In his first competitive game since taking the reins from Dean Stone, the former Collingwood star has a host of players pushing their case to play after strong displays in pre-season.

"We're four days out and there's a few things we still don't know which way we're going to go in terms of selection," Reid said.

"It's a good position to be in, in terms of not knowing yet, and more guys putting their hands up. It makes it tough for the coaches but you'd rather have it that way.

"We had a really good hitout on Thursday night last week with about 39 players on the track and that shows they're committed and keen to get into it.

"Motivation levels at the start were tough but as the pre-season's gone on, you can see guys are starting to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel."

It's almost a year sides the sides last met, the Magpies losing by 12 points in Albury.

"They absolutely smashed us in contested ball, so that's one thing we've got to stop," Reid said.

"They've got a really good midfield with guys like (Fletcher) Carroll and (Anthony) Miles through there so we're going to have our work cut out but we're looking forward to the challenge.

"What better way to start the season than against the best from last year because it'll show us where we stand."

ALSO IN SPORT

Reid's experienced a pre-season unlike any other in his decorated career after taking on the senior coach's role but there's one element of his preparation which hasn't changed.

"I'm probably looking forward to it more as a player than coaching," Reid said.

"I'm lucky I've got a really good coaching group around me and once we get to the game and the week's done, I can delegate the roles a bit to 'Stoney', Jon Henry and Dale Carmody."

James McClounan (ankle) will miss the game, which starts at 6pm.

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