Collingwood will enter next week's Preliminary Final against the Sydney Swans playing the best football it has all season, according to coach Nathan Buckley.

In praising the starring role of Dale Thomas in the Magpies' "great" Semi-Final win over West Coast, Buckley admitted his team had struggled to reach a consistent level, until now.

Thomas kicked three third-quarter goals to spark his side, and finished with 23 disposals. He will help lead the Magpies' charge as they chase a 12th consecutive win over the Swans.

"I think he (Thomas), and the club together, would like to have had a smoother season, a better season ... but sometimes it's not about where you start, it's where you finish," Buckley said.

Read more about Collingwood's emotion-charged win.

"At this stage, we believe over the last two or three weeks, we've probably played as good as footy we've played all year and it's a good time to be doing that."

The fact the Magpies play the Swans fills them with even more self-belief.

Collingwood holds an astonishing record over the Swans, winning the past 11 encounters. It has also won seven games in a row at ANZ Stadium, where the Preliminary Final will be played next Friday night.

The last time the sides met - in round 20 at ANZ Stadium - Collingwood won a thriller by eight points.

"It means we go in with a great deal of confidence against the opposition on that venue," Buckley said.

"But the past is the past. Every game we've played against Sydney we've had to dig in, we've had to work hard ... next week will be no exception."

Buckley was clearly proud of how his side had performed, but admitted he was unsure how it would respond following the death of John McCarthy this week.

President Eddie McGuire tells it like it is in the aftermath of the win.

McCarthy played 18 games for the Magpies before crossing to the Power last year. Buckley noticed a quieter-than-usual dressing rooms before the game, but was pleased by how the Magpies handled the emotion involved.

"They've lost a mate and we've lost a person who represented the club with pride and distinction for his time when he was here," Buckley said.
 
"It was important for us to recognise the contribution of 'J-Mac' but also the main thing we did was support each of our players, each of our coaches and each of our support staff.

"The fact that you're there going through it together is in some ways a galvanising part of it. It still doesn't change the tragedy that it is and doesn't mitigate it, it just is."

To their credit, the Magpies weren't distracted. They were disciplined and determined, and their defence led that approach.

West Coast's flock of tall forwards loomed as potential match winners before the game, but Jack Darling, Quinten Lynch and Josh Kennedy could manage only three goals between them.

Lynch was subbed out of the game in the third quarter, while ruck duo Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox combined for two goals but didn't have their usual impact.

Even without suspended captain Nick Maxwell, the Magpies' defence rarely looked shaky.

"I thought they were huge," Buckley said.??

"I'm really loathe to individualise - we had seven or eight guys go through that back six and to a man they played their role very well."

Alan Didak was subbed out at three-quarter time with a "knock" on the calf, while Chris Dawes left the field with a knee injury in the fourth term.

A clearly hampered Dawes returned later, but Buckley was unaware of the extent of the injuries and the pair's likely availability against the Swans.

Callum Twomey is a reporter for the AFL website. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey.