COLLINGWOOD big man Leigh Brown says his side will provide much stiffer resistance to Geelong next Thursday night than they did in the NAB Cup grand final.

The Cats smashed the Magpies by 76 points at Docklands three weeks ago but Brown said the club would be better prepared this time around.

“We learned a lot from the NAB Cup when they beat us,” Brown said.

“We’ll have a look at that again, take a bit away from that and put in a much better show for sure.”

Brown said he had never played football on Thursday night before and the club had immediately gone into recovery mode after Saturday’s match.

“It is short and sharp, the week is really condensed and we are looking forward to another big challenge,” he said.

“They are a great team all round, we’ve got be on our guard and make sure our pressure is up.”

Brown picked up the slack in the ruck when Josh Fraser left the field on Saturday against Melbourne.

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse said he was happy with Brown’s contribution as a pinch-hitting ruckman.

“We thought Leigh did reasonably well, [was] competitive, got what he should have got and we didn’t lose a great deal from our centre bounces,” Malthouse said.

But Brown said he was aware that his versatility was his meal ticket.

“I think having a few strings to your bow always helps,” he said.

“I have just got to make sure my consistency is up and I am playing some good footy so I can hold my spot.

“We’ve got a really young and exciting list.”