MELBOURNE is three days out from facing Collingwood in what is set to be the most highly anticipated match of the year so far.

The top-four clash will see the two clubs showcase the work of Neale Daniher in raising awareness and funds for FightMND as part of the league’s ninth iteration of the Big Freeze.

Senior coach Simon Goodwin joined media on Friday morning to preview the game, highlight the importance of the Big Freeze and talk to the influence of club legend Daniher.

Daniher’s influence

“It’s always great to get Neale into the club, he brings an energy and a spirit," Goodwin said.

“He’s such an inspiration to our club, he resembles the Demon spirit and how we go about it ourselves and continues to give great messages to our playing group.

“His message this week was about opportunity, there’s always opportunity there if you want to look for it.

“This is the game we want to represent Neale, FightMND and our footy club really proudly, so we’re looking forward to it.”

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“He’s definitely not playing,” Goodwin said.

“He’s still in hospital with an infected foot. It was pretty serious at the time, the infection, so he's had five days in hospital and he’s probably not looking like he’ll be out until Sunday.

“We just need to make sure that this infection gets under control.

“It’s all pretty positive…we’re pretty hopeful that once he gets through that period it’ll be a pretty fast transition back.”

Collingwood the team to beat

“They’re the hottest team in town, there’s no doubt about that,” Goodwin said.

“With that, there’s opportunity, there are things within their game that we feel we can get after.

“They’re playing a high level of footy at all phases of the game, they’re much improved around stoppage and clearance…they’re certainly strong defensively and if you give them the space offensively, with the speed they have, they cause trouble.

“We’ll be looking to take away as many of those things and put some of our strengths against them.”

Grundy facing his old side

“He’s pretty relaxed, Brodes,” Goodwin said. 

“He’s put in a power of work over the summer and is at a club that really values what he brings to his team.

“He’s obviously playing against his old team, he’s got some mates [at Collingwood], he’s pretty close with Mason (Cox), so it’s going to be a pretty good battle in there [ruck] and he’s looking forward to it.”