Ultimate player ratings: Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane rate every Collingwood player

The Pies have plenty of firepower to call on, but who really is the main man at the premiers? GLENN MCFARLANE and JON RALPH rate every Collingwood player.

In the dizzying afterglow of Collingwood’s 16th VFL-AFL premiership last year, footage of star defender Isaac Quaynor pounding on a treadmill a few days after the win gave an indication of his unrelenting desire to get better.

While most of his teammates would have been forgiven for still being hungover or ‘drunk’ on reflection, Quaynor’s quest to take his game to a higher plain was unmistakable.

It spoke volumes about his intentions for 2024.

Nick Daicos clearly heads Collingwood’s star-studded array of talent as the club looks towards chasing back-to-back success, followed by elite teammates Jordan De Goey, Darcy Moore and Copeland Trophy winner Josh Daicos.

Criteria: Prediction of their 2024 performance based on their 2023 season, expected improvement and role in their side.

But Quaynor is unquestionably the Magpies’ sleeper.

He is an exceptionally driven person on and off the field. Coming off a career-best season, he not only wants to get better, he is working to get better.

There’s no surprise Collingwood have locked him up on a long-term contract until the end of 2029.

On what he achieved last season and on his likely forward projections for this year, he rates just below the big Pies’ quartet in terms of his impact.

Injured key forward Dan McStay is ranked at the other end of the Magpies’ scale for the simple reason that he could yet miss the entire 2024 season, due to his serious knee injury. McStay is working to return in late August and could yet play a part in the club’s finals assault - but it is far from a given.

That provides Ash Johnson and Reef McInnes the chance to lock in a spot.

Can Quaynor become the best mid-sized defender in the AFL? Too right, he can!

This time last year he had three goals written on a whiteboard at home to inspire him in 2023 - to win a flag, to make the All-Australian side, and to start a business.

The first - and most important goal - was ticked off last September.

Isaac Quaynor is tipped to take his game to another level in 2024. Picture: Getty Images

The second came so close when he was named in the All-Australian initial squad before narrowly missing out on the final team.

The third is very much a work in progress.

Quaynor proved himself as one of the AFL’s best lockdown mid-sized defenders last season - rated elite in intercepts and intercept marks as well as above average in kicking, pressure and one-on-one wins.

Even late in the home and away season, he had only lost two one-on-one contests, such was his capacity to beat his opponent.

Quite rightly, he is now aiming to be the AFL’s best in his role, and he has the tools - strength, poise, skills and high-end footy IQ - to make it happen.

Could he become a player in the ilk of champion defenders Corey Enright or Chris Johnson?

Enright had just turned 27 when he won the first of his six All-Australians; Johnson was 26 when he was picked in the first of his two AA sides.

Quaynor is 24. Driven by work ethic and coming off another near-flawless preseason, he can challenge for his maiden All-Australian blazer this season if he gets a clear run at it.

It’s on his whiteboard plans again ...