Why Freo simply have to get the job done against depleted Magpies in Perth

SEN host David King is intrigued by Collingwood’s lineup for Friday’s clash against Fremantle in Perth.

The Magpies have been hit by the injury bug in recent weeks and are playing six players with less than 10 games of AFL experience as a result.

None of those players were anywhere near Collingwood’s best 23 at the start of the season, but amid the growing casualty ward, the Magpies are still unbeaten since Round 2.

King thinks that with so many young and inexperienced players in the side that the load on the club’s leaders and senior heads is far heavier than it has been in some time.

“Looking at the Collingwood line-up up for tonight, I think that this is probably the most they're going to lean on their senior core players for a long, long time,” King told SEN Breakfast.

“It is a young team. It is a very young team going over to Perth.

“I think they've got six guys with less than 10 games experience in the lineup - (Harvey) Harrison, (Lachie) Sullivan, (Charlie) Dean, (Joe) Richards and the two debutants in (Wil) Parker and Ed Allan, great to see them get their opportunity.

“What that does do is shift the responsibility to the Daicos’ (Nick and Josh), (Steele) Sidebottom and (Scott) Pendlebury to have to do more … Darcy Moore, to carry the load.

“Now, they're more than capable of doing that. We know we've lauded them for being Hall of Fame level players.”

With Collingwood’s outs and the fact that the game is in Perth, King thinks that Fremantle simply has to stamp the clash and take this golden opportunity to win.

Sitting at 6-4, King thinks that the Dockers must win this game if they’re to be taken seriously in 2024.

“But, on the road, just the more you look at it, the more you feel this is a game that Fremantle just have to stamp,” King said.

“If they're the team we think they are, when they get a young team on the road like this, they have to get the job done.”

The bounce for Friday’s game at Optus Stadium is set for 6:10pm (AWST) and 8:10pm (AEST).