Lord Travis

I'll eat my own face if there's any reality where Collingwood of 2023 were better than us in 2021. I'd ranked the Pies of 2023 as lucky to even win a flag, let alone be ranked higher than teams with average winning margins 50+ points higher. They were categorically weak by any metric. Well done Kornes for getting me fired up as always with your shock jock obviously stupid and incorrect rage bait!

Jack Steele my top for the BnF. Solid ball winning midfielder with good skills and defensive pressure. Perfectly rounded player. Amazing we got him as cheap as we did - Saints salary cap is stuffed! A fit Lever makes us a much better team. He’s battled injury the past year or two, but he’s still only 29 and our best on field leader. Big year ahead for him hopefully.

Trelly is already 20 years old, as he went undrafted previously so was a mature aged when we picked him up. I’d say he’s more slightly built and further back than Kozzie was in year 2-3 with us at the same age… He’s taller and appears to have greater scope for around the ground roles though IMO. Could see him becoming an elite half back or winger possibly, similar to Wangineen-Milera.

I’d agree with this in the past, but Vineys intensity has faded the past few years IMO. Probably a combination of age and having kids. There was a time in the mid-late 2010s where he would’ve been the best tackler in the league.

Agreed. It stripped away the advantages teams like Collingwood have with elite facilities in accessible location, travelling for matches less, and playing in front of a huge crowd that gives momentum and influences umpires. With those advantages removed, it became a level playing field and we stood up.

Not particular. We're not a desirable club, as we don't get desirable tv time slots and we have a small supporter base. It's only gotten worse since we torched our foundations from 2023 onwards and now sit at the bottom of the league in basically every way sadly.

Not sure why the majority here are laying into someone for sharing their opinion. Barring a drastic unforeseen improvement, it's a realistic assessment. We've just finished 14th for two years running. We've lost to multiple bottom four teams in that time too. We are objectively a bad team right now. Our premiership and competitive period is well in the rear view mirror now. This is a completely different club and team now, and needs to be viewed for what it is - a 14th placed team building from the ground up again. We've just lost two of our better players, even if they weren't at their peak anymore. We've got an ageing list (second oldest from memory) with our senior core all ageing and mostly well past their peaks. It stands to reason that we will continue to languish towards the bottom of the ladder in the short term until our younger players mature and become the established core to carry us forward. That is likely a few years away. We are in a rebuild/transition period. We've taken the right steps to start building success again, but it won't happen overnight. Expectations should be rock bottom for 2026 season. The BomberBlitzers opinion is reasonable. Anyone shredding it expecting any real success in 2026 has got rocks in their head. IMO we'll likely finish 12th-18th. Anything higher will be ahead of schedule.

Basically revisiting 2018 where we were the highest scoring team but couldn’t defend well enough on counter with such a high speed attacking game style. Highest scoring team in the league. Worst in the top 8 for scores against…

It's true. Statistically, we were the second fastest ball movement team on rebound for most of the season according to Champion Data. That measures how quickly we played on from a mark or free kick, and how quickly we moved the ball from the defensive 50 into the middle third of the ground. Fast doesn't mean effective or good though. The players would often get the ball and immediately bomb it long with little effect. In the games we won, we were hand balling more to create more effective chains of possessions. Speed isn't necessarily a good thing. IMO the best teams control the tempo of the footy and rarely let the other teams get effective possession. If you can't control the ball, you can't control the game and the game's result is therefore beyond your control and will require luck or your opponent blowing their chances (see us 2022-2023 when we were dominant). Based on seeing that training footage and what we've heard from King about wanting to move the ball fast and be high scoring, I'd expect a few patches of really exciting play this season mixed amongst mostly getting burnt on turnover by disciplined teams. I'm expecting a bottom four-six finish again. A pass mark is finishing 8th-12th.

You’ve obviously got your wires crossed or are trolling. His role has nothing to do with ball movement. It’s an off field leadership strategy role.

It's an off-field strategy role. Playing the game is irrelevant. Off-field roles at multiple clubs and the AFL itself are relevant however. Hopefully Ned brings something positive to our new off-field leadership, football management, and changing board.

We’ll continue to remain uncompetitive until we find a suitable home base like Caulfield. It’s not lost on me that we won a premiership during covid when all advantages were removed on the road. As soon as normal programming resumed, we bundled out in straight sets and [censored] the bed into free fall.

We’re a bottom four midfield now sadly and we won’t be competitive again until our next generation of midfielders in Langford, Windsor, Lindsey etc have matured.

Hopefully we learnt our lesson about pushing responsibility onto players before they're ready. It's such a shame how their careers panned out with injuries, as both were natural leaders and footballers who should have had long successful careers. I think a stop-gap for a few years once Max hands over or retires is the way to go. Long term there are some options assuming they are still at the club and continue developing well.

You're confusing performance and impact with leadership. The ability to turn a game is not a requirement to be a leader. The ability to set culture, direct team mates, shield team mates, and help them get the best out of themselves. It's also necessary now to front the media, so some semblance of public speaking and... shield team mates. They are the qualities of a captain, not how many goals they can kick or how many disposals they can rack up. In fact, defenders are far more often captains than forwards. By your logic, Petracca and Oliver should've been the next captain and vice captain. reality is neither are leaders suited to that role. Kozzie will never be captain and doesn't want to be. He's not the right type of person. He should concentrate on his football output.

Lever is the strongest leader we have and is the most obvious captain on our list, however his body is letting him down and he is ageing now. Given we're shifting to the next generation too, he could be a decent stop-gap choice or be bypassed altogether for a younger option. Our 24-28 year old bracket is poor and probably the key reason we've dropped off when the old timers have declined. That is the group of players who should be in there prime and carrying us, yet we get little from them and lack consistency there. We've got Steele, Viney, and May, all former captains on the list, but all too old IMO. Long term Lindsey and Disco Turner stand out to me as young emerging leaders at the club. Langdon is my tip as a smokey stop-gap captain for a few years until the next generation group mature and an obvious leader becomes apparent and is ready.

Woewodin to Collingwood again?!

Thanks. I thought he seemed more a rebounding back flank type. Would be good if he had scope to become the back pocket lockdown instead. We’ve got enough rebounding flank types, especially with recent draftees like Lindsey, Windsor, Taylor all likely to spend time there alongside Bowey, Salem, Rivers etc.

Looking at that, it’s clear we lack a small stopper. Not a single one of those options could line up on a Charlie Cameron small forward type. Anyone look likely in this role? Could Laurie or even Chandler fit the bill? We’ve got lots of half forward options already…

Small forward who brings defensive pressure and can also hit the scoreboard. Helps he’s a leader and good team mate. Seems like a good second round pick. We’ve got a few small forwards now, time to find a style that allows them to thrive! Welcome Thomas!

High upside pick with a point of difference; exactly what the rookie draft is for. Hopefully he can develop well in our system and become an explosive onballer. Looks a great pick. Welcome Riley!

Wasn’t thrilled we picked him so early, but now he’s a demon I’ll embrace him. Hoping that him and Kozzie light it up on the G together in red and blue for many years to come. He’s mature age and has got a decent fitness base, so it’ll be interesting to see how his development is handled by the club. We need another dangerous small forward since Kozzie is playing more midfield, so fills a need too. Small forwards are just about the most important role on the ground at present, so he can have an impact. Welcome Latrelle!

I wasn’t sure initially, but after watching lots of footage I’m stoked we landed him. Was hoping for a Taylor and Sharp double. At least we got one. Taylor looks a future gun and is a super determined kid. Excited he’s in red and blue!

It also means we're not likely chasing Bailey Humphrey again, as we'd be trading away the capital we'd need to have a chance at getting him in a trade.

That's fair also. I see him as more of an inside presence than most of those, but he lacks the foot speed on burst to some of them like Rowell. I think he's more than capable inside even considering his rugged appearance 😆 Everyone sees it differently I guess, which is all part of the fun! Will be interesting to see where he lands tomorrow night. I assumed he'd go as high as pick 2, so am shocked we're a chance to get him. Farrow is another one we're apparently keen on who could go anywhere. He's got attributes I like too and clearly has interest from other clubs around our mark.