The history books will say that Collingwood should be good things for Friday night's Preliminary Final against the Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium.

The Pies have won their last 11 games against the Swans, seven of which have been played at the cavernous venue in Sydney's west.

And the Collingwood army will travel the relatively short distance to Sydney in huge numbers, potentially cancelling out the massive crowd advantage the Swans should enjoy.

Against any other side, it would have been a red and white cauldron.

But the Pies don't see it that way. Preliminary Finals are unique beasts and according to skipper Nick Maxwell, who won't play while he serves the second match of a suspension, previous records count for nought.

Watch all the highlights from Saturday night's win against the West Coast Eagles.

"It's a Preliminary Final to get into a Grand Final, so I don't think it matters which two teams are playing and history and location go out the door," he said.

"I understand why people would say we'll be comfortable up there, but for a Preliminary Final and the chance to win through to a Grand Final, it doesn't matter where you play or who you play."

"History will show you that. Underdogs and travelling teams can win these games but I'm sure Sydney will be ferocious. They certainly were against Adelaide and we won't just be floating up there."

Eddie McGuire captures the emotion in the rooms after the match.

If Maxwell believes the ground particularly suits the Magpies, he wouldn't say. "22 guys committed to a cause," he said when asked the secret of the club's success in Sydney, before admitting that the club does enjoy road trips.

"Our record over the last four or five years would suggest that," he said. "We don't mind travelling, but it's about getting away and knowing we have a job to do."

The build-up will be complicated by the funeral in Sorrento on Thursday of John McCarthy, the former Collingwood and Port Adelaide player who died last week.

A tribute to Johnny Mac.

The entire Magpies playing group will attend the funeral, followed by the long trip from Sorrento to the airport and then on to Sydney.

It is hardly the ideal preparation, but it is a necessary one and Maxwell would not have it any other way.

"We don't care when it is, even if it is the day before the match. We're not going to miss an opportunity to say goodbye to one of our mates," he said.