- Banned
- #1
THE Western Bulldogs and Essendon have expressed strong interest in Collingwood's uncontracted defender Richard Cole.
While the Magpies have indicated they wish to retain Cole and rebuild the career that went backwards in 2005, it is believed that his re-signing with Collingwood, while the most likely scenario, is not certain.
While Essendon's interest in Cole comes as no surprise — board member Beverly Knight was the teenage Cole's legal guardian when he moved to Melbourne from the Northern Territory and he has a close relationship with ex-Bomber great Michael Long — the more interesting development is the interest of Rodney Eade's club, which has identified Cole among the small pool of uncontracted players with some appeal.
Collingwood football manager Neil Balme said last night that Cole was "very much a required player," and the club was "a fair way down the track" in discussions with his management. Cole already has had his end-of-season meeting with Magpie coach Mick Malthouse.
Balme said Cole had indicated that he wished to remain at Collingwood, where he made steady progress in his second and third seasons (2003 and 2004) before losing form and focus in 2005.
The close bond with board member Knight once led Essendon to actually request a change to the father-son rule, on the basis that Knight, as a club director with some years of service and the then teenager's legal guardian, had some parental claim on him.
Cole managed only eight games in 2005, succumbing to a combination of injury and poor form and spending the latter stages of the season in the VFL until a broken wrist ended his season.
He had become a regular in 2003 and 2004, playing across half-back. His 2004 season was his best, when he finished sixth in the best and fairest and played all 22 games — an output that made his dismal 2005 all the more mysterious.
Cole, originally from Tennant Creek, moved to Melbourne to play with Eastern Ranges in the under-18's and was Collingwood's first-round draft choice in the 2001 draft. While his speed, power and aggression are appealing, decision-making with the ball has been perceived as the area of his game most in need of improvement.
While the Magpies have indicated they wish to retain Cole and rebuild the career that went backwards in 2005, it is believed that his re-signing with Collingwood, while the most likely scenario, is not certain.
While Essendon's interest in Cole comes as no surprise — board member Beverly Knight was the teenage Cole's legal guardian when he moved to Melbourne from the Northern Territory and he has a close relationship with ex-Bomber great Michael Long — the more interesting development is the interest of Rodney Eade's club, which has identified Cole among the small pool of uncontracted players with some appeal.
Collingwood football manager Neil Balme said last night that Cole was "very much a required player," and the club was "a fair way down the track" in discussions with his management. Cole already has had his end-of-season meeting with Magpie coach Mick Malthouse.
Balme said Cole had indicated that he wished to remain at Collingwood, where he made steady progress in his second and third seasons (2003 and 2004) before losing form and focus in 2005.
The close bond with board member Knight once led Essendon to actually request a change to the father-son rule, on the basis that Knight, as a club director with some years of service and the then teenager's legal guardian, had some parental claim on him.
Cole managed only eight games in 2005, succumbing to a combination of injury and poor form and spending the latter stages of the season in the VFL until a broken wrist ended his season.
He had become a regular in 2003 and 2004, playing across half-back. His 2004 season was his best, when he finished sixth in the best and fairest and played all 22 games — an output that made his dismal 2005 all the more mysterious.
Cole, originally from Tennant Creek, moved to Melbourne to play with Eastern Ranges in the under-18's and was Collingwood's first-round draft choice in the 2001 draft. While his speed, power and aggression are appealing, decision-making with the ball has been perceived as the area of his game most in need of improvement.
