Primus Wary Of Pies
Port Adelaide coach says Collingwood shouldn't be written off despite a difficult start to 2012
PORT Adelaide coach Matthew Primus says Collingwood still possesses an aura of "invincibility" despite a less-than-impressive start to the season and an ever-growing injury list.
The Magpies were thrashed by 10 goals by Carlton on Friday night and have lost key players Luke Ball, Ben Reid, Dale Thomas and Heath Shaw to injury.
Primus said that while the Power won't face Collingwood's best 22 on Saturday at Etihad Stadium, talk of a Magpie slip in 2012 was premature.
"I think everyone's jumped at shadows with them," Primus said.
"Collingwood should have been seven goals up at quarter-time against Hawthorn, they beat Richmond and they played [Carlton] who are up-and-about at the moment.
"For one week to be writing them off and saying they're all over and their invincibility is gone, we're certainly not subscribing to that. We're going to prepare as much as if they had their best team available."
While Collingwood will miss several of its influential players on Saturday, the Power have gained some of theirs, with emerging star John Butcher to rejoin the side after a hamstring injury and Hawthorn premiership ruckman Brent Renouf to make his Port Adelaide debut.
"He's played 50-odd games of AFL footy, played in finals, so we're looking forward to his competition," Primus said of Renouf.
"Butch, it's great to have him back in the team … he's certainly going to be a good target up for us forward along with the other key forwards."
Former Carlton and Adelaide player Darren Pfeiffer will also debut for his new club.
The Power will need to overcome a horrendous recent history against the Magpies if they are to upset last year's Grand Finalists.
Collingwood has won the past five encounters between the two sides by an average of more than 10 goals, including a 138-point hiding in round 20 last year.
The embarrassing result saw the Power manage just three goals but Primus said he was confident an upset could be on the cards on Saturday.
Harry Thring covers Port Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
