Footy officially returns when Collingwood takes to the Docklands for its round one NAB Cup games against Carlton and Richmond on Saturday night.
Assistant coach Nathan Buckley will take the reins as part of the club’s pre-season coaching rotation policy, with the Magpies set to field a strong line-up.
In the AFL’s revamped opening round format of the pre-season competition, the 18 clubs (including the GWS Giants) have been split into six divisions comprising three teams each.
The three sides will play each other in games made up of 20-minute halves, with the winner of each division to advance to the quarter finals. The remaining two quarter-finalists will be wildcard teams with the next best records from the opening round.
The triangular round-one match-ups will be the centrepiece of the AFL's flood relief fund-raising effort, which comes after the Magpies raised $80,000 for the flood relief effort at the club's team photo day last month.
The schedule for the Collingwood-Carlton-Richmond three-way event is as follows:
NAB Cup Round 1
Saturday 12 February - Docklands
19:15 Carlton v Richmond
20:20 Collingwood v Richmond
21:25 Collingwood v Carlton
CLICK HERE for NAB Cup ticketing information.
CLICK HERE for the full opening round NAB Cup fixture.
The Magpies will have a weekend off following their opening round NAB Cup games, with match and ticketing information for the remainder of the pre-season competition to be published on collingwoodfc.com.au as soon as possible.
