Herald Sun: Collingwood 2019 Season Preview

Herald Sun - Chris Cavanagh

Collingwood fell agonisingly short in the 2018 Grand Final and that type of defeat can send a club one of two ways. However, looking at the Magpies list and off-season capture of Dayne Beams, Chris Cavanagh believes there’s plenty to like about the black and white in 2019.

Nine Reasons For Collingwood Fans To Get Excited

1. Brilliant Beams

Dayne Beams back in black and white.

Brisbane didn’t want to let Dayne Beams head back to Collingwood, knowing he is a quality footballer with plenty left in the tank but in the end they didn’t get much choice. Beams wanted to return to Melbourne and the club where he started his career and got his wish in the end despite being contacted to the Lions for another two years. Beams will start next season aged 29 but is coming off a runner-up finish in Brisbane’s best-and-fairest after a campaign during which he averaged 29.1 disposals and kicked 18 goals from 21 games. The midfielder will prove a massive addition to an impressive Collingwood onball brigade which already boasts Scott Pendlebury, Adam Treloar, Taylor Adams and Steele Sidebottom.

2. Grand Final Heartbreak
Grand final heartbreak can go one of two ways. It can either crush you the following season or spur you on to bigger and better things. The Magpies will be hoping the latter eventuates in 2019. Collingwood was oh so close in the 2018 Grand Final, leading by 12 points early in the last quarter before eventually falling to West Coast by five points. Nathan Buckley’s men will see it as a missed opportunity and will no doubt be determined to make amends in 2019.

3. Big Mason

A dejected Mason Cox after the
2018 AFL Grand Final.

The American Pie, Mason Cox, officially announced himself during the 2018 Finals Series. While there were some promising signs earlier in the year, Cox showed an ability to tear a game apart in Collingwood’s preliminary final against Richmond. He had 15 disposals, took 11 marks and kicked three goals in that match and went on to play an impressive second half in the Grand Final against West Coast a week later, booting two goals. The 27-year-old finished the season with just 25 goals from 24 games but, given his finish, the Magpies will be expecting plenty more out of him in 2019 as his rise from college basketballer to AFL star continues.

AFL 2019 Round 1 COLLINGWOOD v GEELONG Time & Place: Friday March 22, 7:50pm EDT MCG TV: 7mate / Fox Footy 7:50pm EDT Weather: Min 17 Max 27 Chance of rain 60%: < 1mm Wind: SSE 8kph Betting: Collingwood $1.60 Geelong $2.25

4. Curse Over?
While Collingwood made do to make a Grand Final in the end regardless, an injury curse throughout 2018 did not help the club’s cause. The Magpies had one of the lengthiest injury lists in the league week-in, week-out including many key players. Tyson Goldsack (knee) and Daniel Wells (foot) each played just four games, Ben Reid (calf) played six games, Darcy Moore (hamstring) managed seven matches and Lynden Dunn (14 games) and Matthew Scharenberg (17 games) both missed the closing stages of the season after having knee reconstructions. The injuries particularly cut deep in the back half, something that should be strengthened next season if those players can stay fit.

5. Soaring Belief
While Grand Final day didn’t go as hoped, the Magpies showed in the 2018 preliminary final against Richmond that their best football is scintillating and just about unbeatable. Collingwood brought extreme pressure around the ball, dominated the midfield battle, were hard to score against and damaging up forward.
They won that match by 39 points, with Jordan De Goey kicking four goals and Mason Cox three.

Jordan De Goey celebrates a goal in the
preliminary final win over Richmond.

It ended the Tigers’ 22-game winning streak at the MCG and back-to-back premiership hopes, providing the Magpies with enormous belief that their structures stand up against the competition’s best when they are properly carried out.

6. Talented Trio
Collingwood’s list isn’t overly old. On average the club’s Grand Final team was 173 days younger than West Coast and three players featured in the big dance during their debut seasons. They were none other than Jaidyn Stephenson, Brayden Sier and Brody Mihocek, who all have significant upside left in them. Stephenson won the AFL Rising Star award and finished the 2018 season with 38 goals from 26 games, while Sier made an impact in the midfield in second half of the season and mature-age recruit Mihocek finished the year with 29 goals from 16 games. While all sizzling debut seasons, you suspect that is just the beginning for the talented trio.

7. Buckley At Best

Nathan Buckley with Adam Treloar and
Steele Sidebottom. Picture: David Caird

There is no doubt Nathan Buckley has grown significantly as a coach over the past two years. He now has seven seasons in the top job under his belt and this is his Magpies team. Last season it was clear he had a plan and had the players on board with it. Buckley won the AFL Coaches Association Coach of the Year award for the first time, voted by his peers, which highlighted his rise and that growth he has experienced should hold the side in good stead going forward.

8. Jordan De Goey
The 2018 season was a breakout year for Collingwood forward Jordan De Goey, but you sense he is only getting better. The 22-year-old kicked 48 goals from 21 games, after a previous career-best haul of 16 goals in 2016. He has X-factor most players can only dream of and ranks elite in his position for goals, marks inside 50m, clearances and kicks. Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton compared De Goey to Richmond superstar Dustin Martin last year and while the Magpie is not quite there yet, he is well on the way.

9. The Number: 2
It’s no surprise that Collingwood’s strength is its midfield, rating as the second-best midfield and ruck combination in the competition. It’s the evenness of the group that stands out, with not one elite midfielder but four in the above average category.

2019 Draw
First Six