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In the seven full seasons since, the Magpies have won a premiership and made three further preliminary finals. But nine rounds into this year, some experts are beginning to believe the black and white are officially at a crossroads.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not recent. They had their great qualifying final win (against Adelaide last year), and we all acknowledge that. You don\u2019t gloss over that, because I think to get to a preliminary final was extraordinary last year,\u201d Lyon told Fox Footy\u2019s AFL 360 on Monday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut before that, you\u2019ve got to go back to Round 12 before they\u2019ve taken a top-eight scalp, and they haven\u2019t taken one since. The best they\u2019ve come up with was the draw against Hawthorn two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a pattern here that\u2019s emerged, and they are well short of the yardsticks of the competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we\u2019ve got such respect for them, no one\u2019s quite prepared yet to go: \u2018Nup, wipe them off the table\u2019. But they\u2019re no chance of contending, I don\u2019t think, at the pointy end, given what we\u2019ve seen not only this year, but the back half of last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
McRae not happy on Pendles’ night | 09:14<\/p>\n
Craig McRae\u2019s side now sits at 4-1-4 with a percentage of 99.9 \u2014 10th on the ladder and carrying an ageing list profile. It\u2019s a tricky situation many successful clubs eventually find themselves in.<\/p>\n
Their forward line has been mostly poor in comparison to years gone by, while their inability to consistently beat fellow contenders has become increasingly concerning.<\/p>\n
Collingwood also entered Saturday night dead last in the competition for centre and total clearances, with McRae telling Fox Footy pre-game it was one of several \u201cbeasts\u201d his Pies have encountered this year.<\/p>\n
Collingwood is fourth-last for scoring, and bottom-five for inside-50 retention, which speaks to a poor quality of forward entries.<\/p>\n
Their score-per-inside-50 rate ranks second-last, ahead of only Richmond.<\/p>\n
However, public conversation of late has still, at times, centred around Nick Daicos\u2019 output in recent weeks \u2014 a peculiar talking point for some, given the much more glaring issues at hand.<\/p>\n
Pendlebury speaks on appearance record | 01:53<\/p>\n
\u201cThis narrative around Nick and his kicking; it\u2019s worth a line in commentary, and that is it. That is problem 753. He will come back and remain one of the great distributors in footy,\u201d Lyon added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game on Anzac Day was the one I noticed the most, but the rest of it, don\u2019t worry about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust push Nick Daicos to the side. All you\u2019ve got to worry about with him is signing him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe say this all the time: Father Time is undefeated in footy, and they will be again. They played in a preliminary final; that\u2019s what you\u2019ve got to keep reminding yourself.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Round 9, is it obvious? Well, I think it\u2019s obvious they\u2019re not contending, for me anyway \u2014 and I\u2019m happy to be proven wrong \u2026 I can\u2019t see them being there at the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Could Pies list calls come back to bite? | 01:55<\/p>\n
DRAFT REGRETS? AND FUTURE SUPERSTAR THEY COULD\u2019VE HAD<\/p>\n
Speaking on AFL Tonight earlier on Monday night, Fox Footy reporter Jon Ralph dissected some of the critical line-in-the-sand moments that history may tell us they wished fell another way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it is that this is the end, they\u2019re dying with their boots on,\u201d Ralph began.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have had an exceptional ride, and I think most of their fans would say it\u2019s been well worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCraig Kelly, their chief executive, did say recently they\u2019ve given away their first-rounders too cheaply. If they do want to be wicked and defy gravity, well they\u2019re going to have to get a wriggle on with some of the later picks.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir first-rounders just haven\u2019t worked out. They gave away high picks for the likes of Dan Houston and Lachie Schultz, as well as the points for Nick Daicos \u2014 and when they did that, they didn\u2019t have great seasons. Those first-rounders ended up being really high.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they did end up taking those first-rounders, they were in good seasons and took the likes of Ed Allan, Harry DeMattia, Ed Allan and Finlay Macrae.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a strategy that helped deliver immediate success and a premiership in 2023, but one that now appears to be leaving the Magpies vulnerable as their list ages.<\/p>\n
And with several younger stars flourishing elsewhere around the competition, the scrutiny around some of those aggressive list calls has only intensified.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could\u2019ve waited to trade out their first-rounder for Nick Daicos. Imagine Finn Callaghan in the same side. But in fact, they gave up pick No.3, and of course, Finn is going to play 280 amazing games for GWS.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could\u2019ve kept Jack Ginnivan, who\u2019s proved to be a better player than Lachie Schultz. They gave away that Schultz first-rounder, and then of course, they had options for the likes of Murphy Reid, Jobe Shanahan and Jonty Faull with pick No.14 \u2014 but they\u2019d already given up that pick.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re decisions that you make, and they\u2019re decisions that you die by. Right now, they\u2019re dying by them.\u201d<\/p>\n
What could have been, Collingwood fans? (Photo by James Wiltshire via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The challenge now for Collingwood will be finding a way to regenerate its list quickly enough to maximise the remaining years of veterans such as Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe who are very much in the twilight of their careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it over for Collingwood? Well, this is still a destination club. As Craig Kelly says, they\u2019ve got an elite coach, elite facilities and we have people who want to come to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never write off Collingwood, but right now it does seem like it\u2019s their darkest hour. Whether there\u2019s a dawn coming, that\u2019s something we have to assess in the coming seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
PIES\u2019 \u2018RIGHT THING TO DO\u2019 WITH PENDLES… AMID \u2018AWKWARD\u2019 SHORT-TERM REALITY<\/p>\n
Collingwood\u2019s management of Scott Pendlebury ahead of his record-breaking 433rd AFL game has been by far the most reported narrative to come out of the club in recent weeks, if not the year.<\/p>\n
It means he\u2019ll miss this Friday night\u2019s clash against the top-of-the-table clash with Sydney at the SCG, with the intention of hosting his milestone match back at the MCG next Saturday evening against West Coast.<\/p>\n
The decision has been hotly debated, but AFL 360 host Gerard Whateley is confident the Magpies have handled it well \u2014 just that they\u2019ll need to endure a touch of short-term pain for long-term gain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the right thing to do for the good of the club. For the long-term, in 50 years time, we\u2019ll look back and it will be the right celebration,\u201d Whateley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an awkwardness around this week, but they\u2019re just going to have to march their way through.<\/p>\n
Lyon added: \u201cThey need him to play against Sydney, that\u2019s the awkwardness \u2026 we understand the reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cats beat Pies in Pendlebury game 432 | 04:20<\/p>\n
AND WOULD LYON PULL THE TRIGGER TO BRING IN BOBBY THIS FRIDAY NIGHT?<\/p>\n
After dealing with his own personal circumstances in the last six to 12 months, 2023 Norm Smith Medallist Bobby Hill has now played three consecutive games at VFL level in his pursuit of a senior recall.<\/p>\n
With both Pendlebury and captain Darcy Moore (concussion) to miss Friday\u2019s trip to Sydney, Craig McRae may be within his rights to consider bringing back Hill into the senior side for some extra spark.<\/p>\n
Garry Lyon, however, was steadfast in his belief the 26-year-old needs to earn his way back to the AFL at least a little while longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder no circumstances would I play Bobby Hill on Friday night, that\u2019s just me,\u201d Lyon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got to start rewarding some of these kids, and find out whether or not these blokes that they\u2019ve taken in drafts are able to play. <\/p>\n
\u201cBobby will come back at some stage, but there\u2019s people who have been beavering away and hammering away in the VFL I\u2019m told.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, no, not Bobby for me this week. Not this week, he\u2019s got to earn the right to get back in this side.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Garry Lyon rightly pointed out on AFL 360, Father Time is undefeated. Collingwood has had a very…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,320692,320684,2095,85102,64,63,55,639,14349,320280,10133,80382,10143,10128,10989,12929,14348,320685,320691,320688,320689,10145,107302,13659,61,2105,320686,8401,33693,10132,681,10140,320696,320687,51239,7801,25878,2041,2067,320693,19095,74197,320690,83783,320695,6858,65198,19083,27724,85,36848,91258,320694,2614,4899],"class_list":["post-663870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-ageing-list-profile","tag-aggressive-list-calls","tag-america","tag-anzac-day","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-bobby-hill","tag-cats-beat","tag-collingwood-magpies","tag-craig-kelly","tag-craig-mcrae","tag-dan-houston","tag-darcy-moore","tag-destination-club","tag-disappointing-loss","tag-draft-regrets","tag-draft-slips","tag-elite-coach","tag-elite-facilities","tag-garry-lyon","tag-gary-lyon","tag-geelong-cats","tag-gerard-whateley","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-horror-game-agaisnt","tag-jack-ginnivan","tag-james-wiltshire","tag-jeremy-howe","tag-jon-ralph","tag-lachie-schultz","tag-line-in-the-sand-moments","tag-list-ages","tag-list-calls","tag-milestone-match","tag-murphy-reid","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-peculiar-talking-point","tag-preliminary-final","tag-preliminary-finals","tag-premiership-crossroads","tag-qualifying-final-win","tag-rate-ranks-second-last","tag-richmond","tag-right-thing","tag-scott-pendlebury","tag-senior-recall","tag-sports","tag-steele-sidebottom","tag-trade-decisions","tag-trade-mishaps","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-virginia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}