Matthew Lloyd has urged Collingwood to part ways with Brody Mihocek, Tom Mitchell and Mason Cox and look to the future, while club great Tony Shaw reckons Craig McRae should look to trade Bobby Hill. The Pies are picking up the pieces after a 29-point loss to Brisbane on Saturday night in their preliminary final clash.
Collingwood have the oldest roster in the AFL by quite a margin, gambling on the present and seemingly risking their future. They’ve put contract offers to Mihocek and fellow forward Jamie Elliott, but neither are certainties to stay.
Elliott is being courted by the Gold Coast Suns, while the Melbourne Demons have shown interest in Mihocek. Elliott emphasised his value to Collingwood with a starring four-goal performance on Saturday night, while Mihocek was relatively quiet as he battled a toe injury.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae has some tricky decisions to make. Image: Getty/AAP
Speaking on the AFL Footy Show on Channel 9 on Sunday, Essendon legend Lloyd said the Pies should part ways with Mihocek, Mitchell and Cox straight away, and then consider staggering a few other of the veteran players’ exits. Mihocek (32), Cox (34) and Mitchell (32) are all out of contract, while Steele Sidebottom (34) and Jeremy Howe (35) are keen to keep playing, and Scott Pendlebury (37) has already re-signed for one more year.
“It’s about how you stagger,” Lloyd said. “You can’t have them all go at once and it’ll be tough for Collingwood’s list management.
“(Tim) Membrey has another year of a contract, so I presume he will play on, but Tom Mitchell and Mason Cox (should go). I’d let Brody Mihocek go. This would be the first time I’ve said that, but I think the way he has played and performed and without a contract he hasn’t performed well. Maybe let those guys go now and then the three real champions go the next year.”
Collingwood great calls for Bobby Hill to be traded
Lloyd said the Pies should re-sign Elliott (33) for two more years, while some have suggested they should withdraw their offer to Mihocek and give that money to Elliott. As for Hill, club great Shaw believes it might be the perfect time to trade the Norm Smith medallist.
Hill didn’t play the majority of the season’s second half due to personal reasons, and McRae resisted the urge to bring him back for the prelim against the Lions. “That’s something they’ve got to look at now,” Shaw said on 3AW radio.
“Bobby Hill, I’d be looking to see what you could get trade-wise. It’s a horrible situation, but he’s probably good fodder at the moment, you could get a couple of draft picks and it doesn’t look like it’s working for him (at Collingwood).”
Hill, Mihocek, Cox and Mitchell were all part of Collingwood’s premiership-winning team in 2023. Hill was Norm Smith medallist after being voted player of the grand final.
Brody Mihocek and Bobby Hill could both be on the way out of Collingwood. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
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Darcy Moore backs Collingwood’s approach
Collingwood fielded nine players in their 30s in the preliminary final, but skipper Darcy Moore dismissed suggestions time was running out for the playing group. “To fall short really stings but we are extremely optimistic about our future,” he said.
“We have added a lot of new players to our team this season. Tim Membrey and Ned Long have had great years, Lachie Schultz went from strength to strength, Dan Houston settled in really nicely and Harry Perryman was just unbelievable and so reliable all season.
“When you’ve got guys that can slot into our system and play great footy that bodes so well for the future. We’re not standing still. We’re moving forward and trying to get better and we’re looking forward to that.”
McRae said the Pies will be active in the player movement market and have already been linked to Carlton forward Charlie Curnow and Melbourne defender Steven May. But he conceded they’ll have to switch some of their focus to draft picks moving forward.
“Last year I said it was players over picks. It won’t be that extreme this year, there’ll be a balance, but we want to bring talent into our organisation that makes us better,” he said. “I won’t stand still on that. I’m sure our fans want to hear that. Our players want to hear that we’re not going to stand still and going to keep improving ourselves. As long as there’s talent to bring in, we’ll explore every part of that.”
with AAP