Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley is confident his team can up the scoring ante during the upcoming fixture squeeze despite the loss of their most dangerous forward.
The Magpies will be without Jordan De Goey for at least eight weeks after the star forward underwent finger surgery.
Fourth-placed Collingwood boast the stingiest defence in the league, but they are ranked a lowly 11th for scoring, at an average of 61.6 points per game.
De Goey displayed his importance to the side with a five-goal haul in the wet in last week’s win over Geelong.
His lengthy injury absence is a huge blow, and Collingwood will also enter Sunday’s clash with West Coast minus key forward Mason Cox, who has been overlooked following a worrying dip in form.
Cox was a late withdrawal from last week’s win over the Cats, and he will be aiming to push his case for a recall when he lines up in a practice match against the Eagles’ reserves on Sunday.
Collingwood face one of the toughest fixture squeezes over the coming weeks.
After taking on the Eagles, the Magpies face a period of four games in 14 days in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, and back in Brisbane.
Buckley is not looking to just break even during that period – he wants his team to thrive.
Upping their scoring potency is top of his list – and he wants all the forwards to have a “lick of the ice cream”.
“We’ve always rated our depth,” Buckley said.
“It’s actually the sum of the parts that’s more important than the parts themselves, and we do pride ourselves on that.
“We’ve shown signs in the last couple of weeks that our offence is starting to get up and about.
“Depending how the games are played over the next month, I’d expect us to score a lot more heavily in that next three or four weeks and establish more scoreboard pressure with the way we’re going to go about it.
“I don’t know necessarily where the goals are going to come from, but I’m pretty sure we can spread the load and start hitting the scoreboard more heavily.”
Ben Reid and Darcy Cameron have leapfrogged Cox in the Pies’ pecking order, and Buckley said the 211cm American needed to get back to form in the practice matches.
West Coast will welcome back skipper Luke Shuey from a hamstring injury, but goalsneak Liam Ryan is in doubt following the tragic death of his eight-year-old nephew on Wednesday.