Assessing the List

[masoncox]

Has the club said anything about Brodies bad form in the second half of the year?
It would be good if something relating to injury or mental issues were put to us.
Or are we just all mushrooms?

[shawthing]

The List? Not good enough.

[Magpietothemax]

[melliot]

I wonder if we are having one more crack next year or we are stepping backwards to bring through youth.

Certainly need to shake up the team a bit.

[5 from the wing on debut]

[piedys]

[5 from the wing on debut]

That question has been asked repeatedly on this forum since the deal was announced.

[mattdally]

[masoncox]

[Boot]

Following the devastating end to a weird 2020 season with an insipid loss to Geelong, I see the current list as not in such a bad place with a good chance to challenge for the premiership in 2021. Areas for improvement that Collingwood needs to focus on over this coming pre-season;
1. Center Clearances / Midfield – Despite having a dominant ruckman Collingwood’s clearance rates from center bounces is less than satisfactory. Grundy’s form dropped off after the Richmond draw earlier this year. Buck’s claimed Grundy didn’t appreciate Hub life but he looked to be carrying an injury from where I was watching. However, there is every hope that Grundy will remain one of the top 4 ruckmen in the competition for next year and if he can regain the ability to become that “extra” midfielder with his grunt and mobility around the ground we can expect a better output next season. I thought Darcy Cameron showed enough to be preserved with as a support ruckman, but I don’t see Max Lynch as being up to AFL standard and he should be cut from the list. Pendlebury is still our best midfielder, but his performances are dwindling with his age and I think we can only expect another two years from this champion. Collingwood has tried to play Pendlebury in other positions up forward and as a rebounding back flanker but neither worked as he doesn’t have the contested marking ability or speed to do well in either of these positions. Hence, we should simply mark him down as a specialist midfielder and be happy to have him while he lasts. Adams is our best inside midfielder with terrific toughness & strength, consistent competitiveness in the hardest position on the field and improved disposal skill / consistency. My great hope is Brayden Sier. He has shown what he is capable of during his breakout year in 2018 where he gave me hope he will develop to be as good as Sydney captain Josh Kennedy at his best in terms of becoming a clearance / contested ball beast. Since 2018 Sier hasn’t had a decent run at AFL continuity due to injury. I’m hoping he can get another good preseason under his belt to provide the tank he needs to become a consistent performer at AFL level. Adam Treloar was recruited as the speedy, line breaking rover that we craved. I think he has sacrificed his best game to be at the coal face in clearances which he has done OK at but he would be far better utilised as an outside midfielder to exploit his natural speed and run. Hence I would prefer Treloar be used as a winger for the remainder of his career. I think Tyler Brown has shown potential to develop into a very competent inside midfielder and with another preseason to strengthen his body he should only get better after a satisfactory debut this year. Callum Brown is also still developing and if he can develop his disposal skills his hardness and speed should also be an asset for the next decade. Callum Brown needs to look at how Tony Shaw played at his best which included to not try to kick the ball longer than 40 meters but be content with being able to hit targets consistently within 30 meters. Once Callum realises that 30 – 35 meter kicks are his limit and masters that then he will be a better player. The future for midfield inclusions look promising with potential draftees Reef McInnes and Nick Daicos both having big wraps for their potential introduction to the club over the next couple of years, just in time to coincide with the retirements of Pendlebury and Sidebottom.
DeGoey and Elliot have demonstrated their ability to have a positive impact when thrown into the midfield, but both offer more when played in the forward line where their natural flair and brilliance adds some X-factor to the forward line and they both have proven goal kicking ability. Both can be thrown into the midfield to “bring them into the game” and to boost the midfield as required, but we should plan for these two to play predominantly as forwards next season.
2. Forward Line – I still have hope that Mason Cox can provide the marking target we need. Buckley described the reality that with modern football the days of the dominant Power Forward are over with team defence effectively limiting the potential of the Power Forward to dominate the scoring. Hence we need to develop a flexible squad of forwards who are all capable of kicking 40 – 50 goals a season. I think the way to go is to stick with Cox who is a unique weapon in attack that would continue to give opposition nightmares if he can contest and convert with some consistency of delivery and develop some synchronicity with his fellow forwards. To supplement Cox - DeGoey, Elliott, Stephenson and Hoskin-Elliott provide the skill and x-Factor that should be able to score regularly if a decent midfield can provide sufficient quality and quantity of supply. I was stoked with the development of Josh Daicos this year and I see him being a better option than Josh Thomas as the other small forward with his skill adding to the scoring potential for the team. Thomas becomes a depth player for the remainder of his career due to his lack of pace and not enough tricks to demand a starting spot in our best 22.
Brody Mihocek has been a revelation as our CHF for the past 3 years with consistent performances of hard running, strong body work and regular goals. He’s looking for a good pay increase with his next contract and Collingwood should accommodate him as a reward for consistent performances in one of the hardest roles in the game. Will Kelly has shown a small glimpse of his ability so his further development should add some marking power to our forward line options next year as well Trey Ruscoe who showed a bit of his ability but doesn’t seem to have the size to be a marking option or enough skill to be a long term effective forward.
The future talent recruiting priorities should be looking at key forwards with the dream result being to secure a top 3 draft pick this year to secure Logan McDonald, a kid from WA who is being described as a Nick Riewoldt type of footballer already doing well at senior level and apparently barracks for Collingwood but tipped to be taken before pick 4 in the upcoming draft.
3. Wingers – The modern game is dependent on having elite running wingmen with good disposal skills who can run to support the defence and provide the spread to enable effective transition from defence to attack.
Luckily we have one of the best in Steele Sidebottom so I’d like to see him settled into that role for the rest of his career although his goal sense is also tempting to see him in the forward line , but good winger that he is allows him to move forward regularly enough during the game anyway. On the other wing, I’d like to see Adam Treloar played there for the rest of his career as well which allows Josh Daicos to be moved permanently forward.
Chris Mayne has been a wonderful servant of the team for the past three years as a defensive winger, but his lack of disposal skill has limited his contribution to being a defensive option that has actually limited our attacking potential. If Mayne stays next year, then we should use him as a defensive depth player only and utilise his leadership as a mentor for the younger team members, which is an important part of any good football club. The other current option I like for the wingers role is John Nobel who I think is better suited to this role than as a back flanker where his lack of defensive one-on-one ability is a weakness. I don’t think Tom Phillips has sufficient disposal skills to justify our perseverance with, so if there is any club that offers a 2nd round draft pick or better I’s trade him as I think he is superfluous to our needs, else he’ll be another depth player for us in 2021.
Hopefully Jay Rantall with his elite running ability can also develop into a winger role at senior level, albeit there are some concerns on his disposal skills?

4. Defence – This is supposedly the strength of Collingwood in 2020 and with the skill and intercept marking of Darcy Moore & Jeremy Howe along with the reliability and drive provided by Maynard and Crisp with Issac Quaynor developing the core defensive group looks OK. I worry that Roughhead looks slow and his ability to shut down opposition key forwards is diminishing but hopefully he can continue to play an effective shutdown role for next year at least whilst Mark Keane develops into our next key defender.
I’d love to see Nathan Murphy get a decent injury free run next year and fore fill his potential that saw him able to effectively defeat DeGoey during interclub practice matches in 2018, as a running defender. Trent Bianco had good wraps on him when drafted so it will be interesting to see if he can progress next year given he apparently has elite disposal skills.
Hence I remain optimistic for 2021 with a starting line-up as follows;
Backs: B.Maynard, J.Roughhead, J.Howe
H.Backs: I.Quaynor, D.Moore, J.Crisp
Centers: S. Sidebottom, T.Adams , A.Treloar
H.Forwards W.Hoskin-Elliot, B.Mihocek, J.Stephenson
Forwards: J.Elliott, M.Cox, J.DeGoey
Followers: B. Grundy, B.Sier, S. Pendlebury,
Interchange: W.Kelly, J.Daicos, D.Cameron, T.Brown
Emergencies: C.Brown, J.Madgen, J.Noble, N, Murphy

[think positive]

[5 from the wing on debut]

Why do you want to lay off Grundy but then go and put your fist up Beams, no matter what it takes? Does that mean that you like him or that you don't like him?

[Mr Miyagi]

I’d personally get a crumbing coach (I know, staff caps), but someone who’s a specialist and successful goal sneak. And then put a solid summer into developing a forward team to crumb off Cox, and just crumb the bloody ball to begin with. Sidey (i’d like him to play forward more), Atu, Brown, etc. Cox is a monster and we’re not using him properly. So many times Cox got the ball down to ground and we had no players within cooee of him! So many times Checkers would go for a marking contest and there’s no one at his feet. That has to change. Imagine a Betts or Milne in their prime playing with Cox.

[think positive]

[Mr Miyagi]

We played a lot of youth this year, pretty much all of our kids. Atu isn’t ready, but the Brown boys, Daicos, Kelly (until injured), all showed promise