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AAP
AAP
Justin Chadwick

Collingwood coach defends cramping Nick Daicos

Magpies coach Craig McRae is not concerned by Nick Daicos's cramping in the first half against GWS. (Jason O'BRIEN/AAP PHOTOS)

Collingwood coach Craig McRae has leapt to the defence of Nick Daicos, declaring the star midfielder's cramping woes last week were a result of "off-the-chart" running.

The Magpies faded badly in Sunday's 52-point loss to GWS, conceding six of the last seven goals of the match to mark a poor start to the season.

The big fadeout was in stark contrast to previous years when the Magpies built a reputation for their ability to run over opposition sides, especially in close matches.

The sight of Nick Daicos cramping in the first half against GWS raised some external alarm bells, but McRae was quick to brush them aside.

"I know he cramped and it's such an anomaly for him. We've never seen him cramp before," McRae said of Daicos, who finished with 21 disposals for the match.

"But when you look at his GPS in the first half, it was off the charts.

"I've never seen anyone run as hard for as long as he did in that first half.

"His high-speed running was like next level. No one in the competition would probably match that.

"So we've got to protect him from himself sometimes."

When asked whether he feared his side simply wasn't fit enough to handle the hot conditions, McRae was emphatic in his answer.

"No, zero fear," he said. 

"Clearly we weren't happy with how we played, more so than handling the conditions.

"We need to work on our game in terms of getting our systems right to be able to look like we've got more energy, and that's something we've gone to work on this week."

Another area of concern for the Magpies was the tackle count, which GWS won 59-39.

McRae dismissed suggestions his team wasn't tough enough.

"I wouldn't go, 'we're not tough enough' (based on the tackle count)," McRae said.

"But we want to tackle and pressure the opposition better than what we did."

Collingwood will be boosted by the inclusion of new recruit Dan Houston for Saturday night's clash with his former side Port Adelaide at the MCG.

Houston missed the loss to GWS due to having to serve the final match of a five-game suspension from last year.

Ruckman Mason Cox is fit to return after recovering from a finger injury, but there are still doubts on Jeremy Howe (knee) and Josh Daicos (ankle).

Will Hoskin-Elliott has been ruled out after copping a knee to the back against the Giants, while Jordan De Goey (knee bruising) will miss at least another week.

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