The Swans have a tremendous winning record at home, having not lost a game all season, but have struggled to beat the Magpies since 2005. The main concern for the red and white is whether key defender Craig Bolton has recovered from a knee injury. Coach Paul Roos has rated him a “50-50” chance to play and said he won’t risk the All-Australian if he’s not fully fit.

Looking to add to their six game winning streak against the Swans is Collingwood, who have returned to form in recent weeks.

After copping two massive losses to St Kilda and Carlton by 88 points and 51 points respectively, the Magpies have won three games in a row and could find themselves in fourth place with a victory on Saturday night.

The possible return of Paul Medhurst from injury will be a huge boost for the Magpies forward line with Alan Didak regaining his form last week with a career-high 33 disposal and two goal effort against the Demons.

New Swans recruit Rhyce Shaw will face his old club for the first time since moving north at the end of last year. Shaw is having a great season in defence averaging 23 disposals a game. It will also be the first time he plays against his brother Heath, who played arguably his best game for the season in last week’s 66-point victory.

Can Rhyce’s inside knowledge of his former club spoil Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse’s 600-game coaching milestone? Malthouse will become only the third player in the history of the game to coach 600 AFL/VFL games. Jock McHale (714 games) and Kevin Sheedy (635 games) are the others to have reached the prestigious achievement.

The game’s potential match-ups make this match even more exciting. Who will play on Collingwood’s ball-magnet Dane Swan? Swan is leading the competition in total disposals and has amassed 116 touches from his last three matches. A potential match-up could be dual Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes who has been in scintillating form in recent weeks.

Another intriguing match-up could be whether stars of the AFL commercial ‘In a League of Its Own’, Kieren Jack and Leon Davis run with each other on Saturday night. Jack is becoming a star-stopper in the game, while Davis is making a name for himself as one of the competitions premier midfielders.

The Swans have been hit hard by injuries this year, especially to their younger players. Leo Barry is recovering from a knee injury but is not likely to play against Collingwood and Craig Bolton and Amon Buchanan will have to prove their fitness after knee injuries sustained in the Swans’ round 11 loss to Hawthorn.

For the first time this season Collingwood’s injury list is looking healthy with the main question mark surrounding Nathan Brown’s recovery from a knee injury. The week off should see Paul Medhurst back in the side after playing 70 percent of game time in the VFL on the weekend. Collingwood will also be hoping former Swan Anthony Rocca will return for his fourth game of the year. Others pushing for selection are Cameron Wood or Chris Bryan, along with youngsters Dayne Beams and Tyson Goldsack.

This match is going to be one of the biggest of the year as the rivalry between the Sydney Swans and Collingwood continues.

Tickets to this Saturday night 7pm match at ANZ Stadium are available from sydneyswans.com.au or ticketek.com.au. Tickets also include public transport to and from the game.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.