Dayne Beams, Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom, Adam Treloar, Taylor Adams, Will Hoskin-Elliot, Jordan de Goey, Brodie Grundy – never before has a side had a midfield of this calibre.
It is hard to fathom with the strict salary cap implemented in today’s modern game that a side could have so many A-grade midfielders in the line-up, yet this is something that Collingwood and its coach Nathan Buckley have been able to achieve. This has been through effective list management processes and making the club an attractive place to be.
Those who dislike Collingwood will often point to champion trios of the past with examples such as Michael Voss, Simon Black and Jason Akermanis – or Chris Judd, Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr provided. The debate is not which team has the best trio or quartet of midfielders in the history of the game, it is who has the best overall midfield.
No examples of the past have ever had a midfielder-ruckman hybrid the calibre of Grundy in the line-up either, all of which furthers the case that this is the best midfield line-up ever to be composed.
There is such a heavy level luxury and Rolls-Royce-esque quality in the Collingwood midfield, this provides players like De Goey the ability to play in the forward line and put goals on the scoreboard.
There may have been some basis for the debate of this not being the best midfield before, but now wish the re-addition of Beams, there is no doubt this will be the best midfield ever seen for the coming season in 2019. Beams just adds even further class to an already star-studded midfield.
The issue could arise where there are too many quality players, or midfielders potentially, pushed out of the side due to the abundance of premium quality midfielders in the side.
This is a very handy issue for Buckley to have, and his team will be the envy of all other sides next year.
Whether this eventuates to on-field success or not is another topic of interest, as the Magpies will still be well in need of more key-position players. I am unsure whether Jordan Roughead’s acquisition will help the cause any further, but time will tell.