Collingwood track watch: Pies’ pre-season training notes, injury news

A senior trio of Magpies missed training on Tuesday, with a triple threat of young stars shining in their places. See the latest from the Collingwood training track.

Collingwood premiership player Tom Mitchell has been dealt a fresh injury setback just as he looked to be building towards a return to the Magpies’ first-choice midfield.

The Brownlow medallist faces a delayed start to training after the Christmas break following scans which revealed a bone stress injury in his foot.

Mitchell, 31, pulled up sore following his impressive return to full training at Olympic Park last week.

He only played managed six games in 2024 after playing every match on the way to a superb performance in the Pies’ 2023 grand final triumph.

A battle with persistent plantar fasciitis and two hospitalisations in May and August due to appendicitis brought an early end to Mitchell’s campaign, but he was back at the club last month to train alongside the Pies’ first to fourth-year players.

Tom Mitchell has been sidelined with a foot issue. Picture: Michael Klein

Collingwood high performance boss Jarrod Wade said Mitchell would be in a moon boot for at least a fortnight before the club “reassessed” his recovery plan.

“After building up his loads over the off-season, Tom returned to full training last week, and unfortunately, he felt some soreness in his foot,” Wade said.

“A MRI has confirmed that Tom has a mild second metatarsal bone stress injury and he will spend the next two weeks in a boot before we reassess what the next steps are.

“Tom has shown great resilience over the past 12 months and has always been incredibly diligent and committed to his rehab, so we are confident he will come through this next challenge and return to being a fantastic contributor to our side.”

Tom Mitchell at preseason training in November. . Picture: Michael Klein

Meanwhile St Kilda have said that four players are expected to be back in full training next month, while a first-round draft pick is expected to be training by February.

Spearhead Max King (knee), Anthony Caminiti (shoulder), Marcus Windhager (hamstring) and Liam Stocker (groin) are the four the Saints are expecting to be back with the main group in January.

Stocker has avoided the need for surgery on his groin injury and is eyeing off a return by mid-January.

There is still no timeline on when speedster Liam Henry will back despite him returning to running following his off-season knee surgery.

No. 10 draft pick Alix Tauru is continuing to recover from a stress fracture in his back and is expected to begin running in the next two weeks.

Max King at Kilda pre-season training at RSEA Park this month. Picture: Mark Stewart

St Kilda footy boss David Misson said it was expected he would fold into main training by February.

“It’s always a challenging time for players waiting to rejoin the main group, especially as a new recruit,” Misson said.

“We’ve been really impressed with how Alix has approached his rehabilitation and we’ll continue to take a cautious approach to ensure he’s ready for a great first season at the Saints.”

YOUNG GUNS SHINE IN ABSENCE OF STARS

Collingwood’s depth was put to the test during full ground match simulation on Tuesday with the next wave of hopeful stars stepping up in the absence of the more notable Pies names.

22-year old Finlay Macrae was the standout during the session, who flourished with more opportunity in the middle of the ground with trio Jordan De Goey, Josh Daicos and Tom Mitchell all absent.

The Pies said the trio trained inside with Jamie Elliott the only other omission from the outdoor session.

Macrae has struggled to break into Collingwood’s senior side, having only played 21 games in four seasons at the club, but he had plenty of the football during the match sim running alongside and combining well with Nick Daicos through the midfield.

Teams were broken up into black singlets and white singlets with new recruit Dan Houston joining Macrae, Daicos, Brayden Maynard and Darcy Moore on team black.

Former Giant Harry Perryman was a standout for the white side and ran through the middle often as a link in the Pies’ chain going forward.

Scott Pendlebury, Isaac Quaynor and Tim Membrey were the other key performers for the white team.

Jeremy Howe played out of full forward on Isaac Quaynor, alongside Ash Johnson and Dan McStay.

Reef McInnes continued to train down back alongside Billy Frampton and Darcy Moore.

Johnson – who had a great 2023 season before injury cut it short – did get out the back of a contest at full forward, dribbling an impressive goal from a tight angle.

The highlight of the match-sim was Jack Crisp’s long bomb to seal the win for the white team after the whistle.

Finlay Macrae starred in the Pies’ Tuesday session. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.

Close to the boundary, Crisp launched a massive 55-metre drop punt straight through the middle with every teammate on the ground getting over to him to celebrate.

Players who impressed:

Darcy Cameron – the man who made the All Australian Squad in 2024 was impressive in the match sim. Up against project ruckman Oscar Steene, Cameron comfortably outworked his opponent around the ground and in the ruck. Also pushed back on multiple occasions, helping teammate Darcy Moore defend Mason Cox.

Reef McInnes – again training down back, McInnes seems to have adapted to the role seamlessly. Competed very well in the air and is balanced at ground level and was already directing teammates behind the ball.

Tim Membrey – was initially well held in a one-on-one contest at ground level by Brayden Maynard, but followed up into the pocket and snuck a dribbling goal from close range with Maynard on his tail.

Lachie Schultz – the former Docker who kicked 24 goals from his 20 games in his first season as a Magpie, was heavily involved in a fast-paced handball drill with plenty of praise from teammates coming his way throughout the drill. Also did some good things during the match-sim.

Originally published as Collingwood track watch: Pies’ pre-season training notes, injury news