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An assessment on list at afl.com.au
COLLINGWOOD is hoping its mix of experienced players and talented youngsters will bring finals' football again in 2009. But does the list have what it takes?
Magpies assistant coach Paul Hudson gives afl.com.au his thoughts on the team's senior and rookie lists ahead of the opening of the AFL season.
SENIOR LIST
John Anthony
Jack came through the juniors at the Northern Knights as a defender but he can play either end. As we saw in one of the NAB Cup matches he really hit some form in attack. He’s a lovely kick at goal and still learning the caper up forward, so we’ve been working on some of his deficiencies.
Jaxson Barham
Jaxson’s got tremendous speed but his disposal lets him down a little bit, so he’s been working hard on that over the summer. He can play wing or on the ball if need be. He’s had a full pre-season which is a positive, so he’ll be working hard to further improve.
Dayne Beams
Dayne’s settled in really well. He’s been conscious of putting on a little bit more weight and working hard on his diet. I think he’s slotted into the side pretty well and he’s definitely a chance for round one. You’ve got to be wary of burnout with first-year players but I think realistically if he played half the season [in the seniors] it’d be a really good effort.”
Jarrod Blight
Jarrod provided a lot of run off half-back for Swan Districts and that’s where we’re playing him. He’s got a good turn of speed and he’s another one who’s really improved with his kicking. He can play tall or small, has a good vertical leap and has a bit of x-factor about him. Jarrod should aim to have a solid year at VFL level and if he can squeeze a game or two he’ll do well.
Leigh Brown
Leigh can obviously play either end and his fitness means he is capable of playing on the wing, so we’ve got multiple roles that we think could be a positive for him each week and we’ll look at the different situations and he might be the man to fill the void.
Nathan Brown
Nathan’s a terrific athlete. He’s worked hard on getting even stronger this summer but also making sure he’s maintained that athleticism. I think last year, when he suffered a bit of burnout, will help him 12 months down the track. I think he’ll play the year out quite well and not have that situation happen again. He's another one that can go forward if needed.”
Chris Bryan
“I think Frase [Josh Fraser] will be the No.1 ruckman, but Chris will be looking to be the No.2 and if we can get one or two goals out of him a week as well that’s something he should be aiming for. I think playing forward comes more naturally to Chris than Cameron Wood at the moment; he’s already pretty good at that.
Marty Clarke
Marty got knocked off his perch with the 1km time trials by young Steele Sidebottom, so he wasn’t happy about that. But he’s a tremendous endurance athlete and he’s had a good summer. In Gaelic footy he’s a natural forward so he’s always on my back about trying to go up there. He’ll spend most of his year across half back but might also play on the wing and he could make the progression onto the ball at some stage.
Travis Cloke
Trav holds the forward line together. He’s shown real maturity over the last 12 months. His kicking has improved and is improving when it comes to shots on goal. Hopefully he can change the perception of what people think when it comes to his goalkicking. He’s a real barometer for our forward line.
Ryan Cook
Cooky’s got himself really fit and he’s changing the way he plays and trying to become more aggressive. He can play on ball, possibly on the wing as well. Maybe a run-with role could be a good thing for him to do in his development, playing on the better players in the competition. He has been a fringe player but depending on what role we give him he might be able to play a lot more for us this season.
Anthony Corrie
Anthony provides run at half-back, on a wing and can also play half forward. The club picked him up because he can play multiple positions. Something he’ll be the first to admit he’s needed to work on are his skinfolds and they’d be the lowest they’ve been. It’s a credit to him and the club.
Shannon Cox
Shannon’s another one who, when it comes to off-field, has got to monitor what he does because he can blow out. He provides a lot of run and he’s a good user of the footy. He’s been working hard on his defensive game and we noticed that over the NAB Cup. We’re trying to tighten him up and still get that offensive run. He reads the play well, too, and can play wing.
Leon Davis
Leon will play on ball and up forward as he normally does. He can play a number of roles and he’s just electric. He’s pretty much shared his time between the forwards and midfielders over the summer, because he’s so important for us in the forward line as well.
Chris Dawes
Being an opposition coach last year I was really excited coming to the club having seen what I had of Chris. He’s probably in our top five overall [on the track] and for a kid who’s 193cm and 100kg, to be in our top three for endurance shows you what he’s capable of. He’ll probably be up forward and trying to play a Travis Cloke-type role and learning to play the different positions up forward. He’s working on his marking.”
Brad Dick
Brad’s getting over his knee but he’ll be pretty close to round one; we’re really happy with how he’s progressed. He’s a natural forward with a great turn of speed and his lateral movement is superb. It’s just a matter of getting confidence back into the knee for him.
Alan Didak
He’s had an excellent pre-season and done everything asked of him. It probably depends on the opposition as to where we play him each week. If they want to set someone for him then that might play to our advantage. He’s obviously capable of playing wing, forward or on the ball, so that will vary from week to week. We’re expecting big things of him this year.
Josh Fraser
There’ll be nothing too different for Frase when it comes to this year. His fitness is good and along with everyone else he’s had a pretty good pre-season. He’ll just be rucking and pushing forward for us at times.
Tyson Goldsack
It’s probably Goldy’s first pre-season that we’ve got more out of him. The last couple he’s had problems but we’re pleased he’s got through well. He’s another one I coached at Gippsland Power and he’s capable of going forward but he’s more likely to play down back.
Ben Johnson
As you get older you’ve got to keep raising the bar and he’s got himself in pristine condition. He couldn’t be any fitter. This is the fittest he’s been and I think his skinfolds are as low as they’ve been, so that’s all you can ask of Ben. He can play back flank, wing, possibly on ball if need be.
Tarkyn Lockyer
Tarks has been great; he’s had an excellent pre-season. We’re looking more up forward [with him] but again he’s another one who can play on ball. We’re looking to develop one or two others down back but we know we can always roll him back as a small if we need to. He’s fit and raring to go.
Brent Macaffer
He’s a bit deceptive in that he looks a one-paced player but when you actually play on him he’s got a pretty good turn of speed over 5-10m. He’s a natural forward and a lovely shot at goal, so he’d be looking to play half the year, I would think, after having done so well last year and having been elevated to the senior list.
Nick Maxwell
I think he’s really developed over the last couple of years. He’s just a natural leader but I think Maxxy’s starting to get some development into his game as well; you might not just see him down back. He’s another one who can play on a wing or possibly on the ball, so he’s starting to become a lot more versatile as a player.
John McCarthy
Macca had a knee over the pre-season which hampered him for a few weeks but he's come back from that really well. He’s exciting. He can play up forward or on a wing but I see him more as a forward. We have even played him off half-back. Given where he’s at, you’d hope he’d play at least half the games this year. Because of the list and where we’re at, he could find himself in and out throughout the season.
Paul Medhurst
It’s been a frustrating summer for Medders with his foot. He’s had to do twice as much work off the track to make sure his fitness is where it was last year, which helped him become All-Australian. He’s pretty mentally strong and he’s done a lot of work over the summer but he was just forced to do a lot of it in a different way.
Shane O’Bree
Obie does everything right on and off the track. He’s got himself into a really good position this year fitness-wise so I think everyone knows Shane well enough to know where he’ll be playing and what he can do. He’ll just be playing that same midfield/forward role for us.
Harry O’Brien
The beauty of Harry is he can play on a tall or a small and it won’t be too different for him this year; anywhere in the back six whether it be deep or high he’s capable of playing on whoever comes. Harry’s been doing a bit of work on his kicking. I think he wants to change the ratio in terms of his disposals a bit. He tends to have a lot more handballs instead of kicks coming out of defence, so we’ve been working hard on coming out of defence and trying to hit a target.
Scott Pendlebury
I describe Pendles as the Mark Waugh of footy – he just has that awareness. I think it’s his basketball background and he just seems to have a lot more time than anyone else. I think he’s got a bit bigger over summer; he’s really starting to mould into a senior player, physically. He’s going to be a key for us in the middle this year and he’s going to be a leader of the club.
Simon Prestigiacomo
We’ve monitored Presti over the summer. He had a shoulder just before Christmas, but from January he’s done everything right. He’ll be playing down back, taking the more dangerous forward. I think Jonathan Brown described him as ‘The Caravan’, because when he plays Collingwood he’s got to hook the caravan on and away he goes for the afternoon.
Ben Reid
Ben can play forward or back. I think he’s capable of playing the lead-up, marking target and we’re doing some body-on-body work with him. He’s put some weight on over the summer though and he’s able to play down back too, where he played a lot of his junior footy. I think he’d be looking to play the majority of the season because he does have good versatility.
Anthony Rocca
I’m really surprised how well he’s coping with such a frustrating summer. When you’re away from the [main] group it can be pretty depressing at times but I think he understands where he’s at age [wise] and physically what he’s capable of. If we can get half the games this year with Pebs I think it’s a positive, and he’s come to terms with that.
Luke Rounds
Luke’s another one who’s worked really hard to put on weight. We’re trying to mould him into a back pocket, maybe play him on the back flank. At the moment he looks like playing down back in the VFL and that’ll be a good learning curve for him. At reserve grade level he’ll probably a chance to play elsewhere such as on the balll.
Sean Rusling
I doubt whether Rus will come in for round one, but he should be right from then on. He had a minor setback a few weeks back but the club’s just taking no risks. Fitness wise he’s really good; he’s an athlete. Even back in Arizona he ran a 49-second 400m, so he’s got amazing speed. But we’re also entertaining the idea of playing him down back this year.
Heath Shaw
I think we’ve just tended to play Heater more behind the ball over the years but we’re looking to play him on a wing. We know he can play half-forward as well, so we might throw him around a little bit more so it’s a little bit more unpredictable for opposition sides. He and Dids have obviously got a little history from last year but he’s done everything right and is looking terrific.
Steele Sidebottom
Steele certainly knows how to find the footy. He’s not blessed with lightning speed but he showed in a NAB Cup game – where he racked up 19 touches in a half of footy – that he can get the footy. He and Dayne were given the opportunity during the pre-season and I think they’ll be given their chances during the year. He should be aiming to play six to 10 games. I’d say he’d be predominately on a wing, maybe running onto the ball, but as we know he’s also got a good goal sense, too.
Danny Stanley
Danny’s working hard on his skill level. That lets him down at times but he wins plenty of possession and he’s strong. He’s perhaps tried to be a bit too creative at times so he’s been working on his decision making and his skill level. But we’d like to think Danny will put his hand up for a few more games this year.”
Dane Swan
Swanny’s a bit of a freak. He doesn’t look like a natural footballer but he’s obviously pretty handy to have won a Copeland. Again we’ll utilise him in a midfield/forward role. He doesn’t mind going forward and taking a mark so he can be used up there. And we might use him on a wing, so he can roll through all those areas.
Dale Thomas
We’ve monitored Daisy and Scotty Pendlebury because they played International Rules, but they’ve been great and done everything right. When I coached Daisy in ’05 he was in the middle; we played him on the ball. I think we might be a chance to do a little bit more of that this year. He can play half-forward, half-back, on a wing; he’s the most versatile player that we’ve got.
Alan Toovey
Toovs has had a good pre-season and forced his way into the team for the NAB Cup. We’re looking at him as a back flanker, maybe running with the opposition’s dangerous forwards. He can also play forward. He’s a good mid-sized player who has really improved his use of the ball. We’d expect him to play more senior footy this year.
Sharrod Wellingham
Sharrod will play in the middle, on the wing or at half forward. He could maybe play a run-with role, which I think he does pretty well because opposition players find it hard to get away from him with his endurance and speed. It’s also just a matter of consistency. At times he can probably try to do a bit too much rather than giving off the first option, so that’s something he’s working on.
Cameron Wood
A couple of focuses for Woody over the pre-season have been working on his endurance and also trying to get more out of himself when he pushes forward. He’s been able to get through the summer unscathed which is a real positive, And it’s a healthy situation now, where we’ve got the two big blokes – he and Chris Bryan – vying for that second ruck spot.
ROOKIES
Johnny Bennell
The thing with all the rookie kids is concentrating on having a good year at VFL level and if they can get a couple of games then that’s fantastic. Johnny’s another one who’s quite electric. He’s got a great vertical jump. He’ll play forward and possibly wing and on the ball.
Jarryd Blair
Jarryd will be up forward and possibly on the ball. He’s very small, so he’s your traditional rover type. He’ll surprise a few I think, which he has right through his career.
Kevin Dyas
Kevin’s been injured with a hammy over the summer, so he’s been one of the few we haven’t been able to choose from. We’re hoping he’ll be right by round two or three and obviously come back through the twos. Hopefully he’ll be able to improve like Marty Clarke did.
Tristan Francis
I said when I coached him [that] I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone go as hard at the ball and hurt in a contest. He doesn’t go to knock blokes out; he is just one of the hardest kids I have ever seen. He’ll probably get a chance on the ball and we’ll play him down back. He loves to run and kick the ball from the back flank, so that probably suits him at the moment.
Lachlan Keefe
I didn’t see him last year but apparently he’s improved a lot over the summer. He’s worked hard on his endurance and his skills. He’d be the fourth ruckman in line. If he can continue his improvement he might be a chance [to play senior footy] next year.
Scott Reed
I think Scotty has been one of the good improvers over the summer. In the games we’ve played we’ve seen some really good signs. He’s 192cm but he looks taller. The way he plays he’ll be quite versatile. He’s got to work on his skills and his decision making.
Toby Thoolen
He’s worked hard on his endurance and he’s got to get stronger through the shoulders and hips so that in a marking contest he can hold his ground. We’ve been doing a lot of competitive work and he seems to have been reaping the rewards of his strength program. He’ll probably play more down back with a view to maybe going forward at some stage.
