Sitting 11th on the ladder at the halfway mark of the season – with the oldest list in the AFL – Collingwood faces a significant off-season.
In the latest episode of the Midweek Tackle digital-only show ‘Tackle The Headline’, CODE Sports reporters Lauren Wood and Scott Gullan, as well as Fox Footy broadcaster Corbin Middlemas, assess the Magpies’ list: Who should stay, who should go and who they should target.
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VETERANS VERDICT
Big calls loom for the Magpies on several out-of-contract veterans, namely Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe.
How they perform in the second half of the season could largely dictate whether they play on.
But Middlemas said Pendlebury “reserves the right” to make his own call on whether he plays on.
“Scott Pendlebury, his decision,” Middlemas said.
“If I was predicting what he would do, I still think it’s probably more likely he retires than he goes on, even for everything he’s achieved so far this year. But I still don’t think Collingwood necessarily need to be making that call for him.”
Gullan said the Pies couldn’t afford “go in again next year with the same veterans.
“The issue Craig McRae has is, I’m telling you now, Steele Sidebottom thinks he is, Jeremy Howe thinks he is, (Darcy) Moore – all of them think they are going again,” Gullan said.
Pies win Pendlebury’s landmark game | 03:40
“Pendles, yeah I agree. But at the moment form-wise, you’d probably say Steele Sidebottom is not having his best run, (but) he might come good again in the last six weeks.
“You’ve got to make a call. So one of these legends is going to get burnt – because how do they spin ‘we’re going around again with them’? They’re barely going to make the finals – how do you spin that?”
It led to a spirited debate between Middlemas and Gullan.
Corbin Middlemas: “The only way I’d sell it, if I was trying to make a case for them, is to say: ‘Look at the other guys that aren’t playing, the 18 to 20 guys. Which of them are knocking them out of a spot in the line-up?’”
Scott Gullan: “Well you’ve got to develop players. You’ve got to find out if they can play.”
CM: “Their backline is pretty solid, they need a little bit more spark through the midfield and they certainly need a bit more speed in the front half.”
SG: “Draft players and get them in.”
CM: “But would they be a better or worse team without Jeremy Howe in the backline?”
SG: “But mate, you’re going to run 9th or 10th, anyway. What’s that going to prove? Your draft picks (are) iffy. You’re not achieving what you actually want to achieve in two or three years.”
CM: “You can get a better chance to develop them if you’ve got a bit more sturdiness behind the ball. I think the guys that play further up the ground are probably in a little bit more strife.”
SG: “This is Groundhog Day again.”
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‘SPEED IS GOOD’
While there’s ample attention on the veterans, the Pies also have a core group of players in the ‘middle age range’ of their list, such as Josh Daicos, Dan Houston, Lachie Schultz and, most notably, Beau McCreery, with the latter seen as a possible target for Tasmania.
But Middlemas said the Magpies should try to keep McCreery.
“Speed’s good, so they need to keep McCreery,” he said.
“I think they’re all nice pieces that you can build around. Clearly they need to go and get a couple of high-quality kids in and be able to get a bit more punch through the middle and a bit more speed in that front half.”
Gullan added: “They need to find an elite midfielder or draft a kid at the very top end, which they’re probably not going to be able to do. The forward line’s in trouble and the midfield’s in trouble. How do you solve that in one off-season? That’s what they’ve got to try and do.”
The Pies have seen some improvement from the likes of Roan Steele, Ed Allan and Oscar Steene this season.
But asked if those young players are “jumping off the page”, Gullan said: “I don’t think they are. They’ve found a couple who’ll be nice players. But you look at other teams like Hawthorn … Will Day came in as a high pick and you could see by his second year he’s going to be elite. That sort of player we haven’t seen it at Collingwood.
“There’s Nick Daicos – and Nick, God love Nick, is carrying this club and will continue to. There’s Josh (Daicos) and other good players … but the exciting mid, the next Scott Pendlebury, those people – I can’t find them.”
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THE ‘ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM’
One player who could help fill the Pies’ forward-half speed and dynamism is a player already on their list.
But Norm Smith Medallist Bobby Hill is absent again from the club and remains out indefinitely.
“He’d been back training with the VFL then we know last week he was absent from training again,” Wood said. “So it seems like that is off.
“You talk to people at Collingwood, the process was never meant to be linear. But I think there was a little bit of optimism – particularly once (Jamie Elliott) went down with that injury and they were needing that forward.
“But he (Hill) is on a long-term deal – I mean, that’s sort of the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about.”
Middlemas said Pies fans should remain hopeful Hill could not only return to the Magpies’ senior line-up, but also have a some sort of impact.
“I think everybody’s just crossing their figures, hoping that he can get back to 2023 Bobby, which as time goes on, it’s looking less and less likely,” Middlemas said.
“I would keep my fingers crossed if I’m a Collingwood person that somehow he’s able to put it all together and get back to the club.
“There’s an old expression in boxing that ‘power thrills and speed kills’ – and that’s exactly what the case is in modern footy. You look at the premiership team every year and it’s those zippy half-forwards and wingers that ultimately make the difference.
“And if you’ve got McCreery and Bobby Hill, you’re a completely different team overnight.”
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‘OBVIOUS’ CANDIDATE ON SHOPPING LIST
The Magpies, arguably, are another star midfielder and forward short.
So it makes sense why they’ve been linked to Lions free agent Lachie Neale, as well as Suns duo Ben King and Jed Walter.
Asked which of those players Collingwood would appeal to the most, Gullan said: Jed Walter, he’s the one. It’s the obvious one.
“At the Suns, with Jamara Ugle-Hagan coming in – who you think will get better and better – and King’s staying up there, there’s (Ethan) Read … there’s enough pieces there.
“I think Jed Walter could get paid a lot of money and become a cult hero, play the MCG every week, coming out of the goalsquare. Because they (the Magpies) have absolutely nothing. Poor old Elliott’s out, McStay is not carrying the load.”
Asked if he would trade away a first-round pick for Walter, Gullan said: “Done.
“They need to do something, they need a forward.
“The kid has only been in the system a couple of years, so he’s almost a high price.”
Middlemas cheekily pointed out Gullan had backtracked on his earlier draft call.