Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse says Melbourne's proven ability to upstage the Magpies in their traditional Queen's Birthday clash makes the Demons a more dangerous AFL opponent than their form suggests.

The Magpies could hardly be hotter favourites for Monday's MCG meeting on the back of huge wins over Geelong and West Coast in the past two weeks.

The Demons are struggling at the foot of the ladder and have lost stars David Neitz (retirement), Russell Robertson (season-ending injury) and speedster Aaron Davey (hamstring).

But Malthouse said it was still not a game the Magpies could afford to take lightly.

The Demons upset Collingwood at the same stage last season and both sides head into the clash in almost identical situations to 2007.

Melbourne go into the match with just one win under their belts just as they did last year while Collingwood have six wins this campaign compared to seven last season.

"We haven't won a game against Melbourne on this particular occasion for the last four years," Malthouse said.

"We're in good form, Melbourne have had an indifferent last month.

"But they challenged Hawthorn (in round nine) where we couldn't (in round seven) and that makes them dangerous.

"Any side that can do what we didn't I highly rate. They fell away last week but sometimes with young kids it's hard to hold them up all the time.

"But they've still got some wonderful players and if they get up and they bring the kids in with them, big fight."

Meanwhile, Malthouse said he was humbled to be moving to equal-third on the all-time list of VFL/AFL games coached, with Monday's match his 575th.

He joins former Hawthorn, St Kilda and Richmond coach Allan Jeans, behind only Jock McHale (714 games with Collingwood) and Kevin Sheedy (635 games with Essendon).

"I've never worried about numbers but, this one here, given the fact it's with Allan Jeans, is humbling. It's significant because it's something to reflect on," Malthouse said.

"When I reflect on nearly 37 years straight (as a player and coach in the VFL/AFL) I've been fortunate to work from the 70s, 80s, 90s and into this decade with young men with ambitions of realising their dreams.

"I look at Jeans and I think, 'how much did I learn from Allan Jeans?' - An enormous amount, and it's quite humbling to have the same numbers, albeit a totally different generation."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP