It wasn’t too long ago that Pies supporters combined unanimously in howls for us to address our flagging ruck stocks. Watching Josh Fraser get battered from pillar to post and seeing fellow beanpole in Guy Richards spend more than a generous amount of time floundering as a second stringer was about all we could bear. Chris Bryan was an honest toiler, but was ultimately undersized and outclassed.
Month: November 2011
Jarryd Blair: The Inside Man
It was at the 2008 rookie draft where Jarryd Blair, in conjunction with the Collingwood recruiting department, thumbed his nose at the height restrictions for this ride called AFL football. Having been a consistently high performer during his U18 career, the little big man was at the risk of missing out on an AFL career…
Welcome New Draftees
The national draft took place last night up in the backyard of the new expansion club Greater Western Sydney, who held a monopoly over the first round. Once again, Derek Hine didn’t get to weave his magic until late in the piece, but with our two live selections at 50 and 65 he has opted to snare us some key forward prospects, further adding to my poor record of predicting which direction we might go come draft day.
Thoughts On The Draft
This year’s national draft is set to take place this Thursday evening, although similar to last year we’ll have to wait patiently until our first pick, which arrives at number 50. That’s no reason not to be excited and even optimistic to find out who our first selection is, as we managed to secure Alex Fasolo last year around the same point of the draft.
The Ones To Watch
The national draft is roughly a week away, where we are set to add two more players to our senior list with picks 50 and 65, using 67 to add Jarrod Witts straight to our senior list. While the speculation will pick up in intensity the closer we get to the day, I think it’s time to take a look at some of the prospects who have already completed a season or more at the club, those who will be looking to take the next step in 2012.
Ex-Pies Elsewhere
It is the nature of the game that at the conclusion of every year, it is likely that we will be bidding farewell to some favourite faces at the club. Last year saw a rather large turnover of seasoned Magpies with the likes of Prestigiacomo, Lockyer and O’Bree hanging up the boots.
Krakouer: Year Two
All things considered, we couldn’t have asked for much more from Andrew Krakouer during his first season with the club. He was brought into the mix last year in an attempt to improve a list that had already achieved the ultimate and despite not going back-to-back, individually Krakouer had a more than solid season for a player who had missed so much top flight football.
Delistings Confirmed
After a period of uncertainty, Collingwood has finally announced its end of year delistings ahead of the draft coming up later this month. The delistings confirm some rumours that were circulating, specifically regarding the almost complete culling of our rookie list. The delistings are rounded out by the retirements of Leon Davis, the departure of the unlucky Brad Dick along with John McCarthy opting out to try his luck elsewhere.