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Lions coach Chris Fagan confirmed on radio on Monday morning that ruck recruit Sam Draper had suffered a stress fracture in his foot. <\/p>\n
The massive setback is expected to cost Draper at least the first round of the campaign. <\/p>\n
\u201cSam Draper has a stress fracture in his foot, which means he won\u2019t be in line for selection until round two of the AFL season,\u201d Fagan said on SEN Tassie. <\/p>\n
Having come across as a big-money free agent fish from Essendon, Draper was, and still is, expected to revitalise Brisbane\u2019s ruck stocks following Oscar McInerney\u2019s retirement. <\/p>\n
But after this latest blow \u2014 having also had his 2025 season culled by a ruptured Achilles \u2014 it\u2019ll still be the Darcy Fort show in the middle for the back-to-back reigning premiers. <\/p>\n
WHY \u2018SIGNIFICANT\u2019 PIES TWEAK HAD TO HAPPEN<\/p>\n
Veteran interceptor Jeremy Howe revealed the Pies are set to unveil a large-scale change to the way they\u2019ll move the footy in 2026. <\/p>\n
And an expert believes it\u2019s the Pies\u2019 only option after they were found out late last year. <\/p>\n
Collingwood was mostly lethargic in the way it moved the footy last year, relying largely on contest wins and numbers around the ball after long kicks, rather than short passes and quick decisions. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be a bit of significant change in the way we play, especially with ball in hand,\u201d Howe told Channel 7, citing the back-to-back reigning premier Lions without giving too much away. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to reveal it all, but there\u2019ll be some shifts. I think everyone\u2019s got to find ways to improve. <\/p>\n
\u201cBrissy are clearly a bit of a standout at the moment, both (with) the way they defend and move the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fox Footy analyst David King said it was the only way the Magpies could move forward with hopes of remaining in flag contention. <\/p>\n
Asked if Collingwood had the personnel to be able to become a precise-kicking team in the mould of Brisbane, King, who cited Champion Data\u2019s speed of ball metric, said on SEN: \u201cI just don\u2019t see what the other choice is. <\/p>\n
\u201cA major component of this is the speed of ball discussion. And it\u2019s not a one-year discussion; it\u2019s seven years of data that shows if you don\u2019t play with speed, you can\u2019t win. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe teams that play slow have become the poorer teams in the competition. They think playing safe will keep them in games defensively. It doesn\u2019t work that way. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I don\u2019t see what the other choice is. Now, does that alter selection? We know (Scott) Pendlebury is going to start at half-back \u2014 he could be an igniter, he could get things going with angles and creativity (through the) corridor. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhereas maybe they don\u2019t trust all of those guys as kickers down back over the past 12-18 months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Howe, 36, is battling his latest calf flare-up, while skipper Darcy Moore (calf) is no certainty for Opening Round, and Dan Houston (hip) recently joined Isaac Quaynor (hamstring) and Beau McCreery (foot) on the sidelines. <\/p>\n
Brayden Maynard, however, appears to have escaped serious injury after recently going down with a quad concern. <\/p>\n