There is a lot of bullishness around Collingwood coming into this season. A rise is inevitable according to most. Some have them contending for the flag.
A number of people, myself included, have felt that the Pies under Nathan Buckley are building a strong list that will have a great deal of depth to it when they are finally ready to contend.
Here’s the rest of Cam’s 2016 AFL preview series.
Collingwood have gone backwards on the ladder every single year since their 2010 premiership. 2011 saw a grand final berth, followed by drops to fourth, sixth, 11th and then 12th last season.
It’s time for the drop to stop, and it surely will. Let’s look at the possible side the Pies will try to rebound with.
| B: | Marley Williams | Nathan Brown | Alan Toovey | |
| HB: | Adam Oxley | Ben Reid | Tom Langdon | |
| C: | Travis Varcoe | Scott Pendlebury | Steele Sidebottom | |
| HF: | Alex Fasolo | Darcy Moore | Dane Swan | |
| F: | Jeremy Howe | Travis Cloke | Jamie Elliott | |
| Foll: | Brodie Grundy | Adam Treloar | Taylor Adams | |
| Int: | Jesse White | Jordan De Goey | Jack Crisp | Levi Greenwood |
| Em: | Jarryd Blair | James Aish | Tyson Goldsack |
Collingwood’s best 22 is one of the hardest to assemble this season, but for the good reason of too much depth rather than too little.
Jarryd Blair, James Aish and Tyson Goldsack would all consider themselves in the Pies’ best side, and many supporters would too. But that means three others would have to come out, and they’re not easy to find.
Not in the 25 named above are key defender Jack Frost, who has played 42 games across the last two seasons, premiership player Brent Macaffer, ruckman Jarrod Witts, and talented youngsters like Tim Broomhead and Brayden Maynard who have impressed when given their chance.
Some people might have Adam Oxley out of the above team, or Alan Toovey, and certainly Jesse White’s position is up for grabs. It’s all a good sign for the overall strength of the Pies.
The backline does have a lot of options both within the side, and outside of it. Talls, smalls, in-betweeners, and players that can play different roles if required.
The one-dimensional Nathan Brown and Jack Frost shouldn’t be on the same park where it can be avoided, but a half-back line of Ben Reid, Tom Langdon and Adam Oxley should be hard to penetrate, with their reading of the play and intercept skills.
Marley Williams is coming off his best season as the key rebounder after finally getting some continuity into his football. Alan Toovey is Mr Reliable, but could come under pressure by the youth pushing through.
The backline still lacks some class, which may mean the likes of Travis Varcoe and Steele Sidebottom drift back there from the wings to add some run and skill, even though both will be required to push forward to score and set up goals themselves.
Scott Pendlebury has been in the best handful of players in the competition for at least half a decade now, and will continue to be. While some people always seem to run out of time with the footy in hand, Pendles has an abundance of it. An aim for him should be to kick more than a goal a game for the first time in his career.
Dane Swan has been a regular at hitting the scoreboard for years, and is great at popping up for one or two here and there. He’ll continue to attract the ball with his hard-running and as an ever-dangerous forward, which he’ll do more of as time goes on.
Collingwood have been able to pick up a number of players from other clubs to add depth and improvement to their midfield, many of them still young in football terms.
Adam Treloar was the marquee signing from last year’s trade period, coupled with picking up James Aish from Brisbane. Treloar is a good player that finds a lot of the ball but can prefer a safer option over a damaging one. Aish impressed people in year one before regressing last season.
Taylor Adams came across from Greater Western Sydney at the end of 2013, and Jack Crisp arrived from Brisbane a year later. Both players are tough and can win their own ball, but need to tidy up their use.
Ex-Roo Levi Greenwood is in a similar boat to the latter two, albeit more experienced. He has only put together one season of consistent football, which was his last at North, and still has a lot to prove. Adams, Crisp and Greenwood provide great blue-collar depth and ball-winning ability.
Jordan de Goey is a home grown product, in that the Pies actually drafted him, and based on his superb pre-season form he looks ready to establish himself. It was a strong year of NAB Rising Star nominees when de Goey could only attract the solitary vote.
Brodie Grundy took ownership of the ruck role in 2015, and might just be ready to explode now. His mobility, coverage, second-efforts and ground-ball gathering are clear strengths, and he can kick a goal too. If he can start taking more marks around the ground, we’re going to see a real player.
Collingwood still has Travis Cloke, and many will debate whether he is over-rated, harshly maligned, or perhaps just ‘is what he is’.
What’s less arguable is that he’s not the player he was, and is having far less impact that he once did. Once a top ten player in the comp, he can no longer be considered in the top 50.
What’s up for debate with Cloke is whether he can get back to his best. Is he covering the ground he once did? Is he easier to defend now, both up the ground and closer to goal? There’s something lugubrious about his play these days.
The Pies are weak in tall support for Cloke, with Darcy Moore still learning and Jesse White still a collection of good and really bad. Jarrod Witts and even Mason Cox will be tried. It’s not the most threatening collection of names.
Jeremy Howe has been recruited to play and offer Collingwood something of what they don’t have, but where will his inconsistency leave them if Cloke has another down year and they can’t get reliable returns from Moore or White?
Alex Fasolo is ready for his best season, and Jamie Elliott needs to elevate his game. They can form one of the most dangerous small forward duo’s in the league with their complementary skills.
But does this forward-line have enough pressure or speed in it? There are weaknesses there that will be exploited by good backlines. The midfield will send enough ball forward to kick some winning scores, but will it be precise enough often enough, especially against the best sides?
Collingwood are on the right track, and Buckley deserves the chance to see this through. A top six finish is a realistic aim, and finals should be the minimum expectation internally.
It’s too cut and dried to suggest that anything less is a failure, and the Pies still have a number of holes around the ground. They’ll improve this season, but there’ll be even more improvement the year after.
Predicted ladder spread: 7th-10th
Predicted finish: 9th
Best and fairest: Scott Pendlebury
Leading goalkicker: Jamie Elliott
All-Australian potential: Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom, Tom Langdon
Rising Star candidates: Nil
Current ladder
Collingwood – ninth
Adelaide – tenth
North Melbourne – 11th
Melbourne – 12th
Gold Coast – 13th
Port Adelaide – 14th
St Kilda – 15th
Brisbane – 16th
Carlton – 17th
Essendon – 18th
roseycheeks
Guest
The Pies won't let another good start go to waste for a 3rd season straight will they??? I expect them to be 6/2 come round 8 then they have a couple of testing weeks. Fasolo to lead the goalkicking as an underrated forward continuing to rise. Watch the Pies defensive pressure be in the top 3 and don't be suprised by a Preliminary final berth!
Tricky
Guest
IMO Collingwood need to up there disposal efficiency this year (16th last year) and sure there'll still be holes but the gaps would've closed if they improve in this area. I suspect the coaching staff are expecting improvement in disposal efficiency and if they get that then they'll probably use someone like Cloke in a possible CHF role with the likes of Grundy / Witts resting forward or perhaps developing Moore / Gault. Then add your crumbers Fasolo, Elliot etc. and resting forward Swan. If they can improve in their efficiency and then structure this way (tweaking obviously depending on opponent, venue etc.) They're right in the mix for the bottom of the 8, in fact any other year I'd lock em in barring the amount of competition we have this year for the finals all the way down to 13th spot I reckon.
Tricky
Guest
Actually Cloke just turned 29, my apologies
Tricky
Guest
Cloke just turned 29, still prime time - at least another 2 years in him.
Tricky
Guest
Cloke's only 28 - should be in his prime still, just hasn't got the team around him to play like he's in his prime.
jax
Guest
Gecko, watching him on a scripted, edited tv show is exactly the kind of thing that I warned about in my post. Yet you replied by stating that you know him from a scripted, edited tv show, smh. Take a deep breath and think about what you said, it's ludicrous and incredibly dangerous. Trump is playing the game, trying to win votes against a system that is largely against him. You need to be able to see through the smoke and mirrors but you clearly can't at this stage, no offence. Can you name the major world leader that holds an annual press conference with 1,200 journalists throwing questions at him for over 3 hours straight? He does this every single year and last year it ran for over 4 hours but you'll never see it on tv or read about it in msm. Only a leader at the very top of his game, with nothing to hide could pull that off year after year. Google it, you might be suprised at who it is. I don't have anything more to say on this topic other than do your homework and stop being so naive. Thanks for reading.
Josephine
Roar Pro
Rising star candidates? Nil??? Darcy Moore will have breakout year with his goal kicking if he can feature in the senior team consistently. Jordan De Goey also has a chance at breaking out as a star midfielder, the boy can run and play both offensively and defensively in the middle and that's really important.
Jamie Radford
Roar Pro
I agree with that Tom. Wasn't inferring he was AA standard yet, but has exceeded expectations.
Gecko
Guest
Jax some of us have been watching Trump for twenty years and have a pretty clear picture about what kind of human being he is. The trouble with democracy is that if Americans eventually vote him in, it's not just Americans who'll have to deal with him. The fall-out from the Bush Presidency is being felt from Syria through to Afghanistan and now right across Europe.
jax
Guest
Jay - I think (hope) that your comment was meant to be off the cuff and funny but there is a more serious side to it as you attacked a man's character and values and I think that you did it without having many of the facts. How many hours have you spent watching Trump in debates or in long, unedited, uninterrupted interviews? If you haven't invested time in those pursuits then how did you come to form this opinion, how accurate and robust is it - who's opinion is it really? I've watched approx 20 hours of Trump during this campaign, including all of the debates with some of them lasting close to 3 hours, it's on you tube so no excuses. I've heard what he has said and then I have seen the media twist a sound byte to paint a different picture. My guess is that you've formed your opinion on Trump from watching, or reading so-called 'news' and other sound bytes that are conveniently served up to you and so easily and often taken out of context. I'm not a fan of any of the candidates but Bernie Sanders is the best of the bad bunch that remains and he was bang on when he said that the US political system is rigged and that the Gov't is corrupt, paid for, compromised and working for the 1%. If you're not a Trump supporter then who do you support and how many hours have you spent investigating their background, congressional voting record, campaign funding sources etc? I'm not taking a swipe at you personally - so many people do the same thing as you just did but it's very dangerous and dare I say stupid. I am respectfully recommending that you source your own news and listen to the person speak for long periods of time before forming an opinion on anything, or anyone. You might be suprised at what you can learn. That's my two cents worth and I hope that you take it on-board, Good luck mate and once again, nothing personal. P.S. If you want to see a British MP tear into some US senators (in America, under oath) about the same type of character assassination and mud-slinging that they did to him and that they are now are doing to Trump then you tube - "George Galloway blasts US Senate".
Josh
Expert
Nah I only choke when I try to eat too many donuts at once.
Don Freo
Guest
Goldsack was a frenetic defensive forward last year and is a better 3rd tall option than White. His utility in defence should certainly at least get him a bench position...at White's expense. Top 6 for Collingwood.
Jayell
Guest
Cameron and Jason were just bait to make sure the little bro would sign with the Pies rather than the Tiges. The big bros cards were stamped before the ink was dry on the little bro's signature.... BTW McCaffer will tighten that forward line up and have to agree with previous contributor that it is very unfair to associate Dids with a 'toxic' culture. He was part of a team that achieved the ultimate football dream, that team included their mentor and coach who was then "BONED" by you know who, hard not to be a little recalcitrant and bitter after that.
Cameron Rose
Expert
Big call to say he'll lose his spot Richo, I couldn't see that happening. But the point about his brothers is pertinent.
Cameron Rose
Expert
That was my oversight Ads, it shouldn't have been nil. Moore definitely.
Cameron Rose
Expert
Nice story Peter, always good to come home and strong and walk off with some chocolates. You're right about those names, they'll all need to contribute up forward.
Gecko
Guest
Jay it'll be interesting to see which has more influence over Collingwood's season: its lack of classy ball users or its impressive depth of B+ players. I reckon that depth will help players stay consistent (get lazy and you get dropped) and help us cover our injuries better than most clubs. I reckon that depth will see us clinch a spot in the 8. But we can't win a premiership with heaps of B+ players. Probably need to recruit a classy defender at the end of 2016 and hope one of our young midfielders develops their disposal to A-grade, so we can aim for a top 4 in 2017 and premiership in 2018.
richo
Guest
im concerned about Trav Cloke. He seems to get bigger and slower every season, and his consistency is declining as well. Both of his brothers careers were finished at top level before they were 30 and his father's best years were certainly his younger ones at Richmond. I will be supporting the big fella but not sure if he will stay in the team this year
David C
Guest
Certainly developing a habit of just missing the 8.
richo
Guest
that toxic culture as you call it produced a premiership and one of the best collingwood teams in its history. Teams can sometimes be a reflection of the coach and Bucks is certainly a quieter nerdy type. Micks team was more outgoing and flambouyant and liked to have a good time. Dont try and malign players like Didak for being "toxic" as its not fair on him.