The onus is on Collingwood's senior midfielders to lift and to set the example in the absence of playmaker Scott Pendlebury for Saturday's do-or-die semi-final against Adelaide, according to Magpie veteran Leon Davis.

Pendlebury remains only an outside chance of playing again this season after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured fibula sustained early in Sunday's 28-point qualifying final loss to flag favourites St Kilda.

"He's going to be a massive loss, he's a key part to our midfield," said Davis of Pendlebury on Tuesday.

"He'll be missed, but hopefully we can fill the void and come out and play well."

The 'we' Davis is referring to - Dane Swan, Alan Didak, Shane O'Bree and Davis himself - Collingwood's hard core of senior midfielders, failed to fire a shot in their most collectively ineffectual performance for the season in Pendlebury's absence on Sunday.

Davis understands that more of the same against the Crows will spell disaster and agreed that he needs to set a personal example by turning around his own form which has tailed-off over the past six or seven weeks.

"It's going to be a team effort, but it all starts in the midfield and its going to be a massive task for those blokes to lift," he said.

"I know I've dropped off a bit, but I'm looking to come out this week and work extremely hard to try bounce back and have a good game and try and get over the line with a win."

Asked whether the Pies' would consider the season a failure should they happen to bow out in straight sets, Davis said: "Our aim was to finish top-four and we did that".

"But once the finals come around it's a totally different ball game."

"If we lose this week which we definitely hope we don't, we'll be very disappointed that we didn't go all the way and win a flag - very disappointed."

"We've got our backs against the wall and we've got to come out firing against a great side in Adelaide, so we know our job's cut out for us."