It has been some time since I last updated the site and a lot has transpired. I’ve missed the whole off-season and didn’t even have time to get swept up in the usual draft mania that draws everybody in at this time of year. For those readers who have frequented this site on a semi-regular basis and have shared some kind words through email and the like, I would like to extend my gratitude.
I wish I could guarantee that I won’t be going AWOL again, but who knows what hand life is going to deal. The plan however is to keep this site going; if not kicking things into a whole new gear.
With that out of the way, what’s been happening?
The Departed
The end of every season spells the end of Collingwood careers; it’s a sad fact of football life. This year saw the departure of senior listed players Chris Bryan, Danny Stanley, Marty Clarke, Shannon Cox and Anthony Rocca; these were joined by rookie listed players in Tobias Thoolen, Kevin Dyas and Johnny Bennell.
Out of that list, Anthony Rocca is the most notable and I have to tip my hat to the man after providing great service and some awe inspiring highlights over the course of his 242 game career. Pebbles was for such a long time the most important player when it came to Collingwood’s structure and ultimately our fortunes at large. Whilst he copped a lot of flack throughout his career due to his endurance, many underrated just how good Anthony was when at his best. His performance in the 2002 Grand Final was one of his most memorable in my mind with Rocca shining on the biggest of occasions in conditions that did not suit gorilla forwards. His performance that day just about snared us our 15th premiership; some might even say that he had done enough, if not for a goal umpire. Thanks for the memories Pebbles, I’m yet to hear a roar louder than the one you evoked in the 2002 preliminary against Adelaide.
Marty Clarke and Kevin Dyas both returned to Ireland at the conclusion of the 2009 season, much to the disappointment of Collingwood fans. Whilst Dyas was hampered by a hamstring setback during his short stint with the Magpies and many didn’t hold too many expectations, Marty Clarke had well and truly endeared himself to the Magpie faithful by quickly showing he could cut the mustard at senior level. Unfortunately, Marty lost the taste and desire for AFL football during the 2009 season; a season which saw him ruled out of senior level contention after returning home to Ireland in the middle of the year to attend his sister’s wedding. Regardless of the decision to return home, Marty’s form at both AFL and VFL level was short of his best and his omission from the first 22 was warranted. It was disappointing to lose Clarke – especially after he showed so much promise – but if a player’s heart isn’t in the jumper then we are better off finding one whose heart is.
Shannon Cox announced his retirement almost immediately after returning to pre-season training in terrible shape — again. It would seem that the coaches were rightfully miffed and either made the call and let Shannon exit with some dignity on his terms or gave him an ultimatum that he simply wasn’t up to. Shannon Cox is a major disappointment in my book, but his story is testament to the fact that talent alone does not ensure an AFL career.
The writing was on the wall for Bryan, Stanley and Thoolen well prior to the conclusion of the season. Chris Bryan had fallen behind Wood and Leigh Brown in the pecking order and to his credit acquitted himself well in the VFL throughout 2009, providing our boys with a strong focal point playing predominantly as a forward. Danny Stanley was a favourite among many VFL watchers – myself included – but it seemed inevitable that 2009 was going to be his last on our senior list. Whilst most would acknowledge that Danny had flaws that were going to hinder his chances at senior level, I still believe he wasn’t provided with sufficient opportunity to find his feet and address those issues at the highest level. Regardless, with the welcome additions we’ve made to the midfield over the last two off-seasons, Danny was never going to come into the equation. Not much can be said about Thoolen, during his two years at Collingwood he didn’t make much progress and he was always going to be fodder once 2009 was wrapped up.
Johnny Bennell was the surprising one, being delisted after just a single season on our rookie list. There have been some whispers as to the reasons, but I’m not prepared to speculate.
Welcome Aboard
It’s typical that I would fall into a period of inactivity during what was perhaps Collingwood’s most active and riveting off-season. Heading into every trade period it seems that Collingwood is linked with a high profile player and just about every year, when the trade period concludes and said player does not find himself in a Magpie jumper, there is a contingent of supporters who become exasperated at our perceived inability to land the big fish. At the end of 2009, it was Luke Ball who publically expressed his desire to play for Collingwood and when the trade deadline rolled around and both St. Kilda and Collingwood refused to blink, it looked like the same old tune had been queued up in the jukebox.
The trade period wasn’t a failure though, we did manage to land Darren Jolly from Sydney in exchange for our first and third round picks. This was a huge acquisition for the Pies, as we finally grasped the opportunity to adequately address our issues in the ruck department by adding not only a strong bodied ruckman to our list, but also one who would be considered within the very top echelon of ruckman currently in the league. Landing Jolly helped ease the disappointment of initially missing out on Ball, despite our best efforts to come to the party.
Some people were disappointed with Collingwood not being a little more aggressive in our trading philosophy when it came to pursuing Ball. I have at times in the past been critical of our reluctance to make some tough decisions in regards to list management, but in this instance and regardless of knowing the outcome, I was pleased with how Collingwood handled themselves. The asking price of our second round pick plus Nathan Brown was exorbitant in my mind, especially considering the direction we were heading in and what our future needs would be. Assuming he was fit and could remain so, Luke Ball would improve us immediately; but if it was at the expense of our long term prospects then I think most would have shied away from the deal. The offer of the same pick plus Goldsack seemed fair in my mind and one that I would have entertained despite being a fan of Tyson, but the Saints changed their mind on that front at the eleventh hour in what seemed a spiteful turn of events.
What eventuated has rekindled the debate regarding free agency and has brought about claims of draft tampering as Luke Ball refused to talk with other potential suitors whilst also refusing to submit himself for medical testing to any club other than Collingwood. Ball made himself scarce and unreachable heading into the national draft, spending a lot of time overseas on holiday whilst his manager Paul Connors made all the moves to give Luke the best possible chance of reaching his preferred destination. Everything was done well within the rules as they stand and come the national draft – much to the delight of two out of the three parties involved – Luke Ball found himself available when pick #30 rolled around.
Ross Lyon had stated heading into the draft that we would find out Ball’s true market value, implying that his decision not to accept any of the combinations offered by Collingwood would be justified. It’s hard to gauge whether Lyon was right or wrong given the circumstances, as personally I do feel that Ball would have likely been snapped up prior to our selection had he made himself freely available to any club prior to the draft. The fact remains however that the Saints allowed Ball to depart for nothing and were denied the satisfaction that usually comes with sticking to so called principles when Ball managed to get to his club of choice in the end.
For Collingwood, it was a massive victory as we managed to keep all of the players whose names were bandied about (Nathan Brown, Sharrod Wellingham, Tyson Goldsack and the up-and-coming Jarrad Blight) whilst adding the experience and quality of Luke Ball and Darren Jolly.
Complimenting these high profile additions were the likes of Ben Sinclair (Pick #62), Josh Thomas (Pick #75) and ex-Demon Simon Buckley (Pick #85). Out of those three, it was the Queenslander Josh Thomas who was discussed the most prior to the national draft, being touted as a possible alternative at Pick #30 if Luke Ball was off the table. Getting Thomas so late in the draft pleased many Collingwood supporters, but before we get carried away we should be mindful that 15 other teams overlooked him and even our own recruiters were comfortable with waiting so late into the proceedings before snapping Josh up. With that said, I’ve liked the footage I’ve seen of Thomas and he was highly rated by the Gold Coast franchise who he turned down to nominate for the draft.
Ben Sinclair is an extremely light dasher who also possesses a fair share of courage from all reports. Sinclair projects as a project very similar to Luke Rounds as we look to address our lack of genuine pace throughout the middle of the ground and coming out of defence. Simon Buckley is a ready made player within this same category, a dashing defender who could also play off of a wing if required. The ex-Demon has struggled with injury and managed only a solitary game in 2009 after having an impressive 2008, where he averaged 21 disposals and 6 marks over the course of 14 games. At 22 years old, Buckley still has his best football ahead of him and it will be interesting to see where he stands in our defensive hierarchy considering the depth of flankers we already possess.
The Rookie Draft Awaits
Collingwood has two selections available in the upcoming rookie draft, with the third being reserved for the elevation of NSW scholarship holder Scott Reed to the primary rookie list. During the rookie draft, we will also be adding American Shae McNamara as an international rookie. McNamara stands at 203cm tall and his athleticism has impressed many at the club; if Shae can continue to improve his basic skills then he could prove to be a valuable and cheap pick-up. It was Shae who pursued the possibility of an AFL career by learning the basics and putting together and distributing some workout footage; his determination to make this opportunity happen has to be admired.
There hasn’t been much talk about prospects we might be looking at and our permission to train list contains no new faces, but with the majority of our squad currently over in Arizona that is to be expected. Personally, given that we’ve targeted midfielders predominantly in the last two drafts, I would like to see us snare a couple of project key position players in the rookie draft. There are some prospects but whether they survive until our first pick at #19 remains to be seen.
That pretty much brings us up to speed so far in the off-season. We’ve addressed our two biggest deficiencies by adding a top shelf ruck in Jolly, whilst complimenting our midfield with a strong inside midfielder in Ball. Both players will bring invaluable experience and leadership to the club and with Nathan Buckley now running around the club in an official coaching capacity alongside Mick Malthouse, there are a lot of reasons for Collingwood supporters to be smiling.
Bring on 2010!
