MOST club supporters have a favourite whipping boy, and for a surprisingly large number of Collingwood fans, that target appears to be Josh Fraser.

No, he's not overly physical. Yes, he can have the odd shocker. But if the scans on Fraser's injured knee today deliver news a fair bit worse than the extremely optimistic prognosis being served up by the club yesterday, the

knockers may get to find out in painful fashion why their barbs would be best directed elsewhere.

Estimates on his absence have differed wildly, but even if Fraser misses only two to three games, Collingwood fans are going to have driven home to them just what he offers.

There's the average of 14 disposals a week, one goal and couple of tackles he continues to produce. But it's as much the capacity to offer a ruck contest and at least give his on-ball teammates a chance at winning a disposal in the hottest part of the ground that will be missed most. Particularly against a spread of opponents over the next three weeks including St Kilda, Geelong and West Coast, and particularly when Fraser's replacement as No. 1 ruck for the Pies will be the the talented but very raw Cameron Wood.

When it comes to the ruck, even without the injured Steven King, the Saints have an old hand in Michael Gardiner, a big task indeed for Wood, still with just 23 AFL games to his name, and having played about one-third of them this season.

If Wood doesn't learn enough there, he'll doubtless pick up some handy hints playing the following week against Geelong, Mark Blake and a Brad Ottens returning from injury.

The week after that it's West Coast, and Dean Cox. Enough said.

It's a fair array of ruck talent, and given the struggles of Collingwood's engine room lately, talent that could prove decisive.