Collingwood
Coach – Nathan Buckley
2020 –
Points For – 13th
Points Against – 3rd
Top 5 Best and Fairest
- Taylor Adams
- Scott Pendelbury
- Jack Crisp
- Darcy Moore
- Brayden Maynard
2020 Rising Star Noms
Nil
Ins – Oliver Henry, Finlay Macrae, Reef McInnes, Caleb Poulter, Liam McMahon, Beau McCreery, Jack Ginnivan, Isaac Chugg
Outs – Flynn Appleby, Dayne Beams, Atu Bosenavulagi, Tim Broomhead, Lynden Dunn, Tom Langdon, Tom Phillips, Ben Reid, Matthew Scharenberg, Jaidyn Stephenson, Adam Treloar, Travis Varcoe, Rupert Wills
My Prediction
I don’t care about schadenfreude, I just want to enjoy the total misery that the Pies have been going through and hope it continues indefinitely. Also I don’t want to hear about how well they drafted because the exodus of talent is massive and I refuse to believe that their shenanigans on draft night were anything more than wallpapering over the cracks to keep their feral fan base distracted.
Their backline performed above all other areas of the field for them last year. They were let down by other areas but got the job done. Roughead and Moore are a handy top two and the development of Maynard has surprised me. They should get a bit more of Howe this year and with Crisp and Quaynor off half back giving them some run.
The midfield two years ago was being claimed by Robbo to be possibly the greatest ever to take the field. Hasn’t quite played out that way. Beams never got on the field and now Treloar is gone. Pendlebury and Sidebottom are their two most important mids and age will start to impact them. Taylor Adams is important but they don’t want him delivering the ball. They will be looking for Daicos and Brown to spend more time in the middle and hoping De Goey finds a tank (and avoids prison time). It looks like a lightweight midfield now and has to be a concern.
The dire state of the forward line should distract attention from the midfield however. They are still relying on Cox as their main marking target and he has been found out. Mihocek gives good effort every week and is probably their best forward along with De Goey when he is on. They need a lot from Elliott and Hoskins-Elliott. It is a forward line that relies on everyone playing above their natural ability.
The ruck is sorted. Brodie had a down year last year but will bounce back. They need him to support through the middle. I would expect him to grow from last year and have another great season. The pressure on Buckley is building and will be interesting to see how the year plays out. I think with Eddie finishing up, he loses a layer of protection and missing the finals could see him vulnerable.
The thing is that even with the exodus last year, they still have a solid backline and a very good midfield. The forward line is dire but it has been even in the year they made the grand final. The talent doesn’t run as deep as it has previously and they are going to be susceptible to injury and form of their top tier of talent. They need a lot to go right for them to be able to challenge. I think they have a good enough list to make finals but could just as easily slide as well. I think somewhere from 7-10 is about right for them.