Collingwood still searching for right midfield mix after addition of star Dayne Beams

Collingwood is still searching for its most damaging midfield mix as coach Nathan Buckley enjoys an embarrassment of riches following the addition of Dayne Beams. Jack Crisp says it’ll be interesting where his new teammate “fits in”.

Dayne Beams is back at Collingwood — but where does he fit into the stacked midfield?

First Jack Crisp and Will Hoskin-Elliott, next Taylor Adams.

That’s the hope of the former, who has signed on to be a Magpie for the next four years.

But it’s the contract talks of his teammate that holds his hopes now that his own pen has been put to paper.

Adams is on the verge of signing a five-year contract extension to stay at Collingwood and is getting some encouragement around the Holden Centre.

“Talking with my manager and stuff, we were always going to look for something that was going to be a bit more of a long-term deal for myself, just so we can settle into the club,” Crisp said.

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Jack Crisp has re-signed with Collingwood until the end of 2023. Picture: Mark Stewart

“I’m sure everyone else is the same. Where the club is going — and hopefully Taylor Adams signs a long-term deal as well — we’ve got a lot of core players that are going to be sticking around for a while, so it’s really good to see.

“I asked (Adams) if he has (signed), but he says he’s still negotiating. Hopefully he can get that done before the season or whenever he’s ready.”

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Crisp, 25, admitted it is “pretty funny” to see how his football journey has ended up, having been traded to Collingwood as part of the deal that saw Dayne Beams sent to Brisbane, only to now call Beams a teammate.

It will be interesting, he said, to see where Beams — who has been battling illness over the last week — “fits in” to the Collingwood midfield that will be spoilt for choice this season.

“There’s a lot of mixing and matching going on,” Crisp said.

Dayne Beams is back at Collingwood — but where does he fit into the stacked midfield?

“As Bucks (Nathan Buckley) has said, we’re still trying to find our right mix and we might not find it until late in the preseason. We’ve obviously got so many players that can go through mid, forward and back that you’re going to have to be able to play multiple roles to get a spot in the team at the moment.

“It’s a healthy competition for spots and as long as everybody’s healthy on the list, it’s going to put a lot of pressure on the older mids to keep their spot.”

Hoskin-Elliott, who signed on until the end of 2022, said the Magpies were determined to build on its Grand Final loss to West Coast, which even he admitted had surprised the group.

“We thought we had the right formula to play finals, but we didn’t think it would come this quick,” he said.

“To be there and get the experience of last season, it’s only going to help us for this year and years to come, so hopefully we jell and we play team footy and who knows what we can do.”

Originally published as Collingwood still searching for right midfield mix after addition of star Dayne Beams