Craig McRae is hopeful Jeremy Howe's injury setback is a minor one and has challenged Collingwood's midfield to maintain the rage despite their luxurious buffer on top of a crowded AFL ladder.
The Magpies took two-and-a-half quarters to kick a goal before storming to the lead, only to fall 10.9 (69) to 8.15 (63) to the Gold Coast on Friday night.
Howe (groin) was subbed out at halftime while Nick Daicos played on despite tweaking his ankle and then landing awkwardly after copping a hit from Connor Budarick while airborne.
McRae had seen enough to move brother Josh Daicos into the engine room instead and he responded with a 16-disposal, two-goal final quarter that almost got the visitors home.
Scott Pendlebury was the substitute and McRae admitted he resisted the temptation to bring on his star veteran even early after watching them kick 10 consecutive behinds to begin the game.
"I'm hearing minor from his mouth and from the doctors. Scans will confirm," McRae said of Howe.
"Yeah, (Nick) looked sore. I'm watching him run, and on the tape, and he wasn't getting to the contest like we love him to.
"We tried to move him around … he'll be better for it."
Matt Rowell (32 disposals, two goals, 13 tackles, 12 clearances) was typically bullish from the first bounce while Suns captain and fellow midfielder Noah Anderson had as many touches and kicked a brilliant final goal to seal the win.
"I just didn't love our mids at times tonight," McRae said.
"I didn't think we worked hard enough to contest, didn't get our hands dirty enough. That would be disrespecting Gold Coast … they were dominant around contest and clearance in that first half."
Collingwood (14-3) are still well clear of Brisbane (12-4-1), while the Suns (11-5) are one of four teams a win further back and well placed for a maiden finals campaign.
"The challenge every week is can you match the other team's strengths? Can you manage them?" McRae said of the mental battle to stay switched.
"And we didn't in the first half and then we did in the second.
"I'll look at it and go "why, what's the difference?"
"Again, that would be disrespecting what they did. This game is small margins."
