Collingwood
Coach – Craig McRae
2023 –
Points For – 4th
Points Against – 3rd
Top 5 Best and Fairest
1 – Josh Daicos
2 – Nick Daicos
3 – Brayden Maynard
4 – Tom Mitchell
5 – Scott Pendlebury
2023 Rising Star Noms
Nil
Ins – Harry DeMattia, Lachie Schultz, Tew Jiath
Outs – Taylor Adams, Trent Bianco, Arlo Draper, Jack Ginnivan, Will Kelly, Cooper Murley, Trey Ruscoe
My Prediction
Collingwood winning the whole lot last year wasn’t a surprise, it was however very disappointing and something I hope we can avoid seeing again for a very long time. It was disappointing to hear people talk about how much they loved watching them play or how they were a good news story. Never ever forget the hate. Last year could only have been worse if Carlton won the damn thing.
The backline was good last year. They can be opened up but generally they got the job done. Howe made it back after losing his arm, Maynard is a flog and Murphy should be ok after a late start to the year. Moore is moderately likeable but reasonably talented and they get good run off half back from Markov and Quaynor.
The midfield is deep and diverse (not racially, this is Collingwood. I am talking about age). They have Pendlebury and Sidebottom bringing the experience, The Daicos boys bringing skill and hope and they have De Goey for the handsy harassment. Mitchell was a very good get last year and they have Crisp and Lipinski for depth. I think losing Adams hurts them but he is coverable.
The forward line looks crap. Mihocek is good but they need a focal point and I wonder if it will be Mason Cox who was disappointingly good in the second half of last season. Schultz is a good average player to bring in and they have McCreery who became less and less likeable as the year went on. Hill winning the Norm Smith (which honestly saved us from even more Nick Daicos worship over the off season) hurt when he should have been in red and black. Jamie Elliott is right up there with the most punchable players in the AFL and faded as last year went on. I don’t think it is a good forward line and it will be interesting to see how they line up.
I believe Darcy Cameron is a ruck. Hard to tell but he seems like a footballer and is able to impact the game in ways other than his subpar tap work. The coach is a genius. He is frustratingly good. Won a premiership with a good list but not the best, there are a couple of lists better than his yet there he is with his silverware.
Annoyingly, I don’t know if there is a reason outside of complacency to believe Collingwood will drop down the ladder too far this year. They have a game plan that works, they have believe in themselves and each other, they expect to win every game they play. I don’t know how they drop out of the top four unless injuries really hit them (we can at least hope) so I expect them to finish top 3 again.
