Alex Fasolo isn’t expected to set the world on fire in his first AFL appearance of the season, but he could provide the spark for a misfiring Collingwood attack.
Fasolo, skipper Scott Pendlebury and Tom Langdon were all included for Saturday night’s clash against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.
Shoulder surgery interrupted Fasolo’s pre-season, but the lively forward has been made to work hard for his AFL spot since returning to full fitness.
The 25-year-old kicked 11 goals in five games in the VFL to earn back a place in a forward line coming off a season-low five goals in a loss to Geelong.
“He’s put a body of work together in the VFL and he should feel really confident coming in for his next opportunity,” coach Nathan Buckley told reporters on Friday.
“We’re a different team to last year, we’ve got slightly different expectations and a greater understanding of what each role is and ‘Fas’ will be expected to come in and play that and then bring his strengths to the table at the same time.
“Fas has played some really good footy through the VFL and earned his opportunity and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do.”
Buckley declared Pendlebury a certain starter after he missed the Magpies’ 21-point loss to the Cats with an ankle injury.
His return is timely for the 11th-placed Pies as they look to improve on their 4-4 record against a Saints team which has failed to live up to expectations.
St Kilda’s only win of the season came in round one, with Alan Richardson’s side currently on a three-game losing run.
“They’re a really attacking side, they like to play a fast brand of footy, so that challenges you defensively and challenges your capacity to stay in shape,” Buckley said of St KIlda.
“They’ve actually defended quite well when they’ve got the ball in their front half … they’ve been able to lock it in pretty well and turn the ball over.
“They’ve just had scoring difficulties, so there’s elements of their game that are really strong that we need to pay respect to.”
The Saints have lost Sam Gilbert, Blake Acres and Jake Carlisle to injury, with Bailey Rice – who will debut – Jack Sinclair and Jack Lonie coming into the team.
