Night and day - Magpies reflect on first AFLW game

Jordy Allen says it will be a well prepared Magpies side that runs out for this year's AFLW opener. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Collingwood are priming themselves for a major re-boot when they open the 10th AFLW season against Carlton.

The August 14 match at Ikon Park will honour the first match of the women's league in January, 2017 - a sold-out clash featuring 24,000 fans at the same venue.

Collingwood are coming off the wooden spoon, with defender Jordy Allen saying their preparations have been much smoother so far after injuries cruelled them last year.

She added veterans Bri Davey (then at Carlton), Ruby Schleicher and Brit Bonnici had spoken to the team about playing in that historic first match.

Carlton's Daniella Hardiman kicks ahead of Magpie Moana Hope in AFLW's game one in 2017. (Joe Castro/AAP PHOTOS)

Allen noted the differences from then to now were, literally, night and day - training at night when the AFLW started, as opposed to the move to full-time football now.

"They just did a bit of a 'story time'. I was there - I was 16, in the crowd, there were some really different experiences," Allen said.

"Just how much the AFLW has changed since then, we got an insight into what their week looked like ... it is significantly different to what AFLW looks like now.

"It was a really, really nice reflection.

"Now we're starting to move closer to what a full-time training program looks like."

Collingwood sing the anthem at the 2017 AFLW opener against Carlton before a bumper crowd of 24,000. (Joe Castro/AAP PHOTOS)

The rest of the AFLW fixture will be announced later this week, but Allen said the lack of clarity about the season to come had not affected their preparation.

"It doesn't change what we do day-to-day. It's out of our hands and we're in the club, we rock up to training," she said.

"Whether we have a fixture or not, it's probably not changing what our focuses are in the pre-season."

Allen added that so far, the transition into the official pre-season after a long break had gone well.

"The nature of AFLW, you feel like you have a really long off-season. But the way we've been handled in the 'pre-', pre-season period has really set us up for success," she said.

"Obviously we were very injured last year and the way we've already come into this pre-season, we're absolutely flying.

"We're really healthy and that allows us to bank the minutes and get the reps in that we need."