Fremantle senior coach Justin Longmuir says there is no bigger challenge in footy than facing the Pies at the MCG.

Collingwood are yet to experience back-to-back losses in 2025, but speaking at his Wednesday morning media conference, Longmuir confessed it was a task his team was ready to embrace.

“We understand that you have to take them on as a team and they are the best team in the competition, but then you have to take on the occasion and the crowd,” Longmuir said.

“We’ve spoken about that, and we are going to embrace that challenge.

“It’s a good opportunity to see where our footy sits.”

Speaking on the two teams’ last meeting in Round 9 in May - where Collingwood prevailed by 14 points at Optus Stadium - Longmuir says the team will be defensively stronger and get more bang for their buck going forward.

Collingwood are averaging just 67.8 points against in 2025, a score Fremantle was able to surpass in Round 9 by scoring 83 points, with Longmuir believing the team can again improve.

“Clearly, they (Collingwood) scored too easily (in Round 9). I think they had 12 inside 50s off possession chains between the arcs for 11 shots. We want to be a bit better behind the ball than that,” Longmuir said.

“In the end, that was the difference in the game.

“We need to be a bit better with our ball use forward of centre; we were a bit stagnant that night (Round 9).

“We’ve worked on that aspect of our game. I think we were a bit too predictable that night with our entries.

“We’ve worked on a bit of our forward craft and connection, and that is coming along. It’s not the finished product by any stretch, but I feel like it’s coming along.”

Longmuir wouldn’t rule out specific roles for Collingwood stars Nick and Josh Daicos, given their ability to impact games, but he believes their system is their strong suit.

Josh Daicos is coming off a game-high player rating of 25.7 against the Gold Coast SUNS in Round 18, with 18.3 rating points picked up in the last quarter when he gathered 16 disposals, six score involvements, and kicked two goals.

“We’ll need some plans in place because it was a pretty special last quarter,” Longmuir said.

“We plan for him (Josh) to play half back or midfield, and we expect his brother (Nick) to do the same. There are a few other handy players in there as well.

“We understand that we’ve got to look after their talent, but their system is what makes them a good team. We’ll try and find that balance.”

Corey Wagner previously held Nick to 18 disposals and a sole goal in Round 9 when the two teams previously met.

Fremantle and Collingwood bounce down at 3.20pm WST on Sunday, 20 July.