The biggest headache between now and preliminary final week for Collingwood coach Craig McRae will be whether to select small forward Bobby Hill.
The 2023 Norm Smith Medallist has played only a few minutes of footy since round 15 due to personal reasons and appeared out of finals calculations.
But Hill got through a VFL scratch match on Saturday in Geelong, kicking four goals and playing midfield minutes to prove his fitness.
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Now with an extra week to get him up to speed, Hill could be the X-factor that takes Collingwood to another premiership.
Bobby Hill. Getty
Naturally it does come with its own risks, given the intensity of finals footy and given he hasn’t played at AFL level since June.
A fellow Norm Smith Medallist in Isaac Smith believes the Pies should roll the dice on the 25-year-old.
“I’m not privy to any of the information that’s outside of the field, but I look at Bobby Hill as a package of what he can deliver in September and if he’s fit and he’s firing, I’m making a coach’s call and I’m picking him because I know he can make us a better side and I know he can deliver on the biggest stage,” Smith told Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“You were talking off-air about integrity of selection and you get to finals and integrity is about picking your best side and giving your club and your members the best chance to win a grand final and to me if you’ve got Bobby Hill in there, that gives you a better chance.”
Former Western Bulldogs star Nathan Brown disagreed, saying it is too risky taking an underdone player into a prelim.
“I couldn’t select him on preliminary final day,” Brown replied.
“Not because of a trust issue, but he just hasn’t played enough footy.
Bobby Hill of the Magpies celebrates winning the Norm Smith Medal in 2023. Getty
“They’ve got a couple of young players playing and there is a spot there for Bobby Hill, but I can’t play him in a prelim given what we’ve seen over the last eight weeks.
“Yes, he is a Norm Smith Medallist, but if I was coach I would not be playing Bobby Hill in a prelim.”
Collingwood do at least have the option to pick Hill as the substitute and potentially inject him late in the game.
But that also comes with its own risks given an early injury could upend that plan.
On paper, Hill would be an upgrade over youngsters Wil Parker and Roan Steele, who played in the qualifying final win over Adelaide.