![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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VETERANS VERDICT<\/p>\n
Big calls loom for the Magpies on several out-of-contract veterans, namely Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe.<\/p>\n
How they perform in the second half of the season could largely dictate whether they play on.<\/p>\n
But Middlemas said Pendlebury \u201creserves the right\u201d to make his own call on whether he plays on.<\/p>\n
\u201cScott Pendlebury, his decision,\u201d Middlemas said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I was predicting what he would do, I still think it\u2019s probably more likely he retires than he goes on, even for everything he\u2019s achieved so far this year. But I still don\u2019t think Collingwood necessarily need to be making that call for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gullan said the Pies couldn\u2019t afford \u201cgo in again next year with the same veterans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe issue Craig McRae has is, I\u2019m telling you now, Steele Sidebottom thinks he is, Jeremy Howe thinks he is, (Darcy) Moore \u2013 all of them think they are going again,\u201d Gullan said.<\/p>\n
Pies win Pendlebury’s landmark game | 03:40<\/p>\n
\u201cPendles, yeah I agree. But at the moment form-wise, you\u2019d probably say Steele Sidebottom is not having his best run, (but) he might come good again in the last six weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to make a call. So one of these legends is going to get burnt \u2013 because how do they spin \u2018we\u2019re going around again with them\u2019? They\u2019re barely going to make the finals \u2013 how do you spin that?\u201d<\/p>\n
It led to a spirited debate between Middlemas and Gullan.<\/p>\n
Corbin Middlemas: \u201cThe only way I\u2019d sell it, if I was trying to make a case for them, is to say: \u2018Look at the other guys that aren\u2019t playing, the 18 to 20 guys. Which of them are knocking them out of a spot in the line-up?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott Gullan: \u201cWell you\u2019ve got to develop players. You\u2019ve got to find out if they can play.\u201d<\/p>\n
CM: \u201cTheir 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
SG: \u201cDraft players and get them in.\u201d<\/p>\n
CM: \u201cBut would they be a better or worse team without Jeremy Howe in the backline?\u201d<\/p>\n
SG: \u201cBut mate, you\u2019re going to run 9th or 10th, anyway. What\u2019s that going to prove? Your draft picks (are) iffy. You\u2019re not achieving what you actually want to achieve in two or three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
CM: \u201cYou can get a better chance to develop them if you\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
SG: \u201cThis is Groundhog Day again.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Reap what you sow’ Pies Darcy dilemma | 05:05<\/p>\n
\u2018SPEED IS GOOD\u2019<\/p>\n
While there\u2019s ample attention on the veterans, the Pies also have a core group of players in the \u2018middle age range\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
But Middlemas said the Magpies should try to keep McCreery.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeed\u2019s good, so they need to keep McCreery,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gullan added: \u201cThey need to find an elite midfielder or draft a kid at the very top end, which they\u2019re probably not going to be able to do. The forward line\u2019s in trouble and the midfield\u2019s in trouble. How do you solve that in one off-season? That\u2019s what they\u2019ve got to try and do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pies have seen some improvement from the likes of Roan Steele, Ed Allan and Oscar Steene this season.<\/p>\n
But asked if those young players are \u201cjumping off the page\u201d, Gullan said: \u201cI don\u2019t think they are. They\u2019ve found a couple who\u2019ll be nice players. But you look at other teams like Hawthorn \u2026 Will Day came in as a high pick and you could see by his second year he\u2019s going to be elite. That sort of player we haven\u2019t seen it at Collingwood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s Nick Daicos \u2013 and Nick, God love Nick, is carrying this club and will continue to. There\u2019s Josh (Daicos) and other good players \u2026 but the exciting mid, the next Scott Pendlebury, those people \u2013 I can\u2019t find them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Worst possible news for Steene | 00:26<\/p>\n
THE \u2018ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM\u2019<\/p>\n
One player who could help fill the Pies\u2019 forward-half speed and dynamism is a player already on their list.<\/p>\n
But Norm Smith Medallist Bobby Hill is absent again from the club and remains out indefinitely.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019d been back training with the VFL then we know last week he was absent from training again,\u201d Wood said. \u201cSo it seems like that is off.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talk to people at Collingwood, the process was never meant to be linear. But I think there was a little bit of optimism \u2013 particularly once (Jamie Elliott) went down with that injury and they were needing that forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he (Hill) is on a long-term deal \u2013 I mean, that\u2019s sort of the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Middlemas said Pies fans should remain hopeful Hill could not only return to the Magpies\u2019 senior line-up, but also have a some sort of impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everybody\u2019s just crossing their figures, hoping that he can get back to 2023 Bobby, which as time goes on, it\u2019s looking less and less likely,\u201d Middlemas said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would keep my fingers crossed if I\u2019m a Collingwood person that somehow he\u2019s able to put it all together and get back to the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an old expression in boxing that \u2018power thrills and speed kills\u2019 \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly what the case is in modern footy. You look at the premiership team every year and it\u2019s those zippy half-forwards and wingers that ultimately make the difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you\u2019ve got McCreery and Bobby Hill, you\u2019re a completely different team overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trade verdict on 12 off-contract stars | 07:33<\/p>\n
\u2018OBVIOUS\u2019 CANDIDATE ON SHOPPING LIST<\/p>\n
The Magpies, arguably, are another star midfielder and forward short.<\/p>\n
So it makes sense why they\u2019ve been linked to Lions free agent Lachie Neale, as well as Suns duo Ben King and Jed Walter.<\/p>\n
Asked which of those players Collingwood would appeal to the most, Gullan said: Jed Walter, he\u2019s the one. It\u2019s the obvious one.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the Suns, with Jamara Ugle-Hagan coming in \u2013 who you think will get better and better \u2013 and King\u2019s staying up there, there\u2019s (Ethan) Read \u2026 there\u2019s enough pieces there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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\u2019s out, McStay is not carrying the load.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if he would trade away a first-round pick for Walter, Gullan said: \u201cDone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need to do something, they need a forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kid has only been in the system a couple of years, so he\u2019s almost a high price.\u201d<\/p>\n
Middlemas cheekily pointed out Gullan had backtracked on his earlier draft call.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sitting 11th on the ladder at the halfway mark of the season \u2013 with the oldest list in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[346023,11295,3423,14349,10133,15830,10143,644,10128,45725,344357,28450,60481,43,346024,36878,10132,681,25875,10140,15631,346016,11249,343123,346019,44,346021,27704,346018,81372,337126,25042,103825,29653,19083,308858,346020,346022,36848,41,39,42,40,339759,346017,19121],"class_list":["post-711784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-age-range","tag-ben-king","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-bobby-hill","tag-collingwood-magpies","tag-corbin-middlemas","tag-craig-mcrae","tag-cult-hero","tag-dan-houston","tag-elite-midfielder","tag-glaring-issue-set","tag-glenn-mcfarlane","tag-groundhog-day","tag-headlines","tag-high-quality-kids","tag-jamie-elliott","tag-jeremy-howe","tag-jon-ralph","tag-lachie-neale","tag-lachie-schultz","tag-lauren-wood","tag-list-verdict","tag-long-term-deal","tag-match-press-conference","tag-moment-form-wise","tag-news","tag-nice-players","tag-oscar-steene","tag-out-of-contract-veterans","tag-pay-rise","tag-pies-win","tag-point-win","tag-premiership-team","tag-scott-gullan","tag-scott-pendlebury","tag-season-looms","tag-senior-line-up","tag-speed-kills","tag-steele-sidebottom","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-trade-verdict","tag-veterans-verdict","tag-young-players"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711784","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=711784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}