In 2010 Collingwood had assembled the perfect list. Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes were there to grab it, with Alan Didak, Leon Davis and Jarryd Blair to crumb and pressure.
A back line was built on Ben Reid and Nathan Brown, strong enough to take the league’s biggest forwards.
They were assisted by a defensive unit which continuously zoned off and generated great run to set-up tsunami-like attacks, eventually breaking down even the best teams.
Their midfield could rotate a host of solid players through it, with the star factor from Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan and Dale Thomas.
Darren Jolly was the final piece in the puzzle, his grunt in the ruck being what the Pies had missed for years.
Mick Malthouse was a man at his peak, empowered to win by the vast resources at his disposal. He had a young team with the ability to create a dynasty.
Then came 2011.
Their game plan, which had proved to be yet another of Collingwood’s competitive advantages, grew stale. Or perhaps the checkered preparation of some players (namely Thomas and Didak) for the finals series meant it couldn’t be carried out properly.
Hawthorn out-played them for three quarters in the preliminary final, a team the Pies had beaten convincingly during the year.
They eventually ran in to a Geelong side, hungry for retribution, who were arguably the most mentally resilient and competitive group ever assembled in the AFL.
While the grand final was even for the first three quarters, it seemed Collingwood was always struggling to keep up, panicking when they had possession. Which is exactly how Collingwood had made St Kilda look in 2010.
This year the pre-season has been poor.
Too many players have had interrupted preparations, and it is very possible the Pies will finish lower than third.
People may scoff at this assessment, but changing from a coach in his absolute prime to an assistant with two years’ experience hardly fills me with confidence.
Geelong will be strong again, as will the Hawks. Carlton’s pre-season form has been poor but their injury list isn’t as bad as the Pies. Victorians might underrate the West Australian teams, but rest assured both will finish top six.
Where does this leave the Pies list for next year?
Greater Western Sydney is lurking, free agency will start this year, and Pendlebury, Cloke and Reid are all out of contract.
Jolly can’t be expected to hold up the ruck division for much longer, meaning they’ll have to develop someone or poach one from another club, taking up even more cap space.
While it might be going a bit far to suggest that Collingwood’s dynasty is undoubtedly over before it even started, swapping Malthouse for Buckley may be the blemish Eddie McGuire is remembered for.
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