Magpies star going 'exceptionally well' in finals bid

The 25-year-old has been restricted to just one game - as a sub - since June 21 due to personal issues limiting his ability to constantly be at the club.

But Hill is putting together a solid block of training, 11 days away from Collingwood's preliminary final against the winner of Saturday night's QClash semi-final between Brisbane and Gold Coast.

The dynamic forward took part in all of the Magpies' light session on Tuesday, with main training on Wednesday and Friday set to shape his finals series.

"It's been great to have Bobby back at training," Collingwood star Josh Daicos said. "He performed exceptionally well in the practice match on the weekend.

"He's obviously made his name in finals football. So if there is someone to come back and have an impact, he'd definitely be right up there.

"It's just great to see him smiling back at the club.

"The biggest thing for him now will be continuing to ramp up his loads. He's still got another couple weeks to prove himself."

The public messaging about Hill from Collingwood is vastly different to even a week ago, when a return this September appeared more unlikely than not.

Star defender Jeremy Howe also took part in Tuesday's session, after injuring his adductor in Collingwood's final home-and-away game against Melbourne.

The veteran is making strong progress and Collingwood will be desperate to have him available for a cut-throat final.

"He's moving really well," Daicos said of Howe.

"He was running just a few days after his groin injury.

"Obviously the (qualifying final win against Adelaide) was really big for us to allow him to have that extra time and get his body right."

Several stars missed training on Tuesday, including Nick Daicos, but Josh said his younger brother had "the sniffles ... he doesn't cope well with a cold".

Josh expressed his pride for Isaac Quaynor after the Magpies defender performed superbly amid ferocious booing from Crows fans at the Adelaide Oval last Thursday night.

Quaynor earned the ire of Adelaide fans due to being caught up in the Izak Rankine homophobic slur saga that led to the Crows star receiving a four-game suspension.

"That's not what we want in our game," Daicos said.

"I feel like Isaac handled himself unbelievable.

"He's an amazing leader, and that showed in his performance, the way he was able to block that out to play some really good football for us.

"We thought the Magpie army were awesome, the way they travelled and supported him."