Collingwood president Jeff Browne says his club will continue to chase big free agents, takes cheeky swipe at Blues, Bombers

‘We are the destination club’ – Collingwood president Jeff Browne was clear with his words at the club’s AGM on Thursday night. So, who’s coming to the Magpies next?

Collingwood has vowed to be “at the front of the queue” in chasing high-profile free agents and trade options next year, with president Jeff Browne insisting the Magpies had transformed into the AFL’s “destination club” just three years after their embarrassing 2020 salary cap fire sale.

At the club’s annual general meeting on Thursday night, Browne also took a little lighthearted swipe at the club’s old enemy Carlton, saying the only thing missing from the 2023 premiership triumph was that it didn’t come with a victory over the Blues.

On a night when premiership hero Jamie Elliott and former board member David Galbally KC were inducted as life members, Magpies chief executive Craig Kelly said the club was confident of getting a greater allocation of grand final tickets for members in the future, saying: “We need more tickets as a big club, and I am confident we will get there.”

Browne revealed the Magpies beat five rival AFL clubs to secure the services of Fremantle small forward Lachie Schultz during this year’s trade period.

Responding to a member’s question about whether Collingwood had sufficient salary cap space to chase the likes of Gold Coast’s Ben King or Bulldog Bailey Smith – who both come out of contract at the end of next season – Browne said the Magpies would continue to be active for the right players.

Jeff Browne (R) says his club will continue to be aggressive. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“One of the things that has occurred in the time that this new board has been elected is we have rectified our salary cap problem, which resulted in the loss of three players (Adam Treloar, Jaidyn Stephenson and Tom Phillips) back three years ago now,” Browne said.

“We are in good shape for managing the salary cap well under the expert eye of (general manager of football) Graham Wright. Last year we actually traded four players into our side (Tom Mitchell, Bobby Hill, Dan McStay and Billy Frampton) and three of them played in the grand final and were instrumental in our win.

“Let me tell you, there were six clubs chasing Lachie Schultz (this year) but we were the club he wanted to come to because we are the destination club.

“We are looking at all those opportunities (that will come next year) and if a player comes up that meets our needs, we will be at the front of the queue. And I know we will get a good hearing because we are a place where people want to come and play football.”

Browne said the 2023 season was one of the greatest in the club’s history, flagging his intentions for the Magpies to beat Carlton and Essendon in the race to 17 VFL-AFL flags, as early as next season.

“Our achievements this year were hard fought and hard won by all the work that has gone in right across the board to make our club truly the greatest club in the AFL, I am very confident of that,” Browne said.

“It has been one of our most exciting years in our history. We actually won a close grand final, the only thing that annoys me was that we didn’t beat Carlton and that we are sitting on 16 premierships with Carlton and Essendon. But we will be trying to fix that next year.”

The Pies will aim to claim a record 17th flag in 2024. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

It came on a night when Collingwood members endorsed a modern upgrade of the club’s constitution, with Magpies chief executive Craig Kelly also vowing to do everything in his power to fix the ticketing concerns the club’s members had following this year’s grand final.

Browne praised the contribution of senior coach Craig McRae, whose game style and approach had changed the perception of Collingwood, even among opposition fans.

He also lauded the contributions of Elliott and Galbally, saying they had both given great service to the club in different ways.

“Life Membership is our Club’s highest honour – Jamie and David deserve this recognition and we sincerely thank them for their individual contributions to Collingwood,” Browne said.

“This year Elliott, and his teammates, created history for what has been a remarkable year for our Club as we celebrated our 16th Premiership.

“The hard work of our players – their resilience, passion, and love for the game, has inspired us all.

“Jamie’s contribution to the Premiership … will forever enrich the story of our Club and we look forward to achieving more success.

“David has displayed extraordinary service to our Club above and beyond his years on the Board. David has provided assistance to the Club in numerous capacities, but most importantly through his legal expertise, and this has not gone unnoticed.”

Browne and Kelly also explained why the club had ditched its netball team, said the Magpies were keen to further its connection to club’s spiritual home at Victoria Park and would one day love to have a social club based at the AIA Centre.