2013 AFL Pre-season Preview: Collingwood

Sportal

Collingwood have enough class to be still in the mix for the premiership this season, especially with Krakouer, Ball and Brent Macaffer coming back into the team. 

Team: Collingwood
Last Year: Finished fourth

Ins: Tim Broomhead (Port Adelaide), Brodie Grundy (Sturt), Ben Kennedy (Glenelg), Quinten Lynch (West Coast), Jackson Ramsay (East Perth), Jordan Russell (Carlton), Marley Williams (rookie elevation), Clinton Young (Hawthorn)

Outs: Simon Buckley (delisted), Jonathon Ceglar (delisted), Chris Dawes (Melbourne), Luke Rounds (delisted), Chris Tarrant (retired), Kirk Ugle (delisted), Sharrod Wellingham (West Coast), Cameron Wood (delisted), Peter Yagmoor (delisted - re-drafted in rookie draft), Tom Young (Western Bulldogs)

What needs to go right: There's no chance Collingwood can avoid newspaper headlines, it's par for the course when you're the biggest club in the land. But the Magpies will be happy to avoid the ongoing off-field distractions from the last two seasons. In 2011 it was the Malthouse saga while last year saw Travis Cloke's protracted contract talks take centre stage. Already, though, the signs don't look good for the Pies in this regard as the focus on Dane Swan is as intensive as ever while Dale Thomas has also stirred the contract pot. On field, the Magpies will be looking for Cloke to return to his 2010-11 form but the ball still needs to get to him in an orderly way. Last year the Magpies' transition from defence to attack was inconsistent and sides like Hawthorn, Sydney and even Carlton managed to put mountains of pressure on Collingwood's half-backs to force turnovers. In the NAB Cup so far this year, coach Nathan Buckley appears to have put Malthouse's boundary-hugging game plan out to pasture as he looks for quicker transitions through the centre and with a quality target player like Lynch available to hit up, this may be a pretty good idea.

What could go wrong: Cloke could do his knee in the first few rounds. Having lost Chris Dawes to Melbourne there doesn't seem to be a readymade replacement for Cloke in the Collingwood team. Sure Lynch is there, but Lynch is not a full-forward and every time he was tried in that position with West Coast it simply didn't work. Along with his goalscoring, it's Cloke's ability to contest on the forward line that is particularly vital for it gives crumbers like Krakouer, Fasolo and Macaffer the chance to do their stuff.

Who's The Man: Dayne Beams. When Luke Ball went down with a season-ending knee injury during the Round 3 loss to Carlton last year, many thought the Magpies midfield would struggle to replace him, despite the likes of Swan and Scott Pendlebury still being there. But Beams stepped into the role beautifully, the 22-year-old taking his game to another level as he averaged over 30 possessions per match in 2012, a fair increase on his overall average of 23.3. And, even when Pendlebury went down for a few matches mid-season with a fractured leg, the Pies midfield generally didn't miss a beat.

What would cost Nathan Buckley his job: Short of saying he was going to defect to Carlton or Essendon - who knows the Bombers may need a coach at some stage this year if allegations against them are proven - then it's hard to see anything costing Buckley his job this season.

Best 22:
B: Russell, O'Brien, Brown
HB: Johnson, Reid, Shaw
C: Pendlebury, Swan, Toovey
HF: Young, Lynch, Goldsack
F: Thomas, Cloke, Krakouer
R: Jolly, Ball, Beams
I: Sidebottom, Macaffer, Fasolo, Blair

After Round 23: Collingwood have enough class to be still in the mix for the premiership this season, especially with Krakouer, Ball and Brent Macaffer coming back into the team. The big question over this team is their hunger. There's been times when the Pies have been as determined as ever over the last two seasons, but they haven't quite hit the mark come finals time. Last year there was a more than fair reason as the players farewelled the deceased John McCarthy the day before heading to Sydney for the preliminary final. But if Collingwood find that manic 2010 hunger to hunt the ball and the man, then they have some serious weaponry to have another crack at the flag. We think they'll finish the home-and-away season in third spot.