Nick Daicos is as exciting a young talent as Collingwood has seen in the past 20 years. Photo AFL MEDIA

COLLINGWOOD
2021 record: 6 wins, 16 losses (17th)

THE INS
Patrick Lipinski (Western Bulldogs), Nathan Kreuger (Geelong), Nick Daicos (Oakleigh Chargers), Arlo Draper (South Adelaide), Cooper Murley (Norwood), Harvey Harrison (North Adelaide), Charlie Dean (Williamstown), Bassirou Faye (Oakleigh Chargers)

THE OUTS
Levi Greenwood (retired), Chris Mayne (retired), Josh Thomas (retired), Brayden Sier (delisted), Jay Rantall (delisted), Max Lynch (Hawthorn), Anton Tohill (retired)

THE STRENGTHS
In Darcy Moore, the Magpies have one of the preeminent key defenders in the competition while their midfield boasts two legitimate stars in Jordan de Goey and Taylor Adams. Moore is well-supported down back by likes of rebounding pair Jack Crisp and Isaac Quaynor, as well as Brayden Maynard, an extremely dependable small defender. A full year out of the electric Jeremy Howe, who has only managed 12 games in the last two seasons due to knee and hamstring injuries, would serve as a massive boost, too. Josh Daicos took another encouraging step in his development last year, Darcy Cameron showed he could become a very competent key forward option, and Jamie Elliott’s impact would be further enhanced with regular supply to the forward line. Patrick Lipinski is a solid recruit from the Bulldogs, and the Magpies will be hoping that youngsters such as Tyler Brown, Oliver Henry, Beau McCreery, Trent Bianco, Trey Ruscoe, Nathan Murphy, Caleb Poulter, Finlay Macrae and Jack Ginnivan can cause regular selection headaches for them. Then there’s boom recruit Nick Daicos, who is as exciting a talent to walk through the doors at the Collingwood Football Club as there has been in the past 20 years. In what was a dull year for the Magpies, the clear standout was their win over eventual premier Melbourne on Queen’s Birthday at the SCG, in what was outgoing coach Nathan Buckley’s final game.

THE WEAKNESSES
Like Carlton, Collingwood was another big Victorian club that last year saw itself paralysed by off-field drama and politics. The 2021 season was dogged by massive distractions before it even began with the release of the ‘Do Better’ report into systemic racism at the club, followed shortly after by the sudden resignation of long-time president Eddie McGuire. His departure sparked a protracted power struggle between incumbent president Mark Korda and challenger Jeff Browne which was finally resolved only in December when Browne assumed the role he coveted. In between, though, the Magpies parted ways with long-time coach Buckley, and achieved their lowest ever finish on the ladder (17th), “beating” their previous low mark of 16th in 1999 which saw them “win” the wooden spoon before another club legend Tony Shaw was also sacked as coach. Buckley was replaced by Craig McRae, who certainly has his work cut out as a rookie coach considering the Pies’ record against the top-eight teams last year was an appalling 1-10. But it wasn’t so surprising considering they had both the No.16 ranked attack in the AFL as well as the 11th-best defence. On differentials, they were ranked 14th for clearances, 11th for tackles and 11th for contested marks, while coming in dead last for total inside 50s, 13th for goals per forward entry and 12th for inside 50s conceded. There would also be some concerns over the output of star ruckman Brodie Grundy, whose 2020 hub malaise appeared to drag on into another season, the first of his seven-year multi-million-dollar contract, as he looked a shadow of the dominant force that he was in 2018 and 2019. Also, the influence of champions Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom in the midfield began waning, so the Pies really need to start reinforcing their engine room as those two superstars near the end of their brilliant careers.

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ONE TO WATCH
Quaynor’s improvement has been steadily trending upwards over the course of his first three years with the Magpies, and the 22-year-old looks on the verge of a breakout year in 2022. He has all the tools to become a genuine excitement machine – pace, dare, flair and smarts. After averaging 18 touches a game last year, the rebounding defender will become a nightmare for opposition sides if he can nudge that figure beyond 20 this year.

UNDER THE PUMP
De Goey is becoming the master of self-sabotage. His uncanny knack for inviting unwanted attention on himself continued over the summer when he found himself in hot water in New York as a result of an alleged nightclub altercation. He was immediately stood down by the club when he was initially charged, but he was finally offered a plea deal last week which downgraded his charges, freeing him to link back up with the Magpies. Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, though, it overshadowed his brilliant second half of the 2021 season as well as the main reason for his trip to America, which was partaking in an intense training camp. All the noises out of Collingwood indicate it has run out of patience with the star’s off-field shenanigans. De Goey comes out of contract at the end of the year, and you can be sure his name will come up in trade talk again if the Magpies aren’t satisfied with his response.

BEST 23
B: Jeremy Howe, Jordan Roughead, Brayden Maynard
HB: Isaac Quaynor, Darcy Moore, Jack Crisp
C: Steele Sidebottom, Scott Pendlebury, Josh Daicos
HF: Patrick Lipinski, Darcy Cameron, Will Hoskin-Elliott
F: Jamie Elliott, Brody Mihocek, Oliver Henry
R: Brodie Grundy, Jordan De Goey, Taylor Adams
Inter: Nick Daicos, Tyler Brown, John Noble, Beau McCreery, Trent Bianco
Emerg: Jack Madgen, Callum Brown, Trey Ruscoe

It’s not common practice for this writer to include players who are yet to make their debut in best 23s, but such are the wraps on No.2 pick Daicos, coupled with the Magpies’ lack of depth in the midfield, that the son of a legend gets a gig on the bench for now. The likes of Poulter, Macrae and Murphy might not be in the 26 at this stage, but you can expect them to be pushing hard for selection throughout the season, and don’t be surprised to see mature-aged mid-season recruit Ashley Johnson have an impact at some stage, too. Injury-plagued youngster Will Kelly looks to have a lot of potential, but the key forward’s lack of game time counts against him for the time being.