A place in AFL Women’s history beckons for Collingwood and coach Wayne Siekman says the Magpies are ready for the big stage.

Collingwood take on Carlton in the first match of the new AFLW competition at Princes Park on Friday night, with between 10,000 and 20,000 fans expected to turn out to witness the historic event.

Siekman says his team will have no excuses against the Blues, having come off an excellent preparation and with a full squad of fit players to select from.

“These amazing athletes have been waiting a long time for this opportunity to come,” Siekman told reporters on Monday.

“They’ve been training so hard for the past eight weeks, but the time has come … it’s their time to shine.

“We’re on top of the world because … we’ve got 27 players to pick from. I don’t think there are too many other clubs who could say that.

“I think we’ve got a very good handle on where we’re at. We structured our pre-season to make sure that round one against Carlton we’re ready – there’s no excuses.

“If Carlton beat us on Friday night it’s not because we weren’t ready.”

The match was initially set to be played at the Magpies’ home ground at Olympic Park, which holds up to 7,000 fans, but was moved amid fears thousands of supporters would be locked out.

The game will also be broadcast live on the Seven Network and Fox Footy.

The Magpies, along with the seven other AFLW clubs, are plunging into the unknown to a large extent in the competition’s inaugural season.

But Siekman said Collingwood enter the season with clear goals.

“Our plan from day one has been to make the grand final,” he said.

“You can’t win a premiership unless you make the grand final so we’re planning to play (in a grand final) in eight weeks time.

“That’s the goal of this club, its players and coaching staff … there’s no point hiding from that.”

The AFLW’s inaugural season will run over seven home-and-away rounds with the grand final played on Saturday, March 25, which is the opening weekend of the men’s season.