Beams and Thomas ready to go
Dayne Beams and Dale Thomas are fit to face the Eagles tomorrow night.
Beams had been under a cloud for much of the week leading up to the game with a corked calf and missed a training session early in the week.
Dale Thomas was another player with supposed fitness queries but Collingwood assistant coach Ben Hart said the pair would take their place against the Eagles.
"Both those guys are fit and ready to go," Hart said.
Watch Ben Hart's press conference on CTV in the video above.
"It's more precautionary and at this time of the year you're not going to get any fitter from doing a session - it's more about getting them through and making sure they're right to go for the game."
Hart is no stranger to the intensity of September action, having played in 18 finals in his 15-year career with Adelaide.
He said that for all the hype and adrenaline that comes with playing at the business end of the season, the best performers were those who could keep their heads in the thick of the action.
"Finals footy is about some pressure and how much heat you can put on the opposition.
"But it is also being pretty icy in the head. You can have the fire in the belly but if you have a bit of ice in the head and be clinical about how you want to go about it …
"Understanding your structures, understanding the way we want to move the footy is paramount for us. We want to win the ball first and foremost but we also don't want to lose focus on what we want to do with it."
The Magpies have brought in Jamie Elliott and Tyson Goldsack to replace Ben Sinclair and the suspended Nick Maxwell.
Goldsack has spent much of his year playing as a forward option but Hart said there was a chance he would be used to replace Maxwell in defence.
"Probably a bit of both. He's played most of his footy up forward and done a great job for us. He's one who can swing down back if you need to, and with Maxy going out that is certainly an option for us."
Luke Holmesby is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter - @AFL_Luke