Top Trio Likely To Return

The Age

Thursday September 4, 2008

Nick Sheridan

COLLINGWOOD is likely to be boosted by the return of three of its most important players from injury for the elimination final against Adelaide on Saturday.

Skipper Scott Burns (calf), forward Dale Thomas (calf) and defender Shane Wakelin (groin) are all good chances to return to the side, ruckman Josh Fraser said yesterday.

Fraser said Burns, who missed last week's game, was improving daily.

"He's probably got to tick a few more boxes, but I think he's edging closer towards putting his hand up to play," Fraser said.

"He's a straightshooter. He's really honest with his body and he's honest with his teammates, so that's encouraging."

Fraser said Wakelin and Thomas, who both completed the full training session yesterday, could add some much-needed experience to the young Magpies.

And Collingwood's red-hot key forward, Travis Cloke, is anticipating a rematch with defender Nathan Bock when he lines up at AAMI Stadium.

"He's in pretty good form at the moment, so it'll be a big achievement for me to try and knock him over," Cloke said.

"We played (against each other) in round 15 and he had me for the first half and I had him for the second half, so I'm just looking forward to the opportunity to play on him once again."

© 2008 The Age

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