What are our chances ~ 2025

[piedys]

Collingwood will win the Grand Final by about 20 goals.

Well if our Geelong-like now bulging salary cap is any indication, then this should be a likely scenario...

[BazBoy]

The job of finding our best 22/23 will need to be in place as soon as we can so that everyone on the same page
It’s a task in as much as the time over the season give to our aging list and the new in traded players combined with some young guys who will show promise
Boy the coaching,developing staff have a job

[Take_a_Screamer]

Great doco-type overview of where we are and are heading in 2025

Collingwood goes all in to win the AFL PREMIERSHIP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G786HaY1-8

and...

Predicting Collingwood's Best 23 (Post trade period)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPw0ks0xHuc

[SLORT]

^Yep, we're having a red hot, last dance crack next year. And then I think we will expect to (somewhat) bottom out in 2026. If at the end of next season we don't trade out our future picks then I think this will be all but confirmed, that we will be looking to replenish our depth before the AFL starts shoehorning the talent down south to Tassie.

[Charlie Oneeye]

TheSportingEyes , very good.

Very knowledgeable, and very insightful in identifying players who are no guarantee to make it.

He has gotten our trade/draft decision NQR. He is missing a point.

How many high draft misses can we afford in the draft given we have too many NQR players already? I reckon ZERO.

The decision to trade on the one hand supports the ageing list for a shot at the Flag, but most importantly, in a year or two some of our best players will retire, and we don't have enough quality under them,

[Take_a_Screamer]

How Collingwood’s double trade boost can place Pies back into premiership frame - excerpt
Collingwood’s aggressive off-season plans have come with a loud message...

Perryman's versatility will allow the Daicos brothers to have more flexibility on gameday, whilst an increased level of trust would go into the 129-gamer. And when in doubt, the 26-year-old can be positioned where McRae needs him as a Mr Fix It.

Houston is an immediate upgrade on what Noble produced, reflected by his two All-Australian blazers."For me, I see my best footy as that high half-back," Houston said on SEN shortly after being traded. "I like to get aggressive and a little bit higher (up the field) than most others. "Speaking to Fly, he's a big one that likes to move people around onto the middle or onto a wing compared to other coaches. "I see my best footy at halfback, but if I go into the middle or on a wing so a Nick (Daicos) can go to halfback, then I'm happy to go to those other positions." The former Power defender will build on Collingwood's desire to move the ball quickly from the back half, utilising his dare and penetrating kick to pierce the opposition's structure.

However, McRae has already marked a necessity for his players to feature across multiple roles, and pushing Houston further up the ground could allow Josh Daicos to switch back, which fans saw in 2024. Pending full fitness of the list, the Pies are poised at another flag tilt, which was difficult due to injuries to key players in the season just gone. But adding bonafide talents to the mix, who are in the prime of their careers, not only raises the floor by improving the level of standards and training off the field but can only raise the ceiling of what Collingwood can achieve on it.

McRae will still look to bring one key defender in, while they've trailed Billy Frampton and Charlie Dean to relatively good effect, whilst Tim Membrey has been identified as a need to bolster the forward line. But between the arcs, the Pies have made a strong case for the best blend in the competition.

https://www.zerohanger.com/how-collingw ... me-156207/

[derkd]

I remain of the view, the club has a far too short term view on the list. All the eggs are in the basket of 2025. Very little is being put in to a sustained run at success, lets face it much can go wrong in a year that is out of anyone control. I am not sold that Houston is the 'be all end all' to what was Collingwood's short comings in 2024.

Picks would have been much better to be saved and spent on this draft and possibly next draft (allowing even given the inclusion of T.Mcguane).

As i have said, Fly wants players, so be it, the die is cast.

I am not convinced next year will go as smoothly as some on here hope, too many vetrans will be out paced and out gunned by younger teams on the way up. So what is the point of having so many older players still on the list?

if we knock it out of the park, we could ....could be a top five team. but i think it is far more likely we miss the eight again. And we start the rebuild we should have started at the end of 2023.

[Boot]

I remain of the view, the club has a far too short term view on the list. All the eggs are in the basket of 2025. Very little is being put in to a sustained run at success, lets face it much can go wrong in a year that is out of anyone control. I am not sold that Houston is the 'be all end all' to what was Collingwood's short comings in 2024.

Picks would have been much better to be saved and spent on this draft and possibly next draft (allowing even given the inclusion of T.Mcguane).

As i have said, Fly wants players, so be it, the die is cast.

I am not convinced next year will go as smoothly as some on here hope, too many vetrans will be out paced and out gunned by younger teams on the way up. So what is the point of having so many older players still on the list?

if we knock it out of the park, we could ....could be a top five team. but i think it is far more likely we miss the eight again. And we start the rebuild we should have started at the end of 2023.

Your correct that the "die is cast" for 2025 and Collingwood is all in for making the Premiership a realistic aim, along with about 8 - 10 other teams. I don't think we had much option given the relative form of our veterans and the horror run of injuries that stopped the team from giving its best performance to challenge in 2024. If we hadn't suffered such a long list of injuries to crucial team members for large portion of the year, i.e. DeGoey, Mihocek, Mitchell and McStay, and still failed to make the finals then the push for regeneration and retirement of several veterans would have been much harder. However, with so much unknown on if our veterans will be able to perform to the desired level then the only way to find out is to have a go with the expectation that no-one, apart from maybe Pendlebury, has a hold on their position in the team and selection integrity will apply with good form rewarded with games and any below par performers not spared the requirement to either find form in the VFL or retire. As long as that is firmly communicated and accepted by the group then I think we will have a competitive and exciting year of following the mighty Pies in 2025.

[SLORT]

^I'd think logic would dictate that we'd expect even more injuries next year given the demographic. Hope to be wrong, but after a certain age that's generally how the human body works.

[lazzadesilva]

Nah, injuries will always happen but it’s bad luck most of the time, if there was a science to it, there would be a solution by now. I’m very confident that we will make the top 4.

[lazzadesilva]

Nah, injuries will always happen but it’s bad luck most of the time. If there was a science to it, there would be a solution by now. I’m very confident that we will make the top 4.

[Charlie Oneeye]

Is it unrealistic to think we could win the Premiership in 2025?

I don't think so. On that basis, do we focus on that or rebuild?

I believe no team is guaranteed to win, but as a competition, each team has to strive to win otherwise it becomes an administrative exercise.

Perryman and Houstem and Membrey bolster an age group that will offer continuity of class experience, otherwise, we end up with a bunch of rudderless youngsters.

[qldmagpie67]

I left pondering the pros and cons about our strategy going all in for 2025
Pros we have added a couple very good pieces who are versatile and add spark and most importantly foot skills to the team
If we land Membrey then we have more goal kicking forward options
Cons if we get a couple bad injuries or our veterans really struggle for form or fitness then we will struggle
Best scenario would be the likes of Allan, Demattia, Parker or Dean pushing their way into starting spots by mid year and ushering in ready made replacements for Sidey Pendles Howe etc
If Condon comes and he’s half the player they believe he can be then that’ll strengthen us again moving forward
IMO the first 6-8 weeks will be vital
If we can go like 5-1 or 6-2 then we will set up our season
If we’re 2-4 or 3-5 then there will be panic buttons being pushed
Fingers crossed we get a good run on the injury front

[lazzadesilva]

Is it unrealistic to think we could win the Premiership in 2025?

I don't think so. On that basis, do we focus on that or rebuild?

I believe no team is guaranteed to win, but as a competition, each team has to strive to win otherwise it becomes an administrative exercise.

Perryman and Houstem and Membrey bolster an age group that will offer continuity of class experience, otherwise, we end up with a bunch of rudderless youngsters.

No it’s not unrealistic to think that we could win a flag next year but the probability is that we will win it the following season.
I get it that posters have many different opinions but my take is that the club is positioning themselves really nicely to be prospective premiers in the next few years!

[Gerry Cooper]

We might win the premiership in 2025, but then so might half a dozen other teams. We have bolstered the list with two or three good players, all of whom will take a little time to build onfield relationships and bed down into our game plan. Expecting Houston et al to produce game winning performances right off the bat is being unrealistic. We also need to address the situation that some opposition sides have worked us out more or less and employed a game style that disrupted us and which the coaching staff didnt always have the counter answers to. Hopefully there has been some work in how to address that this off-season or we will risk getting done in the same ways as last year again. The veteran quandary is of course another factor to be considered. I'm hoping our coaching panel will be both more creative in how we use our more vulnerable older players in order to get the best out of them, and if necessary be more ruthless with them, if needs be. Injuries are a random factor that all teams negotiate and I guess we will have our share as always. My key player in regard to keeping fit is Jordon De Goey. He is our barometer. We are a much better team all round when he is up and about, perhaps even more important than Nick, as De Goey is the guy who takes on the game head-on and get things done. I hope he's had a good off season and has his body right in 2025. If his groin issues continue in 2025, it will make any premiership tilt that much harder.

We are a very good side with strong players on pretty much all lines now, and there is no reason to think we won't finish high in the eight. I do think we are one tall back-man short for 2025 but maybe we can cover that better this year, given Murphy's departure last year was unplanned and left a hole there for pretty much the whole season. If we address the above and have a more average run with injuries, we are every chance to make top four. But AFL is a game of small margins and if we get caught in a spiral of losses in the earlier games again, or have a spate of bad injuries again, we are likely to finish 5 - 8 or worse on the ladder.