AFL premiers Collingwood are set to bolster their line-up with a number of big names for their NAB Cup semi-final against West Coast on Saturday.

Ruckman Darren Jolly is expected to make his first appearance of the year while Alan Didak (pectoral), Tyson Goldsack (virus) and Brad Dick (shoulder) are also in the mix to play at Patersons Stadium in Perth.

Dane Swan will back up after playing his first game for the year last week.

Magpies assistant coach Mark Neeld, who will take over the reins for the match, said those players just needed to fulfil their final training requirements to play.

He said the travel factor wouldn't impact on their line-up.

"At the start of the NAB Cup series, each player had their own individual program and with that comes how many games we think they need to play in the pre-season and we'll follow that," Neeld said.

"We see travel to Perth as a great warm-up for travel through the year.

"Probably up to 50 per cent of our side will not have played an AFL standard game interstate so it's a great experience for them."

Neeld said the Eagles, who have accounted for the Dockers, Hawks and Suns through the pre-season competition, would challenge the champions.

"They're a good young side," he said.

"Scotty Burns (Eagles assistant coach and a former Collingwood captain) through their midfield is throwing up a few tricks at the stoppages.

"... Playing three ruckmen worked for them last week so that presents challenges for us.

"(Nic) Naitanui, (Dean) Cox and (Quinten) Lynch are a couple of good, young, solid bodies that are in there. And taking a couple of ruckmen to the stoppage and trying to work out who's going to jump, that's all good because it presents some challenges for us."

Neeld said whatever line-up Collingwood sent out for the semi-final would be playing all out to win.

"That's the way that we'll approach it ... we'll select a side and the side that's playing will be coached to win the game.

"I read what (West Coast coach) John Worsfold said about the NAB Cup, that no-one remembers how you go in the NAB Cup, it's all about the season.

"We tend to support that theory a little bit but we use it as a platform to build."

With the AFL reportedly considering trialling 16 players a team, Neeld was happy he was now a coach and not a player.

He said he had no issue with the AFL "evolving the game".

"Sixteen a side with the substitute rule, I'm glad I'm a coach not a player because I reckon that'd be hard on the players but that's for the players and their association to work through.

"If you're going to bring in 16 players and open up the game and speed it up and reduce their rest time, you never know."

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