Collingwood coach Craig McRae has expressed his support for AFL clubs to be able to trade players mid-season, as his side weighs up a selection headache for Round 4 as the Magpies are likely to make the trip to Brisbane without a recognised ruckman.
A fresh MCL sprain for first-string tall Darcy Cameron has further hampered McRae's ruck stocks just three rounds into the season, with Mason Cox (hematoma) and Aiden Begg (back) both sidelined indefinitely.
The Magpies were forced to call on forward pair Dan McStay and Ash Johnson to help alleviate this issue for the final quarter of last Friday's win over Richmond, however McRae and his coaches are now needing to plug the gap once again as they look to continue their undefeated run against the Lions this Thursday.
Pre-season signing Oscar Steene isn't likely to be called upon to wrestle Brisbane big man Oscar McInerney this week, with McRae reluctant to throw the emerging ruckman to the wolves after less than three months at the club.
The situation has seen McRae unveil his support for the league to introduce a player recruitment mechanism that would allow clubs to recruit unlisted AFL players amid an injury crisis like their own.
"I'm big on a mid-season trade (period)," McRae said.
"I think it'd be great for the game within the right parameters. It'll add something for the fans, they'll enjoy that.
"Opportunities, like this for example, come up and we might need someone. I'm a big fan."
A perfect example the Magpies would consider signing mid-season would be Port Melbourne-listed ruckman and former Sydney Swan Sam Naismith, who went head-to-head with Steene in the VFL over the weekend.
Naismith recorded 62 hit-outs over the teenager to be among the Borough's best, albeit in a loss to the Magpies' reserves.
Instead of calling on an outsider or even Steene, McRae is set to get "creative" in how his side takes shape this weekend, with the aforementioned McStay and defender Billy Frampton likely to share the ruck workload.
Frampton has played the last two games for the Magpies in the absence of injured backman Jeremy Howe, with any move into the middle for the former Power and Crows swingman only further depleting Collingwood's defensive depths.
McStay could be tasked with leading the ruck duties when he plays his former side for the first time, while Johnson may also be considered to pinch-hit.
"We were lucky on Friday night we got a little sample of playing a quarter without a ruck and had to be creative," McRae said. "We got some things up our sleeve.
"I think we're not going to sort of say one person, we'll just have to carry the load. I love being creative, so we'll get to match committee and look at some options.
"We don't have another key defender to come in to play that role if (Frampton) goes into the ruck. So I think that's one where we might have to be a bit creative and play some minutes with Bill and maybe Dan and maybe some others."
Injured tall Nathan Kreuger has begun to build his training block as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury sustained in the pre-season, even working on his ruck skills at Monday's session.
The former Cat remains multiple weeks away from a likely return, but will be injected into some match simulation drills as early as this week.
"Kreugs is only a couple of weeks away (from returning)," McRae said of the second-year Magpie.
"He's training really well. I think he might get a bit of matchplay some stage this week, and then maybe a bit more the week after."
Cox will continue to be sidelined for the next fortnight as the club awaits further assessment of the hematoma located near his ribs, while Cameron is expected to miss close to two months.
Collingwood enter Round 4 with three wins to their name but will face a tough challenge when they line-up against Brisbane at their home ground, the Gabba.
