Collingwood’s mid-season recruit John Noble will have an AFL baptism of fire on Friday night when he makes his senior debut against West Coast.

The speedy 22-year-old midfielder will join a team that has hit a significant mid-season form wobble for the blockbuster night grand final rematch at a packed Optus Stadium in Perth.

While the third-placed Magpies are coming off a woeful performance against North Melbourne and a tight loss to Hawthorn, the second-placed reigning premiers have won their last three games and mauled Fremantle in last weekend’s Western Derby.

If Noble is nervous, the West Adelaide recruit is keeping it well-hidden.

Instead, he was pinching himself at how massively his life has changed since Collingwood recruited him in late May with the second-last pick of the mid-season draft.

“It’s very overwhelming … if you told me I’d be making my debut this time, at the start of the year I’d probably say ‘you’re kidding’,” Noble said.

“It’s a childhood dream.”

Coach Nathan Buckley has no doubt that Noble will be ready.

Buckley likes a lot about Noble, noting his speed, ball use, appetite for the contest and football smarts.

“His strengths are going to make us better and we think he’s going to give us a better chance to win on Friday night,” Buckley said.

Mason Cox is also a confirmed starter for Friday night, despite the big American forward’s form woes of late.

Asked what he wants from Cox, Buckley replied: “Don’t let the opposition mark it.”

Doing better in the contest was a major theme of Buckley’s Wednesday media conference.

“He’s not going to mark everything, but we do need him to compete really heavily – as we do with all our forwards, or our key backs,” Buckley said of Cox.

“Our aerial work wasn’t great last week in the front half … and it needs to be better if we’re to give ourselves a chance.”

More broadly, Buckley said Collingwood know exactly how they can emerge from their woes, regardless of who plays.

“Personnel has never been an issue for us,” he said.

“Our players have a really clear understanding of the way we want to go about the game

“It’s why it’s pretty simple where the answers are for us – it’s just a matter of executing.

“You do ebb and flow out of form, but we’re not catastrophising at all about where we’re at.”

West Coast have won their last four games against Collingwood and Buckley said there are obvious reasons.

“I would suggest the simple elements, the basic elements of the game – the contest and the pressure – are what the Eagles have done consistently better than we have in our games,” he said.

“We’ve generally started well and then really their midfielders out-worked ours.

“That’s what good teams ask of you and what you need to answer.”