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Cloke looms for Power clash as Magpies forward line decimated

Port Adelaide could face out-of-favour Magpies forward Travis Cloke on Sunday, with the two-time All Australian looking in line for an AFL recall as Collingwood was yesterday plunged into an injury crisis.

May 30, 2016, updated May 30, 2016
Alex Fasolo was among the walking wounded on the Collingwood bench. Photo: Julian Smith, AAP.

Alex Fasolo was among the walking wounded on the Collingwood bench. Photo: Julian Smith, AAP.

The Magpies finished their 21-point loss to the Western Bulldogs with no fit players on the bench – a first for Nathan Buckley in a playing and coaching career spanning 20 years.

The toll included defender Alan Toovey (concussion), midfielder Taylor Adams (hamstring) and important attacking duo Alex Fasolo (shoulder) and Darcy Moore (collarbone).

The Magpies slipped to a 4-6 win-loss record after the 11.8 (74) to 7.11 (53) defeat and will need to regroup ahead of another MCG clash against the Power this Sunday.

The 29-year-old Cloke, a veteran of 237 AFL games, has not been sighted at senior level since round four.

Buckley said the fallout from Sunday’s match would necessitate a change of approach on the training track this week.

“You always adjust in training from the evidence the game is telling you – whether it’s strategic or tactical or whether it’s management or load,” he said.

“We will tailor our training for our next opponent and for our own physical status.”

Buckley said he did not make a issue of the crippling injury toll to his players at three-quarter time on Sunday, when the Magpies were clinging to a three-point lead.

“We didn’t talk about who wasn’t there,” he said.

“We weren’t sure on (Fasolo) at the time, we had one rotation but in the end that toll told on us ultimately.

“But there were plenty of areas where we were in control of early on, where we needed to gap the opposition in some shape or form and we weren’t able to do it.”

-AAP

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