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Collingwood coach Craig McRae has admitted Nick Daicos would have been underdone if the young superstar had been forced to return for a semi-final.

But the Magpies don't have to rush back the Brownlow Medal contender after winning through to the preliminary final by beating Melbourne and earning a week off.

Collingwood lost the inside-50 count by a staggering 32 (69-37) and had to contend with a fierce Melbourne fightback in the last quarter to prevail in Thursday night's qualifying final by seven points - 9.6 (60) to 7.11 (53).

Daicos has been sidelined since hurting his knee in an upset loss to Hawthorn in round 21 but the 20-year-old has stepped up his training this week.

Collingwood will be at full strength, after the successful return of captain Darcy Moore against Melbourne, for a preliminary final at the MCG, against Brisbane, Port Adelaide, GWS or St Kilda.

"It gives Nick an extra week to try and prepare; he probably would have come in a bit short next week," McRae said.

"Probably would have played, he's progressing really well, but now he gets another week of training and loading and whatever that looks like.

"He said it was the worst two hours of his life watching the game.

"But he's a great player. So any time you can welcome back your best players...you saw what happened we bring Darcy Moore and all of a sudden someone else falls in line.

"He's certainly going to be a valuable player when he comes back in a couple of weeks."

Such is Collingwood's depth, McRae made the tough call to drop John Noble for the clash with the Demons after the running defender played in the Magpies' 83 previous games.

"It's hard, good players are going out of the team," McRae said.

"He's significant getting us to this moment, 'Nobes'.

"Tough decisions need to be made, it comes with a heavy heart."

Collingwood lost two thrillers (to eventual grand finalists Geelong and Sydney) during last year's finals series to exit at the preliminary final stage but used that experience to overcome the wasteful Demons.

"I spoke before the game about being being grateful for what we have. We're very lucky to be to in this position, 10 teams would love to be in our position still playing," McRae said.

© AAP 2023

Adam Reynolds insists his and Brisbane's horror records against Melbourne are irrelevant headed into the NRL finals series opener.

Reynolds must overcome a nightmare history against the Storm on Friday night, if he is to guide Brisbane into their first preliminary final since 2017.

The key man in the qualifying final at Suncorp Stadium, Reynolds has won just two of 17 career games against the Storm since his debut at South Sydney in 2012.

And while Souths are renowned for struggling against the Storm, Brisbane's record is hardly any better.

The Broncos have now lost their last 14 games straight against the Storm, with their last victory coming way back in 2016.

But as far as Reynolds - their captain and halfback who arrived ahead of the 2022 season - is concerned, that is irrelevant.

The 33-year-old is quick to point out that he did not play in last week's match against the Storm, and lasted only 17 minutes in their other clash this year in round 11.

Before that, Reynolds also sat out the Broncos' 32-20 loss to Melbourne last year, with his only full game against the Storm for Brisbane a 48-point defeat in August 2022.

"We're playing a different brand of football than they've probably experienced from a Brisbane team in the past couple of years," Reynolds told AAP.

"They've been a great team for a long time now, and when you're not the best team in the competition it's hard to beat the best team.

"But it's a different story this year. We've gone down to them twice, once in Melbourne where I got injured and I didn't play last week. We rested a lot of players."

Friday night's qualifying final looms as crucial, with the winner to earn a week off and a home preliminary final.

"Obviously the record is still there, but records are meant to be broken," Reynolds said.

"We're a different team with completely different structures and the confidence is a lot different to when (Brisbane) were playing them in the previous years."

Melbourne prop Christian Welch said it was because of the Storm's respect for Reynolds and his kicking game that they had done such a good job on the half in the past.

Storm players have already vowed to ensure they keep the pressure on Reynolds on Friday night, fearing if they don't it will allow Brisbane's big men to control the territorial battle.

"It's Adam Reynolds. He's probably the best kicker in the game. You have to go get him, because if you don't, he will kill you," Welch said.

"One of the biggest thing with this club is putting pressure on. You don't want to give guys like Adam Reynolds, because they're so lethal, time to make decisions.

"So it's always been a big role for us forwards at the Storm. You need to come out of the line and pressure a kicker."

© AAP 2023

Ethan Ewing is poised to make a remarkable recovery from multiple back fractures as one of four Australians vying for world surfing titles in California.

The Queenslander fractured his L3 and L4 vertebrae in a Teahupo'o wipeout ahead of the Tahiti Pro early last month.

His absence from that event dropped him from second to third in the Championship Tour standings and left Ewing scrambling to be fit for the WSL Finals at Lower Trestles.

But the Stradbroke Island talent will chase a maiden title, looking sharp in pre-event sessions with retired Australian great Mick Fanning to emphatically prove his fitness.

"I definitely didn't think I was going to be here," Ewing said ahead of the tournament window opening on Friday night (AEST).

"I was really worried about making a full recovery but just had a really good team around me and been getting lots of support.

"He (Fanning) could still be in the finals with a shot at the title.

"He keeps me pretty humble and it's good to have that support and someone to surf with."

Compatriot Jack Robinson won the Tahiti Pro to secure his spot in the final five, sneaking into fifth after a year also impacted by injury.

"It's in me now from what I've been through this year ... just let it shine," he said of his mantra to 'let the light in'.

NSW 20-year-old Molly Picklum is the women's fourth seed while Tyler Wright will shoot for a third world title after finishing the regular season in second place, narrowly behind five-time champion Carissa Moore.

Wright won back-to-back titles in 2016-17 before a harsh bout of the flu led to a diagnoses of post-viral syndrome, a painful form of chronic fatigue that left her bedridden and without answers for more than a year.

"It's the first year I've completed since 2017 and to put a full year together has taken a lot of work," she said.

"It was something I didn't know if I wanted to do again, but it's a beautiful opportunity to be here."

Swell from Hurricane Jova has added another factor to the mix at the reliable break, with forecasters predicting day two or three of the window as a likely launch point.

The top-five shootout will see the fourth and fifth-ranked surfers face off in a sudden-death heat, the victor moving on to face the third seed.

That continues until the final round against the top seed, with a best-of-three battle to decide the champion.

© AAP 2023