IN A quiet moment, Collingwood officials should offer a prayer of thanks to the Fremantle Football Club. Not only did the Dockers donate James Clement and Paul Medhurst to the black and white cause, but their under-achievements have spared the Magpies from the blowtorch that usually follows an ugly defeat.

Collingwood was on the same level as Hawthorn in 2007 and was definitely superior to the Hawks in September. But, as last Saturday's knockout confirmed, a maturing Hawthorn is now the No. 1 contender for Geelong's belt, while the Pies are scrapping like a mid-ladder middleweight: a good performance here, a narrow loss there and a couple of awful beatings.

At 3-4, they're at least one win, probably two, below par. They've found the rough, not the water and still have time to shoot a decent score, but the manner of the defeats to Carlton, Hawthorn and North Melbourne must be troubling for a club that was projected as top-four material.

Whereas Collingwood under Mick Malthouse has been viewed as a club with more grit than talent, the Magpies entered 2008 in the unfamiliar position of owning a playing list that outsiders actually rated.

Nathan Buckley and Clement would be missed, but they'd missed large chunks of 2007 and the anticipated natural improvement of youth would more than compensate for the retirements. The acquisition of Cameron Wood from the Brisbane Lions would somewhat redress the most pressing weakness, the ruck.

Collingwood appeared formidable. That it's been closer to mediocre is due to combination of factors, four of which stand out:

1. PREPARATION

Collingwood took a different tack in its pre-season preparations for 2008. Instead of holding its high-altitude training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona in November, the club chose South Africa for a January-February altitude camp. They then went straight to Dubai for their dismal NAB Cup opener, when it was clear the Pies were either unwell and/or flattened by the training regime.

The Magpies knew that they might not begin 2008 as advanced as they had been in the two previous seasons, when they were 8-2 and 7-3 after 10 rounds. The hope was - and remains - that they would storm home down the back stretch. The charge, if it comes, might be too late.

Close losses to Brisbane and the Roos underscore how the so-so preparation might prove costly; they are the type of games Collingwood tended to win early in 2007.

Then there are the individual struggles for fitness and touch. Tyson Goldsack and Harry O'Brien were behind the eight ball in the pre-season and have been out of form as a result. Anthony Rocca, too, was restricted in his pre-season and it does not take a sports science doctorate to guess that he needs plenty of track work to perform on game day.

2. LEADERSHIP

Ideally, Clement would not have retired until 2010, buying the club time until the better leadership prospects - such as Scott Pendlebury, Heath Shaw - would be sufficiently mature to take charge. The exits of Buckley and Clement were not staggered, however, and the upshot was that Collingwood had little choice but to install 33-year-old Scott Burns as captain.

While Burns is an inspiring figure, the mere fact that the Magpies could not find a suitable, long-term skipper from its 24- to 28-year-old demographic demonstrates the lack of viable leaders in what is the core group in most successful teams.

Josh Fraser is a talented but less than physically imposing performer, Nick Maxwell is physically imposing but less talented. No one was quite right.

Buckley and Clement also were forceful in their leadership styles but they had presence on the field, and presence of mind. In recent defeats, the Magpies have not seemed able to halt or reverse the opposition's momentum. When Burns is absent, as he was against North and Carlton, the void appears more acute.

It is easily forgotten that while Buckley and Clement both missed sizeable chunks of 2007 and the team stood up OK without them, their return - and that of the now-absent Sean Rusling - helped vault the Magpies from sixth to within five points of Geelong in a preliminary final.

3. SECOND- AND THIRD-YEAR BLUES

Martin Clarke's progress in the space of 12 months was probably unprecedented, and, as with Collingwood overall, this created expectations he has been unable to fulfil. Did the Gaelic football he played, however fleeting, over summer compromise his preparation? Who can say. Whatever the cause, he has struggled.

Dale Thomas, meanwhile, has been unable to string together enough dynamic moments to constitute consistency. His past three performances have been sub-standard. Small forward in a struggling team is not the best position in which to find touch; perhaps a stint on the ball, or defence, might be the jolt he and his team need.

Goldsack and O'Brien have lost ground after problematic pre-seasons, while Travis Cloke and Pendlebury have been a notch below their 2007 standard, when they quinellaed the best and fairest.

4. NO GAME BREAKERS

Alan Didak is perhaps Collingwood's most dangerous player, but he can't change the course of the game from the midfield in the manner of Chris Judd, Gary Ablett, Luke Hodge, Daniel Kerr and Jimmy Bartel. Heath Shaw is a half-back flanker, Cloke and Pendlebury, while elite talents, are 21 and 20 respectively.

With no bona fide superstars, the Pies don't have a cruising gear and rely on an even contribution, high intensity and the application of unremitting pressure on the opposition. Without such effort, they are where they are: eighth.