Gary Buckenara analyses Collingwood’s list after the 2021 season
Collingwood’s salary cap is tight but there is one glaring hole on the Pies’ list. A Hawthorn sharpshooter could be gettable, says Gary Buckenara.
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What a disaster it has been at Collingwood the past year.
Talk about self destruction.
I had felt Collingwood’s list management and recruiting was poor and this was vindicated with what happened in last year’s disastrous trade period fire sale.
Everyone in the industry knew they had big salary cap issues and no one was going to ever pick up wage bills as touted by Ned Guy during the 2020 trade period.
Then Guy resigns – maybe pushed – which coincided with the arrival of new football boss Graham Wright from Hawthorn.
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He was at the helm at the Hawks when they traded their early picks away over the previous three to four years but, to be fair, I suspect Alastair Clarkson had a big say in those decisions.
Throw in the departure of former president Eddie McGuire and coach Nathan Buckley and it’s been a year to forget for the Magpies’ faithful.
To think all of this was not going to have an impact on the playing group is fanciful.
I feel for the players. The club has been in turmoil through no fault of theirs.
MORE: EVERY COLLINGWOOD PLAYER RATED, CONTRACT STATUS
Injuries to key players over the past three to four years haven’t helped and have no doubt had an impact on performances.
It’s time now for the Magpies to get organised and united.
If they want to climb back up the ladder, they need to get their coaching appointment done as soon as possible and sort out the off-field fighting as big decisions need to be made.
This list is competitive with its best players available but without club unity and some positive
direction, it will be hard to create on-field success.
Put the egos away everyone and do what is best for your club.
LIST NEEDS
The list is reasonably well balanced but the Magpies are crying out for a mobile forward and a full-forward.
It appears the club’s belief in Mason Cox is waning and I’m not convinced he will ever be the answer.
They will get Nick Daicos in the draft and he looks like an absolute star.
The list needs a change in luck with injuries to get the best 22 on the field consistently, especially at finals time, as the best 22 is definitely a top-eight contender.
But the continued development of players like Josh Daicos, Isaac Quaynor and Trent Bianco will be important. If these players can elevate their games to A or B-grade level in the next few years, it will be what the list really needs.
TRADE TARGETS
Jack Gunston – if fit – would be ideal as that mobile tall forward they need, and he is gettable as the Hawks begin a rebuild. He has had back issues but if he passes a medical, then have a look at him.
But the Magpies won’t have anything to really offer the Hawks apart from a future pick.
They won’t be a big player either in the trade period as they need their points from draft picks to be able to get the likely No.1 pick in Daicos.
There is a problem from previous list decisions after the Pies swapped their future first-round selection to GWS in a live draft trade last season in exchange for picks 24, 30 and a 2021 fourth-round pick, which means the points they need will strip them from really finding young talent in this draft.
But Daicos would be a good get for them for many reasons, he looks to be a star in the making and is the son of a club great in Peter Daicos.
UNTOUCHABLES
Scott Pendlebury, De Goey*, Josh Daicos, Brody Mihocek, John Noble, Isaac Quaynor, Taylor Adams, Jack Crisp, Brayden Maynard, Brodie Grundy, Darcy Moore and Steele Sidebottom*.
(*See trade bait)
TRADE BAIT
They Pies probably need to offload someone out of the A and B players to try and get some more draft picks, but it will be a delicate balancing act for them.
Maybe De Goey might be the player to get them some earlier picks to help secure Daicos and also add another young talented player. They might also look at moving on Steele Sidebottom for the same reasons to get an early pick.
RATING THE LIST
WHAT THE RATINGS MEAN
List management is one of the most important jobs at an AFL club.
Poor decisions can be catastrophic — and Collingwood proved that last year.
Far too many clubs can often hold an overly-optimistic view when ranking their own lists and this can lead to years of mediocrity and has Carlton done this recently?
When clubs are rating their lists, they should rank players as: A+, A, B+, B, C+, C and Development.
In this list analysis, I have just done A, B, C and two tiers of development (“future AB players” and “need more time”) because with the younger players it is important to see who is coming through and those that need more time.
The important area for clubs to look at is how many A and B ranked players they have as well as future consistent AB players.
These rankings are my opinions, but they should give supporters a reasonable snapshot as to where their playing list sits now — and how they might look in a few years’ time.
LIST FORMULA
Players 22 and over
A-grade: Elite players on any AFL list
B: Top 10-18 player on most lists
C: An 19-30 player on a list
Developing: Aged 21 or under
Future AB players: These are players that will hopefully develop into an A or B ranked player once they turn 22. They might be playing to this level now, but it takes sustained years.
Need more time: These players would be a player recently drafted that is still developing and therefore will need more time to see if he is likely to develop into an A or B grade player.
MAGPIES LIST RATINGS
A-grade: Brodie Grundy, Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom, Jack Crisp, Darcy Moore.
B-grade: Jordan De Goey, Jamie Elliott, Taylor Adams, Callum Brown, Will Kelly, Jordan Roughead, Josh Thomas, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Brayden Maynard, Jeremy Howe, Brody Mihocek.
C-grade: Josh Daicos, John Noble, Tom Wilson, Darcy Cameron, Max Lynch, Chris Mayne (retired), Levi Greenwood (retired), Brayden Sier, Jack Madgen, Mason Cox, Ashley Johnson.
DEVELOPING
Future AB players: Isaac Quaynor, Jack Ginnivan, Oliver Henry.
Need more time: Jay Rantall, Tyler Brown, Trent Bianco, Mark Keane, Finlay Macrae, Trey Ruscoe, Reef McInnes, Caleb Poulter, Nathan Murphy, Liam McMahon, Beau McCreery, Isaac Chugg, Anton Tohill (returning to Ireland), Aiden Begg.
LIST BREAKDOWN
A-grade = 5
B-grade = 11 (De Goey should be an A-grade player and he has shown his quality as a midfielder in the latter part of the season, but given his unreliability off the field, and inconsistent performances he gets a B this year. Should he continue this form in 2022 he would be an A-grader for sure).
C-grade = 11
Future AB players = 3
Need more time = 14
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CRYSTAL BALL
The top end of the list is solid with 16 A and B-graders but the standard of the C-graders is questionable and so the depth of the list will struggle to cover injuries.
This has been the case for the Magpies over the past three to four years when they have been unlucky with their injury toll.
The D+ and D-ranked players are poorly balanced and so much will depend on a number of the 14 D-ranked players to make progress in their development to become A or B-graders.
The Magpies need to reinvest back into the draft for a few years and back the new coach to develop a list and play the kids where it is possible.
They shouldn’t be tempted to trade picks and buy players – although I still believe there is some more salary cap pain ahead in 2022, which might be a blessing and force them to invest in the draft.
There will be many challenges for the new coach, the football administration led by Wright and for the board to unite behind decisions and support each other on the road to rebuilding the playing list and the club.
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Originally published as Gary Buckenara analyses Collingwood’s list after the 2021 season
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