Carlton are yet to lose an AFLW game to arch-rivals Collingwood, but Blues coach Daniel Harford says this year’s Magpies are a different proposition to the easybeats of last season.

After failing to make the finals in their first three AFLW campaigns, Collingwood overhauled their program and new coach Steve Symonds guided them to their first-ever round one win.

The Pies’ victory over West Coast sets up a big Sunday clash at Ikon Park against the Blues, who accounted for Richmond in round one.

“A lot of people would think about them as the team that won one game … in round seven (last year),” Harford told reporters on Saturday.

“But they’re much better than that.

“… They’ve got some really good players and they seem to be a bit more dynamic with their ball movement.

“So we’ve got to be really strong at the contest like we were (in round one).

“If we can replicate that, we’ll give ourselves a good chance but they (Collingwood) are different … this year.”

The much-anticipated grudge match with former Carlton skipper-turned-Magpie Bri Davey didn’t eventuate after she was ruled out with a shin injury.

The Blues’ recent No.2 draft pick Lucy McEvoy has gone some way toward replacing Davey’s on-field output, the versatile midfielder earning a rising star nomination for her eye-catching AFLW debut.

“She’s a ripper, Lucy, and what I loved about the way that she played was that she just expressed her personality,” Harford said.

“She was into everything, she was bubbly, she was vibrant at all ends of the ground.

“Lucy is an outstanding football talent but her personality shone through as well, which I was rapt about because it infiltrates the group too.”