SCOTT Pendlebury has assured Collingwood officials he will be fit for Round 1 after missing the Pies’ final pre-season game with an achilles injury.

The Magpies skipper said the problem flared on Friday before he “felt it a tiny bit” during a solo warm-up on Moe’s Ted Summerton Reserve ahead of the meeting with Richmond.

Pendlebury was prepared to play, but coach Nathan Buckley was taking no chances 12 days out from the Pies’ season-opener against the Western Bulldogs.

STAR REPORTED: RIEWOLDT TO FACE MRP

MATCH REPORT: PIES HOLD OFF FAST-FINISHING TIGERS

Jordan De Goey (thigh) and Levi Greenwood (hamstring tightness) are also in doubt for the first Friday night match of the year.

“I didn’t hear anything about it and we didn’t know anything about his achilles until basically 80 minutes before the game,” Buckley said.

media_camera In the absence of Scott Pendlebury, Adam Treloar stood up for Collingwood. Picture: Getty Images

“He went and had a run around on his own and we shifted the team sheet. He assures us it’s nothing to worry about and it was precautionary as much as anything.

“The skipper is good.”

Asked if Greenwood and De Goey would recover in time to face the Bulldogs, Buckley said: “We don’t know. We think so, yeah.”

But the coach was encouraged by the performance of an understrength engine room, which started in blazing fashion before tiring late in the seven-point win.

“We clearly were a bit skinny in our midfield today ... so it was a pretty good effort to see James Aish go through, (Travis) Varcoe play a bit more time in there, (Jarryd) Blair ... those guys have to step up at times,” Buckley said.

“It’s going to happen. There’s going to be times when you’re going to have your first choice players unavailable through suspensions or injury and there’s going to be times when different guys have to step up. We’re more than a one man show.”

Adam Treloar, Taylor Adams, Jackson Ramsay and Jack Crisp accumulated 29 disposals each to fill the void, while Josh Smith had 29 off half-back as the Pies finished with the top seven possession winners on the ground, before tiring in the last quarter.

media_camera Travis Varcoe won plenty of the football for Collingwood on Saturday. Picture: Getty Images

“It’s the first 120-minute game we’ve played and the first time we’ve had the capped rotations and I think we had about 89,” he said.

“So it’s always going to happen and fatigue crept in a little bit. But when the game was up for grabs early we were happy with our ability to put heat on Richmond and then use the ball cleanly to get out of that.

“Like every side you work on things through the pre-season and we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of doing it consistently. But I think there’s enough evidence there to suggest that when we do it — and it’s good for the players to see — that we’re going to give ourselves a chance.”