 14
Lost: 12
Drawn: 0

Highest score
Collingwood 26.10 (166) def. Port Adelaide 13.9 (87) in round one, 1997.

Lowest score
Collingwood 7.9 (51) def. by Port Adelaide 13.8 (86) in round 14, 2013.

Largest crowd
77,405 in the 2003 Preliminary Final at the MCG.

Smallest crowd
21,863 in round 20, 2011, at AAMI Stadium.

Did you know?
During the past ten years, only once has Collingwood and Port Adelaide met twice during the home and away season. It was 2011, and the Magpies’ cumulative winning margin was 213 points.