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Opinion
Collingwood will win the club’s third-ever wooden spoon in 2022.
After finishing in the bottom four for just the third time in the last 20 years, the Magpies are clearly in the formative stages of a rebuild.
Perhaps their total of six wins was a little misleading last season, having finished with only the fifth-worst percentage in the league. It took until the final fortnight of the season for Collingwood to lose a game by more than five goals too, which was a tick for the defensive scheme implemented to an extent.
All in all, they probably deserved a higher finish based on their competitiveness.
After such a tumultuous season, with the official recognition of the systemic racism that had clearly influenced a culture that marginalised groups of players, heavy rotation in key leadership positions and list management positions, and ongoing legal issues regarding a certain player’s history and ongoing behaviour, the overly positive Craig McRae has been tasked with writing a new and better chapter in Collingwood’s book.
Said player’s repeated actions and playing status will keep a cloud hanging over the club until his eventual departure, but there are definite on-field positives at Collingwood that indicate a bright future lies ahead for a club that has shot itself in the foot repeatedly in recent times.
Yet, as much as a fresh beginning under new leadership is desperately desired, hopes of the ‘new coach’ impact, resulting in inexplicably improved performance, just doesn’t work here at Collingwood in 2022.
McRae was an excellent appointment and can help try and rebuild a culture in tatters, but he must first negotiate the remnants of what has been a club that simply hasn’t been run well.
Despite the extraordinary, yet necessary turnover personnel-wise behind the scenes, there is an inevitable stink around Collingwood, and it will require patience and time to rebuild the club’s image.
The 48-year-old’s approach to coaching and people is certainly a step in the right direction – inclusive, educational and welcoming – but to expect Collingwood to emerge from darkness so soon lacks an understanding of the recent decimation.
Results-wise, it’s likely that the Magpies haven’t even looked to bottom out.
(Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
To finish with a respectable percentage and to have such close results in a 17th-placed season, the club were overly reliant on experienced players to do the bulk of the work.
The top five possession-getters were Taylor Adams, Jack Crisp, Steele Sidebottom, Chris Mayne and Scott Pendlebury, and all bar Mayne were in the top-five clearance winners and tacklers at the club.
Only four players kicked more than 13 goals for the season, and the team was ranked dead last in metres gained and third-last in contested possessions.
While there were plenty of young players featured – no fewer than nine debutants were used – none were used in any important roles for Collingwood that would aid in their future development. Beau McCreery was the best of the rookies, ranking first in the entire competition for tackles inside 50 per game, and he was the 44th selection in the 2020 draft.
Collingwood played a slow, methodical and extremely safe style that assisted in solidifying them defensively, as they could suffocate the flow of the game and put numbers behind the ball, but in any opportunities to use young players in advanced positions to take the game on, the options were completely declined.
Naturally, the Magpies scored the third-fewest points of any club in 2021, averaging 70.8 points a game. Their average of 44.5 inside 50s a match was the lowest by a considerable margin, while they were ranked second last for clearances and 15th for tackles, despite having one of the premier ruckmen in the competition.
(Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The official recruitment of Nick Daicos is the clear standout positive of the 2022 Magpies.
The fact past errors resulted in having the club trade away last year’s second-overall pick was cushioned by just how talented the 19-year-old is. He could’ve been in Collingwood’s best 22 two seasons ago.
With the inclusion of such a player, alongside the likes of Darcy Moore, Brodie Grundy and Taylor Adams as some of the league’s better players and the same veterans that have been so good for so long, some may point towards there being too much talent for a team like this to reach rock bottom.
If Craig McRae is going to take a stand and make a long-term commitment to the Collingwood Football Club, he will make the right on-field moves that may result in the team getting worse before getting better.
Already we know that Scott Pendlebury will predominately play across halfback. While he will still be an important part of the structure overall, the reliance on the captain will shift from doing plenty in the midfield to being an on-field coach with the skills to bring his teammates into the game better.
A similar change in focus should be directed towards Steele Sidebottom, whose numbers and impact dropped to their lowest in a decade.
Put simply, such a wing role is better spent on Caleb Poulter, Josh Daicos, Patrick Lipinski and even some speed and aggression out there for Isaac Quaynor. The 31-year-old would be dangerous as a forward, and without a role change, he could slip out of the side by season’s end.
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Jack Crisp should be utilised in the midfield sparingly, despite him being just 28 years of age, as McRae should be seeking genuine output from players like Finlay Macrae, Nick Daicos, the aforementioned Lipinski and the somewhat divisive Tyler Brown. Crisp’s reliability should be welcomed more on the outside rather than in the clearances – Collingwood needs a cool head.
Allowing Jack Ginnivan and Oli Henry to play as high half-forwards instead of Jamie Elliott pushing into the midfield would only be beneficial to the future of the club.
Realistically, there can be less emphasis placed on the importance of average-performing experienced players and more time put into Trent Bianco, Nathan Murphy and Charlie Dean.
If you set out a list of all the young players at Collingwood, most of whom have been listed above, there’s a level of untapped potential with a strong utilitarian ethos that can end up building this group towards a flexible future.
Crucially though, and McRae understands this better than some others that have coached at big clubs, minutes for young players are only as good as the trust that is given to them in their roles.
The 2021 season saw a considerable amount of playing time given to young players at the club, but the actual development of the talent was poor, as the roles they were given were peripheral at best.
(Photo by Mike Owen/Getty Images)
The dynamic of the existing core group of players was prioritised as the turbulent season went from trying to save one’s job into auditioning for a hopeful future role.
Playing it safe has never cut it in any professional sport, and it sure as anything won’t cut it for Collingwood in 2022.
Craig McRae and the entire Collingwood hierarchy should understand that this season means so much for the direction of this football club.
There are multiple reasons as to why there are clouds hanging over the Magpies, one of which will stay for a while to come.
But true change comes from courage, and it comes from people.
There is so much work to be done at Collingwood to fix what has been the biggest club in the AFL, and now is the time to start making the necessary changes.
The Magpies just got by in 2021 and ended up going all-out on the field just to tread water. The uninspiring footy resulted in a 17th-place finish, some competitiveness and little to be excited for in terms of development.
If that was the best-case scenario out of this playing group last season, it’s only natural that with setting building blocks for the future, the results won’t be as competitive as last season.
This isn’t a playing group that will go through a season with just one or two wins, but fans of the club and those with huge expectations around this legendary team should temper them greatly.
With a lot to fix both off and on the field, it’s a tough task for Craig McRae to waltz into, but he’s the right man to get the club back on track.
No team needs to go as far back to head in the right direction, but if done properly, the on-field pain won’t last too long.
Collingwood will win the 2022 wooden spoon, and it’s time for all the Magpies’ stakeholders to rebuild the club from the ground up, letting the youth lead from the front.