Collingwood ruckman Josh Fraser has cast doubt over his participation in the AFL Hall of Fame tribute match on May 10.

Fraser, who was selected in Victoria's 40-man squad for the game, is a good chance of being picked in the final team after returning to form against North Melbourne on Saturday night.

But he has admitted that a long pre-season compounded by two successive six-day turn-arounds between matches for the Magpies has taken a toll.

Fraser revealed he was struggling to recover in time for matches, meaning he would prefer the week off to rest his body instead of playing in the Hall of Fame match.

"It's been a long campaign for us - going to Dubai, playing the game there and then obviously leading into the start of the season, we've had some pretty solid matches," Fraser said.

"It would be a great honour to play (in the tribute match) but there's part of me that would probably enjoy a break.

"We just have to wait and see - they've named a couple of ruckmen in the squad so I've got to make sure my form's up and about before I worry about that game."

Teammate Rhyce Shaw echoed Fraser's feelings about Collingwood's tough start to the year and said the team's style of football had become physically taxing.

"It's been pretty tough," Fraser said

"With the nature of the way we play our footy, it's always going to be pretty hard and one-on-one footy is the way we want to go so that's the way it is."

While both Fraser and Shaw are adamant the Magpies were better than their 2-3 win loss record, Fraser admitted the side has been found out with inconsistent performances.

Fraser said the team's primary concern has been their failure to string together four quarters of good football.

With the Magpies facing flag contenders Hawthorn, St Kilda and Geelong in the upcoming four rounds, Fraser accepted there would be extra pressure on Friday's Anzac Day clash with Essendon at the MCG.

"We've had a close look at Essendon already this week and there in some pretty impressive form, albeit they lost on the weekend," he said.

"They're playing an exciting brand of footy and one which is pretty hard to stop when they're up and running so the challenge is there for us and obviously a really important game for the football club."

Magpies captain Scott Burns (calf) is still under an injury cloud for the clash after he failed to complete Tuesday's full training session.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP