Magpies treating Crows clash as final
Collingwood are still capable of winning the AFL premiership and are treating their clash with Adelaide as a final according to small forward Jamie Elliott.
The Magpies face the Crows on Sunday at the MCG desperate to find some form after losing four of their past five games.
They have fallen to eighth on the ladder and face dropping out of finals contention if the slump continues.
Elliott arrived for the press conference in the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter, which the club will raise funds for as part of its match.
He has missed the past two matches with a hamstring injury which delayed his 50th game milestone.
The 21-year-old says Collingwood sees the match against Adelaide as a springboard for their finals campaign.
"If we win this game it will set us up better for the finals and if we don't it's just going to set us back," said Elliott,
"We've got a long way to go if we do lose this game."
He said the side spoke over the bye round about their faltering form and how they planned to approach the match.
"We're approaching it like it's a final and that's how we're preparing and we're going to come out like that."
Elliott felt the Magpies, at their best, could beat any challengers for the AFL flag but were letting themselves down through their inconsistency.
"If you talk to everyone we're capable of winning a premiership, but we've got to play very good football," he said.
"We're starting from a long way back, but when you do look at our best we're a very good team.
"If we don't play to our best we're a very bad team, so there's a big difference in how our performances are between those two."
The Magpies have missed Elliott's strike-power, only managing five goals in their 64-point loss against Essendon in their last outing.
He said he is raring to go.
"The body feels really good. I've trained a couple of times out here during full training.
"I'm jumping around and bouncing out of my skin, so I'm looking forward to it," Elliott said.
Swingman Ben Reid is is also a strong chance of playing his first AFL match of the season after battling a quad injury.
