The upcoming 2014 AFL season is poised to be a season of milestones for the Collingwood playing group, with a host of the club's stars on the verge of registering career landmarks.
In anticipation of the upcoming season, collingwoodfc.com.au has compiled a list of forthcoming achievements, and the rounds in which it is projected players will reach them.
1. Alex Fasolo 50 games - Round 11 v St Kilda
After an injury interrupted 2013 campaign, Alex Fasolo will have the chance to make his long awaited 50th appearance at AFL level this season. Drafted in 2010, Fasolo made an immediate impact upon his arrival at the Westpac Centre, playing 13 senior games during his debut year, before consolidating his place in the Magpies best 22 during 2012. While Fasolo is unlikely to be rushed in his recovery from a foot injury, the West Australian is making strong progress during the pre-season.
Having been elevated from the club's rookie list in 2004, Nick Maxwell's remarkable AFL journey will see another chapter etched when the defender makes his 200th senior appearance in 2014. The 2010 Premiership captain has been a beacon of consistency throughout his time in Black and White, Maxwell's tenacity and competitive spirit has made him revered among his peers, with his devotion to the Collingwood cause ensuring he will enter the pantheon of club greats.
After claiming the Jack Regan Trophy for his fifth place finish in last year's Copeland Trophy, Heritier Lumumba will have his eye on another milestone in 2014, with the Brazilian born utility poised to make his 200th senior appearance towards the end of the season. A product of the rookie draft, Lumumba's story is made all the more remarkable by his unlikely road to the AFL, with the West Australian memorably training with the Magpies in the hope of winning over the club's recruiting staff in late 2004 and subsequently earning a berth on the Collingwood list.
11. Jarryd Blair 100 games - Round 20 vs. West Coast Eagles
Enjoying a meteoric rise to prominence after claiming an AFL premiership in just his 12th game at senior level, Jarryd Blair has been an ever present member of the Collingwood best 22 over the past four seasons. With his uncompromising approach having made him an indispensable member of Nathan Buckley's side, the versatile Blair is on track to play game number 100 during a campaign which will see the utility assume the mantle of elder statesman following another influx of emerging talent.
13. Taylor Adams 50 games - Round 20 vs. West Coast Eagles
While his Collingwood career remains in its infancy, Taylor Adams is set to pass the first key signpost of his career while wearing Black and White. An industrious inside midfielder, Adams has made significant strides during the pre-season, impressing the club's coaching staff with his assiduous approach to preparation, ensuring he will feature in selection discussions come round one.
16. Nathan Brown 100 games - Round 11 vs. St Kilda
A lynchpin of Collingwood's defence throughout the most successful era in the team's modern history, Nathan Brown will finally join the 100-game club this year as he approaches his seventh season at senior level. Brown's consistency and strength in contested situations has ensured he remains one of the first players named on the Collingwood team sheet each week, with the full back role he occupies one he has certainly made his own.
17. Dayne Beams 100 games - Round 12 vs. Melbourne
Were it not for the quadriceps injury which derailed his 2013 season, Dayne Beams would have joined his 2008 draft contemporary Steele Sidebottom in playing his 100th game last year. Already a Premiership player, Copeland Trophy winner and All-Australian, Beams' intrepid midfield stylings and goal kicking prowess has seen him rapidly climb the AFL stratum and establish himself among the upper echelon of ball winners across the competition.
19. Jamie Elliott 50 games - Round 16 vs. Gold Coast Suns
Jamie Elliott's 2013 breakout season will ensure the small forward will be unable to glide into the upcoming campaign under the radar of opposition clubs. The reigning winner of Mark of the Year, Elliott possesses a leap and contested marking ability which belies his size, with his highlight stealing ways making him a firm favourite of the Collingwood faithful.
20. Ben Reid 100 games - Round 5 vs. North Melbourne
Such was Ben Reid's transformation into gun tall forward towards the latter half of 2013 that it became lost on some that only two years prior, the 24-year old had been selected at centre half back in the All-Australian team. After kicking five goals in his first 82 outings at AFL level, 25 majors in his next 13 matches provoked a stark shift in thought, and approaching his 100th match it remains to be seen whether Reid will line up inside the forward or defensive 50 this season.
21. Quinten Lynch 250 games - Finals Week One
With his unrelenting work rate, and imposing presence, Quinten Lynch's arrival at Collingwood last season added a unique dynamic to the Magpie side, providing a foil to Travis Cloke whilst ensuring the club boasted a capable relief ruckman. Playing 18 matches in 2013, a strong pre-season will see Lynch in contention edge closer towards his 250th game, although the achievement is contingent on the Magpies securing a ninth consecutive finals berth.
27. Tony Armstrong 50 games - Round 22 vs. GWS Giants
Having impressed with his application on the training track throughout the off-season, Tony Armstrong will be looking to edge closer to his 50th AFL appearance in 2014. Having established himself across half back whilst with Adelaide and Sydney, Armstrong's incisive kicking ability and pace will make him a key contender to assume a berth in the Magpies back six.
28. Ben Sinclair 50 games - Round 12 vs. Melbourne
Ben Sinclair's inexorable march towards his 50th game is as much a testament to his versatility as his accelerated development over the last 12 months. Entering the 2013 season as a small forward, Sinclair's unceasing pressure and willingness to assume a role, no matter how unorthodox, allowed him to carve a unique niche within the Magpies side, one he will hope to reinforce this year.
Having only missed six games over the past six seasons, Travis Cloke's durability has almost proved as remarkable as his rise to the status of arguably the premier power forward in the AFL. After a season where Cloke narrowly missed out on claiming the Coleman Medal, the Magpie marksman will surely again be in contention for the honour during a 2014 season that should see him feature in his 200th AFL game against Richmond, an opponent whom he tormented last year with a career best seven goals.
40. Paul Seedsman 50 games - Round 23 vs. Hawthorn
Should Paul Seedsman maintain the trajectory which saw him emerge as one of Collingwood's most exciting young talents last season, the lifelong Magpie may find himself rewarded with his 50th senior game in 2014. Having been fielded across half-back and on the wing, Seedsman's punishing right boot has evolved into a considerable weapon, which senior coach Nathan Buckley will look to harness again to even greater effect this season.
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