What if Carlton and Collingwood joined forces?

I have formulated the best 22 players from Collingwood and Carlton based on combining the teams.

I have selected the best players for their given role. To be eligible to be chosen for this team, a player must have played a minimum of five games in season 2019.

I have chosen to combine Collingwood and Carlton because they are traditional arch rivals, with a total of 11 Collingwood players and 11 Carlton players.

The players that I have selected must be on their team’s list for the 2020 AFL season.

The team is as follows.

Coach: David Teague
Co-captains: Tom Phillips and Sam Walsh
B: Jack Crisp (Collingwood), Liam Jones (Carlton), Matt Scharenberg (Collingwood)
HB: Sam Petrevski-Seton (Carlton), Levi Casboult (Carlton), Brayden Maynard (Collingwood)
C: Tom Phillips (Collingwood, co-captain), Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood), Sam Walsh (Carlton, co-captain)
HF: Josh Thomas (Collingwood), Patrick Cripps (Carlton), Will Setterfield (Carlton)
F: Jack Silvagni (Carlton), Will Hoskin-Elliott (Collingwood), Charlie Curnow (Carlton)
Foll: Brodie Grundy (Collingwood), Adam Treloar (Collingwood), Taylor Adams (Collingwood)
Int: Harry McKay (Carlton), Nic Newman (Carlton), Jordan De Goey (Collingwood), Zac Fisher (Carlton)

Coach
I chose David Teague as coach due to the fact that he did a good job in the short period that he was head coach of Carlton.

Captains
It was a difficult exercise choosing the captain as there are many players in this team that I consider to be leaders. Tom Phillips is a quality character who plays at a consistent level, therefore Phillips warrants the role of co-captain. Sam Walsh did a fantastic job in his first year at AFL level. Walsh leads by example and deserves a leadership role, in this case the co-captaincy title.

(Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Backs
Jack Crisp should be in defence as both Collingwood and Carlton lack quality small defenders. Liam Jones had his career rejuvenated when he moved from the forward line to defence. Matt Scharenberg deserves to be a part of the back six, despite featuring only seven times in season 2019 as I rate him highly as a player and he deserves to be a part of the big six for this exercise.

Sam Petrevski-Seton is a player that’s a utility and can play a number of positions, but would be most suited to a role on the halfback flank. Levi Casboult should play at centre half back as he would excel in that position. Brayden Maynard has the capability of being one of the most highly regarded halfback flankers in the competition, which he showed in 2019 when he played every game and was a solid contributor to the team.

Midfielders
The midfielders picked themselves. Tom Phillips quietly goes about his job, plying his trade on a wing. Scott Pendlebury finished second in the Collingwood best and fairest for 2019. Pendlebury reads the game extremely well. Sam Walsh can play on a wing and deserves to spend some time in the centre bounce as he has the ability to play that role as well.

Forwards
Josh Thomas is a player with plenty of ability and should play on a half forward flank as he doesn’t need to get much of the ball to impact the game. Patrick Cripps should play at centre half forward as Cripps could be dangerous in the position and hit the scoreboard. Cripps could still spend time in the midfield, but he has a lot of potential to play as a key forward target. Will Setterfield has the capability to play on the half forward flank and push up to the wing.

Jack Silvagni is a player that I expect to have a good season in 2020. Silvagni is a player that could be a utility, most suited to playing as a defensive forward as he would benefit from playing that role. Will Hoskin-Elliott should spend more time in the forward 50 as he can hit the scoreboard and cause carnage for opposition defenders. Charlie Curnow is the only key forward that I chose in the forward line as he deserves to roam around with no one inhibiting his presence.

Followers
Brodie Grundy is universally viewed as the best ruckman in the competition so it was a no-brainer to pick him in the ruck. Taylor Adams plays his best footy in the midfield, as does his former Greater Western Sydney teammate Adam Treloar.

Interchange
Harry McKay can play as a key forward, especially with Cripps spending time in the middle of the ground. McKay will be needed at centre half forward. He should play as the second ruckman, therefore his versatility sees him start on the interchange bench.

Nic Newman can play on the wing as well as in defence as he makes every disposal count. He is a prodigious kick of the footy. Jordan De Goey is a match-winner who has the ability to play in the midfield as well as up forward. Zac Fisher should play as an impact player and is also a utility who has the ability to play a number of roles for the team.