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AFL champions Garry Lyon and Tim Watson say Jamie Elliott is Collingwood’s best player

ANKLE surgery for Collingwood forward Jamie Elliott is even worse news than most of the footy world thought, according to AFL champions Garry Lyon and Tim Watson.

Collingwood forward Jamie Elliott chases down the loose footy. Picture: Michael Klein
Collingwood forward Jamie Elliott chases down the loose footy. Picture: Michael Klein

ANKLE surgery for Collingwood forward Jamie Elliott is even worse news than most of the footy world thought, according to two AFL champions.

Garry Lyon and Tim Watson declared this morning the explosive goalkicker is the Magpies’ best player.

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When names including Scott Pendlebury, Taylor Adams and best-and-fairest winner Steele Sidebottom were raised, the pair stood firm.

“This bloke is a superstar and I think he is their most important player,” Watson said on SEN.

Jamie Elliott can cause opposition headaches in the air and at ground level.
Jamie Elliott can cause opposition headaches in the air and at ground level.
Steele Sidebottom with this year’s Copeland Trophy.
Steele Sidebottom with this year’s Copeland Trophy.

“He is a marking target. A lot of the small players are the ground-level crumbing type players, but he is actually a marking target in their forward line.

“In terms of importance to that team, I think he’s more important than Scott Pendlebury.”

Watson said Elliott wasn’t just Collingwood’s most important player, he was also the best — and Lyon agreed, labelling him a “match-up nightmare”.

“He can do stuff that no one else in that forward line can do,” Watson said.

“In 2015, he kicked 35 goals, and he kicked 34 in 17 games this year. I think he is capable of kicking between 45-65 goals in a season if he is 100 per cent fit and raring to go. He’s that good.”

Elliott has been booked in for ankle surgery after reporting soreness at training on Friday. The Pies are hopeful he will return to training in late January.

The goalkicker has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, finishing ninth in this year’s best-and-fairest after missing all of last season. He finished sixth in 2014 and 10th in 2013 in his only other top-10 finishes. He won the Pies’ goalkicking in 2015 (35) and 2017 (34).

Pendlebury has won five Copeland Trophies including four in a row from 2013-16. He finished sixth this year despite missing the final six games with injury, with Sidebottom claiming the award by one vote from Adams.

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/collingwood/afl-champions-garry-lyon-and-tim-watson-say-jamie-elliott-is-collingwoods-best-player/news-story/5d0f81411d0eb8f77a1eebac86df503e