COLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse is fairly certain what to expect from the opposition but less so from his own team when the Pies begin their 2010 AFL campaign this weekend.

The Pies meet the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday in what promises to be the match-of-the-round between two of last year’s top-four sides.

Speaking at the announcement of Collingwood's new five-year community partnership with Westpac - which includes the re-branding of the club’s training base to the Westpac Centre - Malthouse was full of optimism about his side’s prospects again this season.

The long-time coach, in his second-last year at the helm of the Pies, is thrilled with the talent at his disposal. "I'm delighted with the group we’ve got," Malthouse said on Monday.

"There's a massive amount of pressure coming from underneath.We've played four games so far in the pre-season competition … I say that all over our depth has improved, our maturity has improved and we've been able to draft three players from other clubs who we think very highly of and we've also been able to recruit a couple of players from junior ranks who we thought were far better players than where they went [in the draft].

"So all up I think our group has improved."

Malthouse said the team's overall success would not rely on any individual’s ability to thread the eye of a needle with a drop punt, but rather the collective group's capability to bond.

"There's one photograph I keep at home and I keep it up on the wall and it's a great reminder to me of what can be achieved by people who are dedicated, who are selfless, who've got nothing but (the team) in their mind," Malthouse said.

"That is the 2002 [Collingwood] football side who played against a very mighty Brisbane team [in the grand final].

"The side that we've got at the moment, if it has the same give to the football club, give to one another and is totally selfless, it will be better than the side that ran down the race in 2002.

"Now, is this team as good as that? This team, potentially, is better than that. [But] we'll see over the next marathon season."

The Pies lost their NAB Cup opener to St Kilda but have strung together impressive pre-season wins over Adelaide, Richmond and Port Adelaide in following matches.Malthouse suggested his side had "stayed under the radar" during their warm-up matches for the season proper.

Sunday's opposition - the Bulldogs - have been firmly in the spotlight after blitzing their way to the NAB Cup premiership.

While acknowledging his team faced a big ask in round one of the Toyota AFL season, Malthouse said his team knew what it was up against after splitting two encounters with the Dogs in 2009.

"They’re playing roughly the same except they've got Barry Hall at full-forward. Will he make the difference? I'm not too sure. He's a good footballer.

"Their team itself is very mature. They've played in a number of finals matches [and] they've got that look about them that suggests that they aren't far away.

"We've had the advantage of watching them in four games this year to see if there are any changes … by and large, what we see is what you get with the Dogs."