Mick Malthouse assesses which Collingwood players should remain at the club as it looks towards the future
Collingwood has the opportunity to prepare for next year and there are players who will have to go. And Mick Malthouse has a firm view on two club champions.
Mick Malthouse
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The stakes are high for Richmond on Sunday and also for Robert Harvey. And although finals are out of the equation for Collingwood, the stakes are just as high.
Because what the Magpies do against the Tigers, and for the rest of the season, will have a big impact on how they start season 2022.
The Tigers’ last win was in round 12 against Essendon. They have lost momentum and fallen in a dangerous hole.
But with its season hanging by a thread and a spot in the eight on the line, you’d expect a hungrier, and more focused Richmond on Sunday.
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Collingwood on the other hand has the chance to prepare for next year. But there is a dilemma in this.
The Pies find themselves in their current position because the salary cap issue not only squeezed out some important players, it also tore out some of the club’s heart.
Collingwood has gone through the biggest shake up in the club’s recent history with the departure of the president, the coach, and key players.
I don’t get the deal of changing coaches mid-season. It puts too much pressure on the incumbent to win games, which means the blooding of kids becomes superfluous.
When your list has been compromised, like Collingwood’s, this isn’t ideal.
There are young players who need to be given a chance, which is difficult for a coach on trial when his one concern is to win games.
There’s no doubt there’s a lot of hard thinking to be done at Magpieland.
Starting off at the bottom end of ladder is not such a bad thing for a new coach, a new operations manager, and a re-gigged recruitment staff. The expectations at Collingwood are always high, however it needs to be realistic.
As Graham Wright has mentioned, the pain of the salary cap debacle is not over, so there are players who will have to go.
The endeavour of the usual suspects - Jack Crisp, Brayden Maynard, and Brody Mihocek can never be questioned.
Taylor Adams busts his guts every game. Jordan De Goey, off the forward line hook, looks a different player in the midfield. Brodie Grundy needs to recapture his enthusiasm and belief.
Scott Pendlebury is still getting high possession numbers but his effectiveness is diminishing, which is worrying for him and Collingwood.
A bigger concern is the form of Steele Sidebottom. Stats of six kicks and eight handballs against St Kilda, plus just one tackle, was just so un-Sidebottom like.
There is always speculation from the public and the media when a side appears to be bottoming out, as to whether senior players should be offered up for trade. There is an ease in that if the player is uncommitted to the football club.
I know Hawthorn moved on Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell and Grant Birchall, and they all had a successful one or two years at their next clubs – but Hawthorn was at the height of its power then. Collingwood is trying to get off the floor.
So for those suggesting that Pendlebury and Sidebottom be put up as trade bait, think again.
At 33, yes Pendlebury is in the twilight of his career. But as the Magpies’ longest serving captain, and five-time Copeland Trophy winner, it would be an insult to him and the supporters to even think about trading him.
Sidebottom has gone off the boil, but at only 30 and a complete devotee of the Collingwood Football Club, he too would be horrified if his name was even mentioned in a possible trade.
At his age Sidebottom is still capable of getting himself out of what appears to be a rut. He is slightly down on most indicators, but with a solid pre-season and a new coach he can be a beacon for the younger players and the Magpies’ faithful.
There are other ways of securing top draft picks.
Chris Mayne attracts the ball, gets the ball, but his productivity is questionable.
He is closer to the end than the beginning. If Mason Cox and Josh Thomas are not part of the club’s future, as harsh as it may be, they should look at early retirement.
An injury hit Jeremy Howe will unfortunately need to be replaced at some stage.
Will Hoskin Elliott and, to a lesser degree, Jamie Elliott have been disappointing, though more because of a lack of consistency.
De Goey too needs to find consistency plus his love of the game again, which may be more as a midfielder. Yes he lacks defensive qualities, but this could be supplemented by a midfield that works together.
Then there’s the youngsters who should be getting blocks of games between now and the end of the year, as they are certainly players to be excited about. Josh Daicos, Isaac Quaynor, Caleb Poulter, Trent Bianco, Nathan Murphy, Finlay Macrae, Beau McCreery, Oliver Henry, Will Kelly, Callum Brown, Jay Rantall and Trey Ruscoe, among others.
It’s just a simple fact of life in football that players get older, not necessarily better.
Clubs rely heavily on trades and free agency to supplement their teams, but most top clubs get well in excess of 50 per cent of their players from the draft and have the patience to work them through – which is exactly where Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Moore, De Goey and Grundy came from.
It is a balancing act for Wright to sort through the senior list while playing the young kids enough to keep an eye on progress for next year.
Collingwood is a great football club with plenty of good people in and around it. It can’t bow to the whim of white noise right now. It needs to stay the course and everyone take a deep breath.
From the ashes the phoenix will rise.
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