Collingwood star Darcy Cameron is quick to reject the idea.
“I think it’s silly,” Cameron says, when asked his view on whether the Magpies are approaching an age cliff.
The Magpies have won just two of their first five matches, suffering defeats to expected contenders Adelaide, Brisbane Lions and Fremantle.
A trio of losses has again raised questions about Collingwood’s list profile and whether the reliance is too heavy on Nick Daicos and veteran Scott Pendlebury.
Cameron, who won the Magpies’ best and fairest last season, considers the topic of an impending cliff nonsensical.
“I think if you look over the last four years, we’ve played in two prelims and a grand final,” he said.
“We’ve still got a lot of the same personnel, I know those guys are getting a little bit older but they’re still performing at a really high level.
“I think that’s silly.”
The topic will likely become less frivolous to Cameron and Collingwood if it can’t find a way to become more threatening inside 50.
Collingwood dominated the inside 50 count against the Dockers but to little reward on the scoreboard.
Coach Craig McRae seemingly tidied up his side’s scoring power against GWS but the Magpies have scored 78, 79, 65 and 39 outside of that victory.
Cameron suspects the scoring responsibility could rest further up the ground in the way the midfield moves the ball.
“I think we just need to create more opportunities to link up with our forwards,” he said.
“They’re working really hard as a forward group to find ways around that … As mids, we probably missed a few opportunities in the first half to lower our eyes and not be so predictable.
“Freo flood a lot of numbers back and we probably played into their hands at times. Like I said, we will go back and look at the vision.”
Originally published as AFL 2026: Darcy Cameron on the age profile of Collingwood’s list