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Friday, November 28, 2014
Pies' Picks 2014 Draft
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Collingwood Stadium
REAL FOOTY
Collingwood have revealed an ambitious long-term plan to build their own stadium and have already explored options for a new ground as the club announced another year of multimillion-dollar profits.
With limits on where and how profits can be spent on their players and football department, and with the club's newly expanded home facilities on the Yarra almost complete, the Magpies are canvassing options for further investment in the club.
One possibility in the long term is to copy the big European soccer clubs that buttress their financial futures by owning their own stadiums.
Building a new home ground would doubtless strike significant difficulties with the AFL and MCC for the long-term contractual commitment with the MCG where Collingwood presently plays home games.
Collingwood announced a $2 million profit for this year, which came after a write-down of more than $3 million of the new expanded Westpac Centre for administration and football and for the community facilities.
The club's underlying operating profit for the year was well in excess of $5 million.
This year's profit included $1.3 million from the sale of the Beach Hotel, which was sold two years ago but finally resolved this year.
Chief executive Gary Pert said the club had adopted a similar philosophy to La Liga giants Barcelona FC on how to handle their financial strength and ongoing profits once all football and administration costs were covered.
"We are strategically committed that we will use the profits to keep the costs of membership and membership services down. We had a cost freeze on membership last year and a small increase this year, but nowhere near the increase in cost to us," he said.
"It is a Barcelona model. Basically, what Barcelona does is say, 'We are going to make big money out of sponsorships and generate great revenues from all our commercial deals and that is done to keep your membership costs down'."
However, Pert said consideration had already been given to options for investing in the club once the community centre was paid off and that owning their own stadium was one option.
"I know what that [next option for investment] is and it is substantial," he said. "We can't do it now because we have money committed there, but it potentially shifts what the club is once we do it."
When asked if building and owning a stadium was among the club's plans, Pert agreed it was a serious consideration.
"We would love to have our own stadium. And, no, it is not beyond the realm of possibility; we have looked at options," he said.
"That would be our ideal - to have our own stadium - and we have explored it. It's not in the short term but it would be our ideal though. I don't think [a return to] Victoria Park works ... it wouldn't give us the land and scope. I can't say where it would be, but you don't need to buy the land, there are so many joint-venture partners, private equity and stuff. It's not pie in the sky."
One issue the AFL have confronted following the ground rationalisation of the past few decades is that clubs have struggled to demonstrate their identity at grounds and to distinguish their "match-day experience" from other matches as all games - at least for Melbourne clubs - are played at the same two grounds.
Geelong remains unique among Victorian teams in having their own stadium.
Last year, Collingwood declared a $16 million profit, but that included one-off grants from the government of more than $11 million for the redevelopment of the Westpac Centre and the construction of a community centre there and further write-downs.
Pert said the AFL's experiment with the fixture this year had financially hurt the club with the large number of Sunday games a problem and, in particular, the Carlton Sunday twilight fixture that was so unpopular the low attendance had cost the club about $750,000.
The club's football expenses were down $400,000 on 2013 and Pert said the club was budgeting to be down close to the soft cap on football department spending next year but was still likely to have to pay some level of "tax".
For the first time the club listed in the annual report the revenue-sharing and equalisation payments they make to the AFL, noting outgoings of $893,000 this year.
"People think revenue sharing starts next year, but that is the $893,000 from gate receipts that we gave to the AFL this year. Last year, it was $848,000," Pert said.
Collingwood have revealed an ambitious long-term plan to build their own stadium and have already explored options for a new ground as the club announced another year of multimillion-dollar profits.
With limits on where and how profits can be spent on their players and football department, and with the club's newly expanded home facilities on the Yarra almost complete, the Magpies are canvassing options for further investment in the club.
One possibility in the long term is to copy the big European soccer clubs that buttress their financial futures by owning their own stadiums.
Building a new home ground would doubtless strike significant difficulties with the AFL and MCC for the long-term contractual commitment with the MCG where Collingwood presently plays home games.
Collingwood announced a $2 million profit for this year, which came after a write-down of more than $3 million of the new expanded Westpac Centre for administration and football and for the community facilities.
The club's underlying operating profit for the year was well in excess of $5 million.
This year's profit included $1.3 million from the sale of the Beach Hotel, which was sold two years ago but finally resolved this year.
Chief executive Gary Pert said the club had adopted a similar philosophy to La Liga giants Barcelona FC on how to handle their financial strength and ongoing profits once all football and administration costs were covered.
"We are strategically committed that we will use the profits to keep the costs of membership and membership services down. We had a cost freeze on membership last year and a small increase this year, but nowhere near the increase in cost to us," he said.
"It is a Barcelona model. Basically, what Barcelona does is say, 'We are going to make big money out of sponsorships and generate great revenues from all our commercial deals and that is done to keep your membership costs down'."
However, Pert said consideration had already been given to options for investing in the club once the community centre was paid off and that owning their own stadium was one option.
"I know what that [next option for investment] is and it is substantial," he said. "We can't do it now because we have money committed there, but it potentially shifts what the club is once we do it."
When asked if building and owning a stadium was among the club's plans, Pert agreed it was a serious consideration.
"We would love to have our own stadium. And, no, it is not beyond the realm of possibility; we have looked at options," he said.
"That would be our ideal - to have our own stadium - and we have explored it. It's not in the short term but it would be our ideal though. I don't think [a return to] Victoria Park works ... it wouldn't give us the land and scope. I can't say where it would be, but you don't need to buy the land, there are so many joint-venture partners, private equity and stuff. It's not pie in the sky."
One issue the AFL have confronted following the ground rationalisation of the past few decades is that clubs have struggled to demonstrate their identity at grounds and to distinguish their "match-day experience" from other matches as all games - at least for Melbourne clubs - are played at the same two grounds.
Geelong remains unique among Victorian teams in having their own stadium.
Last year, Collingwood declared a $16 million profit, but that included one-off grants from the government of more than $11 million for the redevelopment of the Westpac Centre and the construction of a community centre there and further write-downs.
Pert said the AFL's experiment with the fixture this year had financially hurt the club with the large number of Sunday games a problem and, in particular, the Carlton Sunday twilight fixture that was so unpopular the low attendance had cost the club about $750,000.
The club's football expenses were down $400,000 on 2013 and Pert said the club was budgeting to be down close to the soft cap on football department spending next year but was still likely to have to pay some level of "tax".
For the first time the club listed in the annual report the revenue-sharing and equalisation payments they make to the AFL, noting outgoings of $893,000 this year.
"People think revenue sharing starts next year, but that is the $893,000 from gate receipts that we gave to the AFL this year. Last year, it was $848,000," Pert said.
Collingwood 2014 Financials
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The Collingwood Football Club has announced a net profit of $2,017,992 for the financial year ending October 31, 2014. The result is the 14th consecutive profit Collingwood has recorded and was largely generated off the back of record membership of over 80,000 (80,793) – a new club and AFL record. The club carries no debt and its net asset position sits at $37,085,589. Collingwood President Eddie McGuire said the profit reflected the all-important contribution members make and years of strategic planning and work to create a football club capable of standing on its own two feet, year after year. “I’m very proud. Our members continue to stand behind their football club and never has that support been more important because every cent comes back to Collingwood. Membership is the only area the AFL can’t touch,” McGuire said. “We exist in an increasingly difficult environment and in that environment we remain not only independent and in control of our future but prosperous, able to uphold, through the many philanthropic causes we support and serve, our commitment to the greater social good. “The need to be financially healthy and independent is a must. We know that to provide our players, coaches and staff with the best opportunities to succeed we must continue to invest wisely and to do that, on our terms, we must continue to produce results like the one we produced this year. “Without outstanding support from our members and corporate partners, and strong leadership, things could have been very different.” Collingwood Chief Executive Gary Pert said the result would enable the club to continue to invest in the football program and ways in which it can provide better experiences and create more value for members. “This is a very strong result created in the face of some significant challenges,” Pert said. “We didn’t play finals and the consequences of an experimental fixture had a considerable impact on us and yet we remained profitable and robust, which is really significant because our investment in the club’s two key stakeholders, the players and fans, has to continue. “We became a more efficient operation in 2014. This streamlining, coupled with the invaluable support of our members and corporate partners, meant we were able to continue to strengthen our football program. “While we have had to address the impact of the AFL’s recently introduced football department spending cap, we have been able to bolster the program in the areas of player welfare and skill acquisition. “Our commitment to improving our service and returns to members has also been able to grow, with a further investment in the relationship through the club’s own media channels planned. “This is a result that demonstrates how important it is to be strong off the field so that you can be strong on it.” The Collingwood annual general meeting for the 2014 season will be held on February 12, 2015, at Melbourne Park. Full details of the AGM will be communicated to members. Highlights of Collingwood’s 2014 financial year include:
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THE PIES have lauded a fan-friendly 2015 fixture after the AFL’s Sunday night experiment against Carlton shredded $750,000 from their bottom line. Collingwood has announced a $2.017 million profit for the 2014 season, a figure that included a $2.5 million drop in match-day and membership revenue. The Pies’ association with the Beach Hotel finally ended after they sold it for $1.3 million, with $3.064 million of depreciation on their Westpac facilities also reducing the size of their profit. The AFL used the Pies as the centrepiece of their aborted Sunday night experiment, with just 40,936 watching a June game that was the worst MCG attendance between the arch-rivals since 1921. “It is another strong result for us. We finished 11th and were still profitable and it is a testament to the members and the support they give to the club,’’ Pert said. “Our gate receipts were quite a bit what we budgeted for. We had already dropped our numbers when the fixture came out and even then we didn’t hit those. “I would suggest the (Collingwood-Carlton) game cost us around $700,000 to $750,000. Not only in gate receipts but our corporate events too. This one was totally out of kilter with anything we have had.” Six of Collingwood’s nine night games in 2015 are on Friday, with two on Thursdays but no Sunday night games. The Pies this year contributed $893,165 to AFL revenue sharing through the gate levy and will next year pay a $500,000 revenue tax and about $200,000 in the footy department spending tax. And while a review of the business has slashed some costs this year they have also hired a new skill acquisition coach and a second welfare manager. The Pies actually spent $450,000 less on their footy department this year but are unlikely to get under the footy department tax which hits 75 cents on the dollar by 2016. “Our ambition is to get as close to that target as we can without compromising our strategy in any way,’’ Pert said. “We are not going to compromise recruiting and the footy program and we believe if we run things tightly we can go pretty close to the soft cap targets without feeling any compromise.”
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Saturday, November 22, 2014
2015 Preview: Collingwood
THE ROAR - Sam Aldridge
Last season
Nathan Buckley continued his dismantling of the Ratpack sending Heath Shaw to GWS to cast his influence over the youth of tomorrow. Dale Thomas missed Mick Malthouse too much so he made his way to rivals Carlton and the Pies traded hard to get Jesse White from Sydney. The season started well with the Pies sitting in fourth after Round 12.
Winning 3 out of the last 11 games saw Collingwood come crashing down as they finished in 11th. The highlight was the emergence of first year late draft pick Tom Langdon, who looked like a seasoned defender before fatigue set in. Jack Frost and Jarrod Witts also established themselves in the best 22, but Collingwood will see the season as a lost opportunity.
Next season
Nick Maxwell and Luke Ball retired and Hertier Lumumba made his way to Melbourne during trade week. The Pies secured Kangaroo’s Best and Fairest Levi Greenwood along with Geelong premiership player Travis Varcoe through trades while being forced to use their number nine draft pick to bring in father/son selection Darcy Moore.
The Pies also managed to outbid the workplace of Mason Cox, who comes over from Oklahoma State University. Collingwood will be out for revenge in 2015 aiming to keep their injury list low.
Varcoe and Greenwood boost an already star-studded midfield and their young defence will have benefitted from an extra pre-season. This is one of the harder teams to predict but I expect the Pies to sit between seventh to 10th, with too much reliance on Cloke and a young defence taking its toll before season’s end.
Who to watch out for
Travis Cloke had a poor year by his standards last season, only kicking 39 goals. With extra midfield options through trades and natural progression, and Marley Williams playing a full season off half back, expect the delivery to improve and Cloke to have a greater influence on matches.
Jarryd Blair had a statistically down season last year. With Beams gone he will assume more responsibility expecting him to slot into a small forward/pinch-hitting midfielder role, returning to the form he displayed from 2010 to 2013.
Needs a big year
Jesse White came across from Sydney to play the tall forward role supporting Travis Cloke. He managed 18 games and 20 goals in 2014, but the Pies were hoping he could be utilised as a focal point taking defenders away from Cloke. White will need to demand more of the ball this season which will either boost his goal tally or boost that of Cloke’s.
Best 22
FB: Toovey, Brown, Frost
HB: Langdon, Reid, Williams
C: Varcoe, Greenwood, Pendlebury
HF: Sidebottom, Cloke, Blair
FF: Elliott, White, Goldsack
R: Grundy, Swan, MacCaffer
I: Witts, Fasolo, Young, Thomas
Last season
Nathan Buckley continued his dismantling of the Ratpack sending Heath Shaw to GWS to cast his influence over the youth of tomorrow. Dale Thomas missed Mick Malthouse too much so he made his way to rivals Carlton and the Pies traded hard to get Jesse White from Sydney. The season started well with the Pies sitting in fourth after Round 12.
Winning 3 out of the last 11 games saw Collingwood come crashing down as they finished in 11th. The highlight was the emergence of first year late draft pick Tom Langdon, who looked like a seasoned defender before fatigue set in. Jack Frost and Jarrod Witts also established themselves in the best 22, but Collingwood will see the season as a lost opportunity.
Next season
Nick Maxwell and Luke Ball retired and Hertier Lumumba made his way to Melbourne during trade week. The Pies secured Kangaroo’s Best and Fairest Levi Greenwood along with Geelong premiership player Travis Varcoe through trades while being forced to use their number nine draft pick to bring in father/son selection Darcy Moore.
The Pies also managed to outbid the workplace of Mason Cox, who comes over from Oklahoma State University. Collingwood will be out for revenge in 2015 aiming to keep their injury list low.
Varcoe and Greenwood boost an already star-studded midfield and their young defence will have benefitted from an extra pre-season. This is one of the harder teams to predict but I expect the Pies to sit between seventh to 10th, with too much reliance on Cloke and a young defence taking its toll before season’s end.
Who to watch out for
Travis Cloke had a poor year by his standards last season, only kicking 39 goals. With extra midfield options through trades and natural progression, and Marley Williams playing a full season off half back, expect the delivery to improve and Cloke to have a greater influence on matches.
Jarryd Blair had a statistically down season last year. With Beams gone he will assume more responsibility expecting him to slot into a small forward/pinch-hitting midfielder role, returning to the form he displayed from 2010 to 2013.
Needs a big year
Jesse White came across from Sydney to play the tall forward role supporting Travis Cloke. He managed 18 games and 20 goals in 2014, but the Pies were hoping he could be utilised as a focal point taking defenders away from Cloke. White will need to demand more of the ball this season which will either boost his goal tally or boost that of Cloke’s.
Best 22
FB: Toovey, Brown, Frost
HB: Langdon, Reid, Williams
C: Varcoe, Greenwood, Pendlebury
HF: Sidebottom, Cloke, Blair
FF: Elliott, White, Goldsack
R: Grundy, Swan, MacCaffer
I: Witts, Fasolo, Young, Thomas
Monday, November 10, 2014
Neil Balme New Football Manager
REAL FOOTY
Geelong football boss Neil Balme will make a return to Collingwood to head up its football department, replacing Rodney Eade, who has joined Gold Coast as senior coach.
Balme has been on a rolling, open-ended contract at Geelong and so was not strictly poached by Collingwood.
Balme agreed he was moving to Collingwood at an important time for coach Nathan Buckley, with whom his good relationship has endured, and he admitted working with Buckley was a factor in his decision.
He stressed that his decision was in no way a reflection on his relationship with Chris Scott, who he praised as an excellent coach to work with.
"I've known 'Bucks' for a long time and he is someone I have the highest personal and professional regard for," Balme said.
"We share a lot of common ground in terms of our thinking on the game and to take on the challenge of building something substantial and, hopefully, pretty successful with him is of real appeal. I had a wonderful time with Geelong but the time to move on had arrived."
It is understood Balme, who worked as Collingwood's football operations manager from 1998 until 2006, has been offered a significant pay rise to return to the Pies.
Balme left the Magpies after a review conducted by a former SAS soldier, whose tenure at the club was short-lived.
Balme's role at Geelong will be taken up by Steve Hocking, who has been with the club since 2004, much of that time as football operations manager. Balme will stay with the Cats until after this year's draft.
"We thank Neil for his outstanding contribution to the club over the past eight years and at the same time welcome Steve as our new head of football," Cats CEO Brian Cook told the club's website.
"Steve has been instrumental in our success over the past decade and has played a key leadership role in both football and at our club. The transition to Steve will be made much simpler by the fact that he has been so involved in our operations at all levels for so long."
Cook said Balme's decision to leave the club was not a surprise, as Balme had kept the club updated throughout his discussions with the Pies.
Given Collingwood's demand for compensation from Gold Coast for losing Eade, the prospect of Geelong asking for something similar from the Pies for Balme's departure was raised at Monday's press conference.
However Cook revealed Balme was not under an ongoing contract with the Cats, and therefore the idea of compensation was "not relevant" and would not be discussed with Collingwood.
Although sad to lose him, Cook said Balme went with Geelong's blessing.
Balme's only requirement is to give the club four weeks notice, which he will do by helping the Cats through the upcoming draft period - something he stressed was important to him.
Hocking will watch over Balme's shoulder and continue his development through that period.
Cook also revealed the club was close to officially announcing two new key appointments in the club's fitness department.
Geelong football boss Neil Balme will make a return to Collingwood to head up its football department, replacing Rodney Eade, who has joined Gold Coast as senior coach.
Balme has been on a rolling, open-ended contract at Geelong and so was not strictly poached by Collingwood.
Balme agreed he was moving to Collingwood at an important time for coach Nathan Buckley, with whom his good relationship has endured, and he admitted working with Buckley was a factor in his decision.
He stressed that his decision was in no way a reflection on his relationship with Chris Scott, who he praised as an excellent coach to work with.
"I've known 'Bucks' for a long time and he is someone I have the highest personal and professional regard for," Balme said.
"We share a lot of common ground in terms of our thinking on the game and to take on the challenge of building something substantial and, hopefully, pretty successful with him is of real appeal. I had a wonderful time with Geelong but the time to move on had arrived."
It is understood Balme, who worked as Collingwood's football operations manager from 1998 until 2006, has been offered a significant pay rise to return to the Pies.
Balme left the Magpies after a review conducted by a former SAS soldier, whose tenure at the club was short-lived.
Balme's role at Geelong will be taken up by Steve Hocking, who has been with the club since 2004, much of that time as football operations manager. Balme will stay with the Cats until after this year's draft.
"We thank Neil for his outstanding contribution to the club over the past eight years and at the same time welcome Steve as our new head of football," Cats CEO Brian Cook told the club's website.
"Steve has been instrumental in our success over the past decade and has played a key leadership role in both football and at our club. The transition to Steve will be made much simpler by the fact that he has been so involved in our operations at all levels for so long."
Cook said Balme's decision to leave the club was not a surprise, as Balme had kept the club updated throughout his discussions with the Pies.
Given Collingwood's demand for compensation from Gold Coast for losing Eade, the prospect of Geelong asking for something similar from the Pies for Balme's departure was raised at Monday's press conference.
However Cook revealed Balme was not under an ongoing contract with the Cats, and therefore the idea of compensation was "not relevant" and would not be discussed with Collingwood.
Although sad to lose him, Cook said Balme went with Geelong's blessing.
Balme's only requirement is to give the club four weeks notice, which he will do by helping the Cats through the upcoming draft period - something he stressed was important to him.
Hocking will watch over Balme's shoulder and continue his development through that period.
Cook also revealed the club was close to officially announcing two new key appointments in the club's fitness department.
Collingwood: An Analysis
SUPERFOOTY - David King
COLLINGWOOD is on the slide.
Coach Nathan Buckley has refined the game style, the list and the culture — and the Pies have progressively tumbled down the ladder.
Winning 17 games in 2012, 14 in 2013 and after a disappointing 11 wins last season the natives are getting restless.
Make no mistake, this is Buckley’s club now and the premise that Collingwood was taking one step backwards to ensure two steps forward in the next three seasons is under the microscope.
Collingwood is an iconic brand, possibly the biggest trademark in Australian sport, but that hasn’t helped it with recruitment or retention. Who was the last key signing to the Magpies? The perception outside of the club is they meet with plenty, but sign none.
PROS
THE Magpies’ biggest asset throughout this season was their harassment pressure. The thirst to force the opposition into turnover was evident and was the most common reason they won games. Collingwood had a 5-5 record against top-eight teams and in all five victories they out-pressured their opponents and won the turnover battle.
The uncovering of depth was pleasing for Buckley as Lachlan Keefe, Jack Frost, Jarrod Witts, Tom Langdon and Brodie Grundy were forced ahead of time to shoulder the load. They played 94 games between them this year as a down payment on their development, while Ben Reid, Nathan Brown, Paul Seedsman and Nick Maxwell struggled to get on the park.
CONS
THE Collingwood midfield is overrated. They’re a midfield without damage, they fire blanks.
They have two major problems: they cannot win enough contested possessions at clearances and when in possession they cannot hit targets.
Collingwood ranked 14th for contested possessions last season, 15th for clearances and, most concerning, 17th for disposal differential against their opposition. They average 30 fewer possessions than their direct opponent every week.
Collingwood’s kicking efficiency is the second worst in the competition. Put simply, Collingwood cannot win enough ball and, if they do, they cannot keep it.
Are Steele Sidebottom and Jarryd Blair ready and capable of relaunching this midfield back among the competitions best?
The Pies can’t score. They averaged a meagre 80 points a game, but an alarming 66 points for the last two months of the home-and-away season.
Their forward 50 is a mess. Travis Cloke has gone from marquee to mediocre and the hysteria surrounding his classification as “above average” not “elite” in the Champion Data Prospectus last off-season will only be matched by its “average” (at best) rating next publication I’m sure.
Cloke has lost his contested marking supremacy only taking 32 this season which is well down on his yearly average of 73 over the past four years. He commanded marquee money and hasn’t delivered his end of the bargain.
What is Jesse White’s role? Can the Pies afford to use Jamie Elliott in the midfield when he’s their most productive forward 50 option?
When Dayne Beams exited, so too did the dream of a Scott Pendlebury-led premiership. Beams was the Pies’ best clearance player, inside-50 distributor and goalscoring midfielder with 20-plus goals again this year.
Pendlebury is a must-watch in the next 12-24 months as his monitoring of all decisions and planning is deeper than most players.
If Pendlebury was of the belief that Collingwood wasn’t on the path to premiership success at 27 years of age next season, then exercising his free agency options may be a consideration.
Buckley couldn’t afford to lose Beams, but Pendlebury’s departure would be a significant nail in his coaching coffin.
COLLINGWOOD is on the slide.
Coach Nathan Buckley has refined the game style, the list and the culture — and the Pies have progressively tumbled down the ladder.
Winning 17 games in 2012, 14 in 2013 and after a disappointing 11 wins last season the natives are getting restless.
Make no mistake, this is Buckley’s club now and the premise that Collingwood was taking one step backwards to ensure two steps forward in the next three seasons is under the microscope.
Collingwood is an iconic brand, possibly the biggest trademark in Australian sport, but that hasn’t helped it with recruitment or retention. Who was the last key signing to the Magpies? The perception outside of the club is they meet with plenty, but sign none.
PROS
THE Magpies’ biggest asset throughout this season was their harassment pressure. The thirst to force the opposition into turnover was evident and was the most common reason they won games. Collingwood had a 5-5 record against top-eight teams and in all five victories they out-pressured their opponents and won the turnover battle.
The uncovering of depth was pleasing for Buckley as Lachlan Keefe, Jack Frost, Jarrod Witts, Tom Langdon and Brodie Grundy were forced ahead of time to shoulder the load. They played 94 games between them this year as a down payment on their development, while Ben Reid, Nathan Brown, Paul Seedsman and Nick Maxwell struggled to get on the park.
CONS
THE Collingwood midfield is overrated. They’re a midfield without damage, they fire blanks.
They have two major problems: they cannot win enough contested possessions at clearances and when in possession they cannot hit targets.
Collingwood ranked 14th for contested possessions last season, 15th for clearances and, most concerning, 17th for disposal differential against their opposition. They average 30 fewer possessions than their direct opponent every week.
Collingwood’s kicking efficiency is the second worst in the competition. Put simply, Collingwood cannot win enough ball and, if they do, they cannot keep it.
Are Steele Sidebottom and Jarryd Blair ready and capable of relaunching this midfield back among the competitions best?
The Pies can’t score. They averaged a meagre 80 points a game, but an alarming 66 points for the last two months of the home-and-away season.
Their forward 50 is a mess. Travis Cloke has gone from marquee to mediocre and the hysteria surrounding his classification as “above average” not “elite” in the Champion Data Prospectus last off-season will only be matched by its “average” (at best) rating next publication I’m sure.
Cloke has lost his contested marking supremacy only taking 32 this season which is well down on his yearly average of 73 over the past four years. He commanded marquee money and hasn’t delivered his end of the bargain.
What is Jesse White’s role? Can the Pies afford to use Jamie Elliott in the midfield when he’s their most productive forward 50 option?
When Dayne Beams exited, so too did the dream of a Scott Pendlebury-led premiership. Beams was the Pies’ best clearance player, inside-50 distributor and goalscoring midfielder with 20-plus goals again this year.
Pendlebury is a must-watch in the next 12-24 months as his monitoring of all decisions and planning is deeper than most players.
If Pendlebury was of the belief that Collingwood wasn’t on the path to premiership success at 27 years of age next season, then exercising his free agency options may be a consideration.
Buckley couldn’t afford to lose Beams, but Pendlebury’s departure would be a significant nail in his coaching coffin.
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