Click here to watch Malthouse's press conference on YouTube.

COLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse has backed defender Heath Shaw to maintain his fitness over the duration of his AFL suspension and be ready to play in the first week of finals.

The 25-year-old was handed an eight week suspension by the AFL almost a fortnight ago for breaching the League's gambling rules after he shared $10 of a $20 bet on Nick Maxwell to kick the first goal in the Pies' round nine clash with Adelaide.

He also passed on the inside information that Maxwell was expected to start in the forward line to two other people.

He cannot play in the VFL as part of his suspension, and won't be eligible to play AFL again until the Magpies' first final.

Malthouse said the Pies were "inventing" ways to keep Shaw's fitness levels up and were exposing him to some arduous training sessions due to his lack of football.

"Heath is one of those blokes who will jump straight in," Malthouse said.

"He's not going to be a player who needs super touch; because he's not injured, he'll get massive touch, but also, some players can be suspended like this and still get their touch and they miss the body contact.

"He won't miss that. I predict that he will be ready to go when the time comes."

Malthouse said Shaw had "natural fitness" but still wouldn't enjoy what lay ahead of him over the next six weeks.

"He will be praying for the eight weeks to finish very quickly because you cannot belt him like we're going to belt him, and he knows it," he said.

"He must wake up every morning dreading putting his hand in his pocket and finding $10.

"He does a lot of training. He doubles it up, triples it up, spends time on bikes. Doing all sorts of things.

"Anything we can get, we can find, we give him. We've invented things for him."

A decision on Dale Thomas' availability for Sunday's clash with Essendon might not be made until Saturday morning, with the key Magpie trying to overcome a corked thigh sustained last week against Gold Coast.

Alan Didak is likely to have another week off with the Pies remaining cautious about his return from a calf injury despite him training on Thursday.

Darren Jolly, who missed last week's win over the Suns with illness, is keen to play his 200th game against Essendon but a final decision will be made closer to the game.

"We'll just wait for the blood tests to come back and see what the medical staff say there about whether he receives that game," Malthouse said.

"He trained, and he trained the house down. He's got a very strong bonded family that have fed him all the right foods and right vitamins, and looked after him and are desperate for him to play the 200th."

Malthouse said there was a "distinct possibility" Jolly and second ruck option Cameron Wood could now play in the same team with tall forward Chris Dawes out nursing a broken knuckle.

He also said the next six weeks were crucial for the Pies in their bid to "get the balance right" of players coming into the team and others resting before the finals, particularly given the VFL side had only four games left.

"We're looking at another eight, hopefully 10 weeks, and in that time we've got to introduce Chris Dawes, Alan Toovey, Heath Shaw, Alan Didak and Dayne Beams; players that have been out for multiple weeks," he said.

"That's on top of the fact I believe there are three young blokes that have been playing VFL that have been very worthy of AFL football.

"It's a matter of, and we don't want injuries, but if we get injuries we want to be able to introduce these players very quickly to get games into them."