Ladder position won’t be a factor heading into the Bulldogs' clash with Collingwood this Sunday, according to senior assistant coach Brett Montgomery.

Despite sitting 11th on the AFL ladder, Montgomery says Collingwood’s recent form indicates the Bulldogs will be up for a challenge in their round 10 clash.

“I think normally ladder position is reasonably irrelevant in the competition that we’ve got at the moment, it’s so even, it’s more form line that we need to be concerned about and Collingwood’s form line is good.

“They’re obviously doing some things a little bit differently at the moment and they’ve found their way and their mojo in a couple of certain areas of the game, we’ll have to be really wary of that.”

Collingwood are coming off two big wins from the previous two rounds – a 24-point victory against second-placed Geelong and a 78-point interstate victory against Brisbane.

The Pies kicked 11.14 to 0.3 in the two first quarters of that match, with Montgomery identifying a strong start a key to Sunday’s match.

“I think even on the weekend in our game (against GWS) we didn’t start the way we wanted to.

“We were behind the eight ball from the very start and we didn’t get the game on our terms and really test GWS out at all coming from behind.

“The message is more about what we did and what we need to do from last week, rather than how Collingwood start.

“Obviously when teams start well it gets their tail up nice and early. We always look to start well and this will be no different.”

The Dogs return to the MCG for the second time this season, with Montgomery’s side taking confidence from their round eight win against Melbourne on the ground.

“The extra space on the MCG and the different dimensions I thought we handled really well.

“We go in there with great confidence. It’s a ground we love playing at, it’s a ground we look forward to getting as many fixtures there as we can.

“Collingwood, at the MCG is another challenge all together.”