Magpies captain Pendlebury was a late withdrawal from the team that beat the Tigers by seven points in Moe on Saturday after experiencing soreness in his Achilles. Meanwhile Richmond spearhead Riewoldt was reported for making rough conduct to Magpie Jackson Ramsay in the second quarter before hurting his ankle late in the game.

However neither Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley nor his Richmond counterpart Damien Hardwick looked worried when asked whether their stars would be fine to play when the premiership season begins in less than a fortnight.

"We didn't know anything about [Pendlebury's] Achilles until 80 minutes before the game," Buckley said.

"He assures us it's nothing to worry about. It was precautionary as much as anything."

Hardwick looked even more relaxed than Buckley when asked about Riewoldt. He scoffed when questioned about Riewoldt's report, which seems destined to be thrown out by the match review panel on Monday given Ramsay played out the game after Riewoldt charged into his midriff. As for the injury, Hardwick said there was nothing to worry about. "[Riewoldt] was fine," he said.

"He was trying to get back on in the end but [it was] a conservative approach by us. He just came down awkwardly."

The Pies won despite missing several first-choice players. Of the other absentees, Daniel Wells (calf) looks highly unlikely to play in round one, while the club has not guaranteed Jamie Elliott (ankle) will be ready to play against the Western Bulldogs on Friday week. Buckley said he wasn't sure whether Levi Greenwood (hamstring tightness) would be available to face the Bulldogs either, but was optimistic about De Goey (thigh). Buckley also denied rumours that De Goey has a niggling toe issue.

The Pies are set to consider elevating both defender Henry Schade and forward Mason Cox from their rookie list, with the impending addition of Ben Sinclair to the long-term injury list giving them the chance to do so.

The Tigers also have two rookie elevations up their sleeve after Shaun Hampson was added to the long-term injury list during the week. Of their rookies, big men Mabior Chol and Ivan Soldo both showed promise, as did Jason Castagna.

Hardwick said the form of those three had given the Tigers something to ponder.

"We're pretty fortunate in a way, we've got a number of rookies who are playing well," Hardwick said.

"Castagna's peen playing some good football, Mabior Chol today I thought was terrific in bits and pieces...and then big Soldo at the end was really exciting for us.

"They're good questions to have coming into round one."

Hardwick hinted that Ben Lennon, Oleg Markov, Kamdyn McIntosh, Ben Griffiths and Ivan Maric were all in contention to face Carlton on Thursday week despite not playing against the Pies.

Buckley also defended under-fire recruit Chris Mayne, who was steady on Saturday, kicking two goals.

"That's the type of performance that we're looking for. It's a really good day for Mayney. It was good for him to really be able to sink his teeth into the contest, impact defensively," Buckley said.

"That speculation that exists around those boys: Mayne, Wells, we're really going early on them. It's going to take them a little bit of time to settle, to get to know their teammates and vice versa."

Hardwick blamed his side's lack of pressure early for their defeat. "We're a little bit disappointed with that, so we'll have a look at that and see if we can rectify it."