Morwell: Despite sitting out the final quarter against Carlton on Monday, Jamie Elliott is “cherry ripe” for Collingwood’s opening round clash with Geelong, with Jaidyn Stephenson and Jordan De Goey also expected to be available.

However Magpies veteran Ben Reid is set for yet another stint on the sidelines after hurting his quad in a VFL practice match on Sunday, with the versatile tall to be assessed in the coming days.

"Cherry ripe": Jamie Elliott impressed against Carlton on Monday. AAP

Injury-prone livewire Elliott looks poised to play his first premiership season game since round 23, 2017, and just his 18th since the end of 2015, after impressing in the Pies’ four-point JLT Community series win over Carlton at Morwell Recreation Reserve.

Elliott kicked two goals but didn’t feature in the final term, however Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley insisted that it was nothing to worry about despite Elliott’s leg receiving some attention from Pies staff late in the third quarter.

“That was precautionary,” Buckley said.

“He wanted to continue, he wanted to keep going, but that was our call just to pull him. He’s had a really strong pre-season, he’s been in great shape, and he’s cherry ripe for the beginning of the year.

“[He’s] got the capacity to hit the scoreboard and I think he’s underrated for his ability to play a role, make the right decisions at the right time, and the contest that he wins and on the ground. His capacity to finish is the cream on top.”

While Taylor Adams will miss the early part of the season with a finger injury, the Pies’ availability for round one is relatively good, with De Goey (foot) and Stephenson (groin tightness) both tipped by Buckley to be available for the meeting with the Cats at the MCG on Friday week.

The news isn’t as good for Reid, who was limited to just six senior games last year.

“We’re really disappointed for Reidy. He’s had a really strong pre-season. It’s bad timing, and it’s frustrating for Reidy and for us,” Buckley said.

With debate about the changed rules for runners having flared in recent days, Buckley said he would be surprised if the AFL opted to go back on their amendments ahead of round one, although he acknowledged it would be good able to use runners more often.

“I don’t think the runners have been a particular blight on the game, or the view of the game. As a coach you want to have a few more opportunities to pull levers and to have some eyes and ears go out ... but the reality is we’ve prepared all season for not having it,” Buckley said.

“We have no fears either way.”

The Blues also emerged unscathed from Monday’s game, with assistant coach John Barker drawing plenty from the clash.

“There’s some real positives to take out of today from our point of view, regardless of the final score,” Barker said.

“There’s parts of our system that are standing up at the moment, even though there’s still a lot of growth in a number of parts of the way we play and the mechanics of what we do. But their gelling together, their synergy just continues to grow.”

Blues ruckman Matthew Kreuzer is continuing to press for a spot in the side to face Richmond next Thursday night despite not appearing in the JLT series following off-season knee surgery, while recruit Alex Fasolo got through the VFL practice game against the Pies on Sunday after breaking his arm in an incident over the Australia Day weekend.