Carlton midfielder Bryce Gibbs is looking forward to using last year’s grand finalists Collingwood as a measuring stick for his upwardly mobile AFL club on Friday night.

The Blues have started the season unbeaten in two games, and face a Magpies side who are 1-1 and keen to show they remain a force under new coach Nathan Buckley.

Gibbs said Carlton, who have beaten Richmond and Brisbane comfortably in their first two outings, would get an important gauge of their progress against the Magpies.

The Blues entered 2012 rated a top-four chance and premiership fancies, and their effortless win over the Lions last Thursday suggested they are the real deal.

“We haven’t beaten Collingwood for a few games now and that always sticks in your mind,” Gibbs said.

“It’ll be a great build-up and we’re not only looking forward to seeing where we’re at, but looking forward to playing against a genuine top-four side of the last five or six years and seeing how we go.”

Carlton and Collingwood’s match at the MCG will be for the Richard Pratt Cup – a match played to aid prostate cancer research.

Billionaire and Carlton benefactor Pratt died of prostate cancer in 2009.