COLLINGWOOD midfielder Dale Thomas says he’ll be out to rectify a crucial missed shot on goal in last Saturday’s grand final when the Pies and Saints meet again at the MCG.

Thomas was a star in the drawn grand final, finishing with 26 possessions, eight tackles and a goal to finish third in Norm Smith Medal voting.    

However, late in third term, with his side seven points ahead, the midfielder streamed inside 50 and rushed a missed shot on goal across his body when he had time to steady.

“Looking back at my own tape I didn’t realise at the time how much space I was in,” Thomas said from the Westpac Centre on Wednesday. 

“On game day you try and put it out of your mind as quick as possible and if you get another chance you go back and rectify it.”

Thomas’s performance on the biggest stage has been described as a breakout game this week, and it caps a season that has seen him capitalise on his early potential. 

However, he said his performance in the first grand final would count for nothing if the Pies can’t get over the line in Saturday’s replay.

“It’s obviously nice for people to say nice things about you [but] it doesn’t really count for a great deal when you draw,” he said. 

“It starts fresh again. We’ll go out there fresh and hopefully get a result this time.”

Collingwood held a closed training session at the MCG on Wednesday with its full squad of 31 - including Simon Prestigiacomo, Tyson Goldsack, Tarkyn Lockyer and Leon Davis - present.

Thomas said the players were buoyant and the normal week - minus the grand final parade and club functions - would help the group.

“I think last week it was good to embrace the whole thing [and] it was different for a lot of us,” he said.

“But it’s a lot more of a normal football week now, getting into the club each day, worrying about the weekend, not rescheduling training to get to events and stuff like that.

“I think the normality’s going to help us out.

“What’s been spoken about all week is just doing what we’ve done as a group throughout the whole year to get ourselves right for another game of footy. Come Saturday we will be.”

Half-back Alan Toovey agreed the players were grateful for a low-key week, with Essendon’s coaching announcement, Geelong coach Mark Thompson’s extended break and Gary Ablett’s move to Gold Coast taking attention away from the build-up to Saturday’s game.

Toovey said the Pies would stick to the same training routine that has served them well this year and pushing through another week would be easy for the players. 
 
“We’ve done pretty well this year, so why change it?” he said.

“An extra week’s not really that much time when you look at it; we train from the start of November all through the year.

“We’re just happy that we get another crack at it.”