Collingwood has been urged to make bold calls on its veterans and prioritise the draft amid a void of young talent or risk being in a “hole for a long time.”
The Magpies dropped a fourth-straight game against Hawthorn to effectively ended the reigning premiers’ season as Collingwood prepares to make some defining decisions on the future of its list.
Having had the oldest team in the competition in Round 19, the Pies would currently have 11 players on their list aged 30 plus in 2025.
That includes champion trio Scott Pendlebury (37), Jeremy Howe (35) and Steele Sidebottom (34), who are all out of contract but reports have indicated are keen to play on, as well as Mason Cox (34), Jamie Elliott (33), Brody Mihocek, Tom Mitchell, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Jack Crisp, (all 32), Dan McStay and Darcy Cameron (both 30).
Magpies president Jeff Browne told the Herald Sun earlier this year the club would continue to prioritise topping up at the trade table to remain in flag contention, like when it added McStay, Mitchell, Bobby Hill and Billy Frampton ahead of its 2023 premiership run.
“They can try and squeeze out and win one more premiership, but they’re going to be in a hole for a long time.
“Nick Daicos will take them a long way for the next 10 years, but he’s going to need some support. I think they’ve got to be very cautious about how much they try and bring in and how much they use to go to the draft.”
Kangaroos great David King had some concerns with how Collingwood appeared to be planning its list build moving forward, but acknowledged there’s no certain way to do it.
“I’m concerned when I hear the club say it’s going to purge some high draft picks and get known products in and pay a bit extra. It’s a risk,” he said.
“Is it the Geelong model, is it the rebuild model? I don’t know what works, you’ve got to pick your own poison. It’s a gamble either way.”
With that in mind, Fox Footy commentator Anthony Hudson highlighted it makes the Pies’ call to trade 21-year old Jack Ginnivan “even more confusing” after the young gun starred against his former side with a career-best 31 disposals to go with 11 score involvements and two goals.
However King says Ginnivan “risked a grand final” by controversially attending the races the night before last year’s decider, declaring clubs “have to put your culture and standards above all else”.
“It’s a hard one to forgive, turning up grand final day and finding out one of your players has been the races the night before,” he said.
“I think that’s a tough one for coaches to walk past.”
