Gary Buckenara analyses Collingwood’s list after the 2018 season
COLLINGWOOD surprised everyone by making the Grand Final, but can the Pies back up next season? List expert Gary Buckenara analyses the club’s list and reveals what the recruitment of Dayne Beams means for its flag aspirations.
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WHAT a remarkable season it was from Collingwood.
As player after player after player was struck down with injury, the Magpies could have put up the white flag and said it’s just not going to happen this year.
They didn’t.
It speaks volumes to the spirit and pride within the four walls of the football club and the culture of unwavering commitment, selflessness and pride in performance that has been built over the past 12 months.
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One year ago I wrote there were three key issues at Collingwood — skill, expectation and structure. There were no such issues in these three areas this year.
From day one of pre-season at the end of last year the Pies worked as much on fitness as they did their ball use and the team reaped the rewards as the skill errors and inability to convert in front of goal that has plagued this club for years disappeared.
For players like Jack Crisp, Taylor Adams and Tom Phillips — all key players but serial offenders when it came to poor ball use — their improvement was there for all to see. It allowed each of those three to elevate themselves from solid players to good players who were critical to the way the Magpies played this year.
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The injury toll at Collingwood was rivalled only by that of GWS. If you had said to Collingwood supporters at the start of the year their team would play in the Grand Final in 2018 without Jamie Elliott, Darcy Moore, Ben Reid, Daniel Wells, Alex Fasolo and Lynden Dunn, there’s no way they would have believed you.
What Nathan Buckley and his coaching group has done, in conjunction with the players this year, was nothing short of incredible. It is also testament to the development program that has prepared the young players to seamlessly step into roles at AFL level.
Collingwood has a young list and the club’s improvement in 2018 was hinged on the ability of its emerging guns like Brodie Grundy, Jordan De Goey, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Adams, Crisp and Phillips taking the next step in their development. They all did that in spades.
Grundy and De Goey in particular have become stars, while Adams was huge in the midfield and is a real leader of the club now. Hoskin-Elliott, Josh Thomas, Crisp and Phillips were all good consistent performers who have bright futures. Tom Langdon also got his body right and became a valuable intercept defender who has clearly worked hard on his disposal and decision-making, which were the weaknesses holding him back.
Jaidyn Stephenson was the real surprise packet who had one of the great debut seasons, booting 38 goals from 26 games and essentially playing as a full-forward at times. His X-factor and speed added another dimension to the forward line. His challenge now is to back that up next year with a big summer on the training track to go from strength to strength.
Add those players to the class of Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom, Adam Treloar and the experience of Jeremy Howe and Travis Varcoe and it’s a talented group of players.
There is also Elliott, Moore, Dunn, Wells and Reid who are all potentially best 22 players and will be like new recruits next year given they had such a bad run with injury this year.
The transformation of Chris Mayne was one of the great stories of the year.
Many wanted him delisted or retired despite having three years to run on his contract and yet he finished his second season at the club as a pivotal player on the wing who also works hard to transition into defence. He was one of their best on Grand Final day.
It’s a credit to his mental strength and ability to adapt to reinvent himself as a player but it’s also a credit to the Collingwood coaching team who saw a different role in him despite being a forward his entire career.
Brayden Sier finally got his body right and looks a real find. He’s a contested beast that adds another dimension to midfield to save Pendlebury, Treloar and Sidebottom from having to win the footy on both the inside and outside. He also has a penetrating kick on him.
What about Mason Cox? I had my doubts about whether he’d develop enough to be the focal point but his improvement this year has been outstanding. His performance in the preliminary final was a throwback to dominant key forwards past and if he can produce football somewhere near that standard on a consistent basis, then he is going to be a genuine weapon.
The Pies also have good kids coming through in Matt Scharenberg, who was a star before suffering another ACL tear, James Aish looked more comfortable at the level, Brayden Maynard has stepped up and Nathan Murphy, Callum Brown and Josh Daicos have also had senior exposure.
The list bats deep and their ability to cover injuries this year tells me Collingwood has a group of about 30 players who are all capable at AFL level, which is the number you need to be a premiership contender.
The Pies not only have injury problems in defence heading into next season but Dunn, Reid and Goldsack are entering the final years of their careers, which is why re-signing Moore was so crucial given he can play at either end.
It’s also the reason why the Jordan Roughead recruitment is very smart recruiting. Roughead can play key defence, ruck or up forward, so he provides valuable depth in various positions. That’s hard to find so getting him cheaply is a great move.
The biggest though, is bringing Dayne Beams back to the club. His addition will give Collingwood probably the best midfield in the competition next year. He’s a star who wins a heap of the ball and kicks goals — the missing link in the Pies’ very strong midfield as Adams, Treloar and Pendlebury aren’t noted goalkickers.
The club probably paid overs to get Beams from Brisbane given he’ll be 29 by the start of next season but when you commit to bringing a player, who is still under contract, into your club, you usually have to pay overs.
COLLINGWOOD’S LIST NEEDS
I have been critical of Collingwood’s list build in the past but the development and emergence of Cox, Brody Mihocek plus Langdon and Scharenberg in particular as players who are capable of playing tall has me feeling positive about the club’s depth. However, with Dunn, Reid and Goldsack all at the end of their careers, there is a desperate need for a key position defender or two, depending on where the club sees Moore’s future position.
Roughead’s addition will help, plus the potential recruitment of father-son Will Kelly in the national draft.
The Magpies missed out on Tom Lynch so the search for another athletic key forward continues.
PLAYERS WHO NEED TO STEP UP IN 2019
The injured quartet — Elliott, Moore, Wells, Reid. All four can have a huge impact next year and essentially be new recruits to take the club forward and potentially go one step further but there are major question marks over their durability. They all play key roles and, in the case of Elliott and Wells, have genuine class as matchwinners. It’s an exciting prospect to think about these guys up and running and slotting into a team that was one kick away from winning the premiership.
CRYSTAL BALL
If Collingwood can get its list into a healthy position and limit injuries then it will definitely be contending for the premiership again in 2019. The question is: Can the likes of Stephenson, Phillips, Crisp, Maynard, Langdon, Cox and Mihocek perform to the level they did during the finals series? Their consistency and continued improvement is critical to the Magpies’ chances.
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