Collingwood’s defensive frailties and not the absence of Nick Daicos have left its midfield looking “slow” in recent weeks according to coach Craig McRae, who confirmed backman Nathan Murphy would miss Friday‘s clash with Essendon.
But Jordan de Goey and Bobby Hill will return as the ladder leaders look to turn around a run of three losses from four games heading into finals.
McRae conceded the run of losses, to Hawthorn, Carlton and Brisbane with a win over Geelong in between had “exposed” some deficiencies, but the loss of Daicos to injury was only part of the problem as the side struggles to defend the full ground.
“You look slow when you’re chasing tail … we’re not defending the ground well enough, and there’s parts of your game that are maybe exposed,” McRae said.
“When we get our system right, those things won’t show up as much, if that’s an…