Collingwood midfielder Steele Sidebottom believes that Ben Reid will be playing in attack on Friday night, meaning that Nathan Brown and Lachlan Keeffe are the men most likely to tackle Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead.

"He (Ben Reid) probably won't go down back," Sidebottom told the media before Thursday's training session.

"(Franklin) usually kicks goals against us so we'll definitely have our work cut out."

Franklin has kicked 50 goals in 12 games against Collingwood including 13 in his past three.

Reid spent time on 'Buddy' in round three earlier this year and has had stints against him at different stages over the past four seasons.

A low-key Sidebottom isn't looking too far ahead if his words to the media are any indication.

The 22-year-old kept it simple, telling reporters that the Magpies are "worrying about what is in our control," saying that wins over Essendon and Sydney in the past fortnight have "shown we can match it with any other team."

Sidebottom also confirmed that Dale Thomas is a likely starter for the club's VFL team against Sandringham this Saturday and raised hopes of Darren Jolly making an appearance. Sidebottom said that Jolly, like Thomas, trained well during the team's main training session on Tuesday.