![\"Marc](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1fd9e8feb443a3c0e7ff1305e00989af6ff0ed64.png\")
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June 20, 2026 \u2014 10:21pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Collingwood coach Craig McRae believes no other AFL club\u2019s list is scrutinised more than the high-profile Magpies\u2019, and that the infatuation is driven by online \u201cclicks\u201d.<\/p>\n McRae was speaking after Saturday night\u2019s runaway 27-point victory over Port Adelaide saw the Magpies provisionally climb into 10th spot ahead of Sunday\u2019s games, with six wins and a draw from 14 matches.<\/p>\n Collingwood have the oldest and most experienced list<\/a> in the competition, with Jordan De Goey, Jamie Elliott, Scott Pendlebury, Dan McStay, Darcy Cameron, Steele Sidebottom, Jack Crisp, Tim Membrey, Darcy Moore and Jeremy Howe all on the wrong side of 30.<\/p>\n They also lack the high-end emerging youth of other clubs, and are aggressively in the market for the likes of Lachie Neale<\/a>, Zak Butters, Ben King and Jed Walter \u2013 but McRae thinks the focus on the Pies\u2019 list is overblown.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably over-examined. I don\u2019t recall any other list in the competition has been examined as much as ours, and judged, but again, we get clicks, so it creates storytelling, opinions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting narrative around where we\u2019re at. We\u2019re working towards being the best version of us. I didn\u2019t look at the age demographic of our team tonight, but there are a lot of different players who haven\u2019t played together. Chemistry is important. It\u2019s hard to describe it, but there\u2019s a lot of talk about it, isn\u2019t there?\u201d<\/p>\n De Goey cheekily sent an SOS for would-be Magpie recruit Neale in a radio interview this week, which only fuelled the fire. But with all that going on, McRae and Collingwood just needed a win. As he put it afterwards, the season had reached a \u201ccritical\u201d juncture, and it was time to put up or shut up.<\/p>\n If not for De Goey and Nick Daicos\u2019 second-quarter intervention, this might have been a drastically different night for a Pies outfit that is battling to even challenge for the new wildcard finals round.<\/p>\n \u201cYou talk about who\u2019s playing tonight, and [there were] opportunities for Harvey Harrison, you\u2019ve got Ed Allan backing up, playing against Butters \u2013 a big experience for him \u2013 Sam Swadling playing his first game, and Jack Buller is starting to look more Collingwood than he has in recent times,\u201d McRae said.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cBut you need your stars to be stars, and Nick and Jordy, I thought, were significant in finishing our work and impacting the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Neither team kicked a goal in the final quarter of a forgettable game that attracted only 40,860 fans, who were treated to masterclass performances from two of the Magpies\u2019 biggest stars.<\/p>\n De Goey kicked three goals from 26 disposals, while Daicos racked up 41 touches, nine clearances and 10 score involvements. They were equally brilliant, and Collingwood needed them badly, particularly in the opening half.<\/p>\n Missing Elliott, captain Moore, defender Brayden Maynard (who turns 30 in September) and ageless record-breaker Pendlebury<\/a> \u2013 and having lost three of their past four matches by eight points or fewer, to Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs and Sydney \u2013 the Pies were 19 points down in the second quarter.<\/p>\n Editor’s pick In reality, it should have been worse, but Port frittered away a series of goal-scoring opportunities.<\/p>\n More alarmingly, Craig McRae\u2019s men conceded five consecutive goals after Tim Membrey and Lachie Schultz kicked the first two of the game.<\/p>\n But everything changed for the better in an eight-minute purple patch where De Goey bobbed up for two goals \u2013 the second a classy left-foot finish \u2013 before Daicos flushed a midair strike that would not have been out of place at the FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew coming here that Port have been playing really good footy, and in a lot of games, and [we were] under no illusion we were going to have to play well to beat them,\u201d McRae said.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like we had 10 minutes of footy in the second quarter that sort of stabilised the game for us, and without that, they\u2019d really dominated most parts of the game \u2026 so I had a bit of an optimistic lens, going, \u2018Well, we\u2019ve played only 10 minutes in the second quarter, and the scores are level. Come on, boys, let\u2019s go, let\u2019s get moving\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n The Power, who looked so good for much of the first half, managed just one more goal for the match as they limped to the finish line with a miserable 6.16 (52) scoreline to Collingwood\u2019s 11.12 (78)<\/a>.<\/p>\n Making matters worse, Port lost Jack Lukosius (calf) early in the second half in his first senior game in two months before Esava Ratugolea (suspected ruptured patellar tendon) and Ewan Mackinlay (MCL strain) also went down.<\/p>\n Ratugolea, who snared six intercept marks to half-time in a strong partnership with Aliir Aliir, was down for a significant period, and eventually stretchered off. Coach Josh Carr predicted the ex-Geelong defender could be sidelined for the next year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a patellar tendon, and it looks like it\u2019s ruptured, and he\u2019s going into emergency now. Most likely, he will get an operation tonight, so that\u2019s a long-term injury,\u201d Carr said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably, most likely 12 months [out], I think. He\u2019s in pretty good form, and marking the footy, and it\u2019s obviously disappointing and flattening for him and his family, and us as a footy club.\u201d<\/p>\n The Magpies still finished with fewer inside 50s and contested possessions, and split the clearances, as their stars, including Howe, who added another big mark to his collection, carried them across the line.<\/p>\n They have Richmond, Gold Coast (away), North Melbourne and Carlton to come across the next month.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"For](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/975181fbeb47093aa5a697ee143a77428c33954c.jpeg\")
For old and for young: Veteran Magpies star Jeremy Howe with debutant Sam Swadling after their win over the Power.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Jordan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0f16f88efe78aca501784aadfc11990fb859bde7.jpeg\")
Jordan De Goey was instrumental for Collingwood.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Steele](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8976d364f991aa24d9b17bfdd158b1d434ddeba0.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Luke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781969535_285_f717d9e4fbf7d9658a2373024d2666372bbc0b9f.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Esava](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0d7b894f3dce12a170cbb7cdb19f186e973b4dcc.jpeg\")
Esava Ratugolea was stretchered from the field.AFL Photos<\/p>\n