AFL 2022: Collingwood coach Craig McRae looking at change despite two wins

Collingwood is undefeated in 2022 and kicked 15 goals in both games, but the new coach isn’t afraid to change things.

Something different could be brewing for the Collingwood forward line against Geelong despite two wins to open the season on the back of two 100-point scoring efforts.

The Magpies get back defender Brayden Maynard from a two-week suspension but have lost both Beau McCreery and Nathan Kreuger to injury ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Geelong at the MCG.

New Collingwood coach Craig McRae said the addition of Maynard to the club’s backline was “considerable” but floated the idea of doing something different up forward, noting he didn’t see a “like for like” replacement for Kreuger in particular.

The Magpies have booted 102 and 100 points in the opening two wins over St Kilda and Adelaide, kicking 15 goals in each match, with McCreery and Kreuger each kicking two last week against the Crows.

“It’s not something we go to aim for, but it’s a nice outcome,” McRae said of his team’s scoring output.

“The players are playing to a good system. We had 12 individual goalkickers last week, it’s a good sign.

“But can we replace Beau McCreery? I’m not sure we can. Kreuger is a little bit of a different player again, there’s not really a like for like, so we might have to try something different.”

Beau McCreery is out injured after an exciting start to 2022. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

When asked what that might be, McRae was cagey.

“Watch this space,” he said ahead of Thursday night’s team selection.

Mason Cox missed last Saturday‘s 42-point over the Crows with an ankle injury but completed training and could be recalled to take on the Cats.

Collingwood’s two wins have come against two teams who didn’t make finals in 2021, but McRae said the clash with Geelong, who reached the preliminary final last season, wasn’t necessarily his team’s biggest test so far

“Everything at the moment has been a bit of a test. We’re finding out a bit about ourselves against opposition for the first time,” he said.

“That’s the challenge in AFL.

“We just want to get better every day, that’s been our mantra from the start. We want to develop a young group as quick as we can. We’ve seen some good signs of that, but it’s the start of our journey.”

Originally published as AFL 2022: Collingwood coach Craig McRae looking at change despite two wins