Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says returning forward Travis Cloke took "a step in the right direction" in his side's 48-point win over Fremantle at the MCG on Friday night.
Cloke had 14 disposals, took seven marks and kicked 2.2 in what was just his second game since round four. Having failed to kick a goal three weeks ago against Port Adelaide - a showing that prompted a second stint this year in the VFL - Cloke's majors were his first at AFL level since mid-April.
Buckley said the under-fire veteran had performed solidly.
"He played his role," Buckley said.
"It was encouraging for him. It was a step in the right direction."
The Pies went goalless in the third term, opening the door for the Dockers, but Buckley said Cloke led from the front in the final stanza to steer the Pies to safety. "I thought in the third [quarter] our forwards didn't work hard enough to get back in front of the ball. We got caught lateral to the ball and Freo were able to get two and three extra players in our forward 50. The work rate dropped off a little bit there. It made it difficult for us to hold our ball in the forward 50."
"I thought for the large part, Clokey and Jess [Jesse White] in particular were two that found a little bit extra for that first 15 minutes of the last just to stabilise the game."
The Magpies held the Dockers to just five goals for the night, and Buckley said it was in no small-part due to the increasing stability of their defence, which has been hit by injuries and indifferent form in the first half of the season. "Having [Ben Redi] Reidy back and play as much footy as he has after a couple of years that he's happy to have behind him has been pretty important for us. Jeremy's [Jeremy Howe] been a lock in the last couple of months, we've pumped games into Brayden Maynard and he's starting to come along, it was good to see Browny [Nathan Brown] back, Jonathon Marsh probably played his best of a handful of games that he's played."
Buckley also noted Ben Sinclair and Marley Williams, two other backman to have been hit by injuries earlier in the season. "We want to be as stable as we possibly can."
Collingwood (5-8) face Carlton next Saturday night at the MCG. Friday night's crowd of 20,320 was the Pies' lowest attendance at the MCG since 1940.
Dockers coach Ross Lyon labelled his side's one-goal first half as "uncompetive".
"From our end everything went wrong," Lyon said.
"But Collingwood made that happen.
"Our midfield got obliterated, didn't compete in the manner we expect around the ball.
"We looked at the guys at half time and they looked pristine."
The Dockers had found form in recent weeks, winning three games in a row, but the loss means they head to their bye at 3-11 before facing Melbourne in Darwin.
"I think it's obviously a step back," Lyon said of the loss.
Midfielder Lachie Neale hurt his shoulder in the third term, but Lyon played down the incident, describing the star's injury as a "stinger".
