1. Time up for Jordan De Goey at Collingwood?
JDG still has promise but unfortunately promise isn’t enough for a team wanting to land a premiership.
De Goey, who was once so strong and agile that he could straddle midfield and small power forward with ease (a smaller Dangerfield type player), is now unwieldy — when he reaches speed near contested ball, you get the sense he’s about to accidentally crash into an opponent or teammate.
De Goey hopefully has another few years at AFL standard, but physically his best looks past him and perhaps a club needing a short-term bolster would be a better fit – ala Jake Stringer at GWS.
2. Collingwood’s defensive 25–50m zone is a liability
Brisbane exposed it with ease, thanks to the right mix of talls, agile rovers, and opportunists. Ashcroft’s goals were almost gifts. Too many of Collingwood’s players are awkward fits, and in that part of the ground the mismatches are brutally obvious. In finals, those weaknesses are magnified.
3. Not enough quality ball users
When the likes of Howe, Moore, and Quaynor are quiet or kicking poorly, Collingwood’s ball use falls off a cliff. And if the Daicoses are forced to do the heavy lifting out from the half-back line, the knock-on effect to the midfield – i.e. the drop in class – is obvious for all to see.
4. 2023/24 recruits haven’t lived up to hype
The recent recruits aren’t cutting the mustard: Schulz is underwhelming. Membrey’s proven to be a bit of a one-trick pony…an old school solid-presenting forward, who is good at converting routine set shots but offers little in open play and can struggle to kick across his body. Houston has been solid when he gets his hands on the ball, but is noticeably down against the career average he brought from Port Adelaide. (Dan McStay wasn’t even selected.)
Between them they kicked two or three goals in tonight’s prelim, but their collective impact was unimpressive.
The forward line leans far too heavily on Jamie Elliot. He’s electric, but he’s also a small forward pock. Meaning he should be the icing, not the cake. Brisbane offer the contrast: Charlie Cameron as the spark, but supported by Logan Morris (50+ goals this year) and Cam Rayner, a damaging hybrid of mid and forward.
The issue crystallised in the last quarter: having marked well within the forward 50m, Tim Membrey opted to float a pass hoping for modest forward gain. A Brisbane defender effected the spoil. Perhaps illegally. But in a prelim there is no such thing as a certainty.
Not just a case of bad luck
The truth is Collingwood wouldn’t have deserved a grand final berth on tonight’s performance. A genuine contender isn’t debating whether half its prelim side should even retain their spots going into the GF. Schultz, Membrey, De Goey, Mihocek and Quaynor are among a large group bucket of players currently performing well short of their personal standards, let lone that required to win a premiership. That’s not just bad luck, and warrants that Collingwood powers-to-be taking a very close look at the list over the off-season.
