Collingwood coach Craig McRae confirms interest in Jack Silvagni, Pies name super charged VFL team
Collingwood coach Craig McRae has confirmed the club’s interest in a favourite Blue, while the Pies have named a mega VFL squad with two premiership stars and a son of a legend to play under lights.
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Collingwood coach Craig McRae says he won’t “stand still” in chasing rival players after reports the Magpies are interested in luring Carlton defender Jack Silvagni.
Silvagni, a famous Carlton name, is a restricted free agent at season’s end and has reportedly been tabled a four-year extension by the Blues.
The 128-game Blue has been sidelined with groin soreness but had previously been enjoying a career rejuvenation in defence.
McRae has been an open book when it comes to the Magpies’ stance on recruiting rival players and doubled down again on Friday.
The premiership coach said whether it was Silvagni or another player, the Magpies were always looking to bolster their list.
“I’ve said opening many times about looking for free agents, unrestricted free agents is something we want to continue to explore,” he said.
“Whether it’s Jack or someone else, we’ll step into that because we don’t want to stand still.
“We want to better than what we are now and next year – we want to look at avenues to bring players in that we think can do that.”
McRae confirmed he was part of list management discussions and said he would meet with Silvagni if the Blue was the right fit in black and white.
“I am heavily involved in those situations,” he said.
“Just making sure this is the right platform and environment for players to make them feel like they can come and be the best version of themselves.
“I would meet with Jack, yeah, if that was something that was important to us.”
Carlton is set to lose ruckman Tom De Koning to St Kilda and it also was reported to have shut down forward Charlie Curnow exploring a move to Gold Coast.
The potential arrival of Silvagni would be a huge boost to Collingwood, which has reshuffled its cards in defence as a result of injury this year.
Magpies star to notch 3731-day first
Collingwood has stacked its VFL team as the AFL finals push intensifies, with returning premiership winners Jordan De Goey and Bobby Hill set to play a Saturday night game in Frankston.
The duo are among five key returns to football as Collingwood’s assault on the final month of the home-and-away season gets a boost, with Billy Frampton also coming back through the VFL, while Dan Houston and Tim Membrey will be named to take on Richmond in the AFL on Sunday.
The Magpies will also get a look at a potential future star, with Tom McGuane, the son of former premiership hero Mick, also set to play in the VFL game.
It will be De Goey’s first VFL game in more than a decade as he plots his path back to the AFL team having played only five games in 2025 and none since round 9 because of an achilles issue.
He was also put on concussion protocols after a training clash with teammate Brayden Maynard delayed his return.
Norm Smith Medallist Hill hasn’t played at AFL level since round 16, having taken time away for the club to deal with personal issues as well as battling illness.
The presence of the duo at Kinetic Stadium in Frankston, with the AFL team not playing until Sunday, could ensure a monster crowd at the suburban venue.
De Goey in particular, is the most intriguing watch in that game after the matchwinner has endured a wretched run with injury this year.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae says there’s “always an element of risk” with a player returning from injury, but he is confident in De Goey’s power of work.
“We’re excited for what that looks like, (De Goey has) been out for I don’t even know how many weeks,” he said.
“Bobby Hill will play a game in the VFL as well … it will be great to have those two players for our club.
“There’s always an element of risk with all things but, based on the last three weeks of training, (De Goey) looks really fit and strong.
“It’s opportunity to get out and play, particularly for Bobby, he’s had a bit of stuff going on, to see him smile.
“It might be hard down at Frankston on the Hill … they’ve got bongos going on, it’s actually really enjoyable. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.
“Billy will play in the VFL as well … we could train him another week but we thought let’s just get him in the VFL for some minutes. There will be a cast of thousands down at Frankston.”
The Magpies face Richmond on Sunday after suffering successive losses for the first time in 2025.
Collingwood’s Darcy Moore had an uncharacteristically poor game against Fremantle last Sunday, losing his battle with Docker Patrick Voss.
McRae spoke to Moore about his performance earlier this week and expects to see a response from the captain.
“I had a good chat to Darcy earlier in the week, the six goals weren’t only on him. We have a team system we like to think supports him,” he said.
“But there’s opportunities to get better and maybe that’s a platform they’ll show now, if you sort of isolate Darcy a little bit.
“We want a leader defending the ground a bit better than he did at times on the weekend, we won’t shy away from that.”
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