Collingwood season preview

vfl.com.au recently chatted to Collingwood’s new VFL senior coach Jared Rivers about what could lie in store for the club on the field in 2017.

FACT FILE:

2016 FINISH: 3rd (15-5)

2016 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. Brent Macaffer / 2. Jordan Kelly / 3. Jarrod Witts

2016 TEAM OF THE YEAR: Jordan Kelly / Dale Tapping (coach)

FORMER PLAYERS CURRENTLY ON AFL LISTS:
- Selected from club in 2015: Rupert Wills (Collingwood)

2017 INS & OUTS:
- In: Kye Beveridge (Sandringham Dragons) / Michael Chippendale (Norwood, SA) / Matthew La Fontaine (Dandenong Stingrays) / Campbell Lane (Oakleigh Chargers) / Alex Mastromanno (Brighton Grammar) / Jackson Starcevich (Claremont) / Stephen Tahana (North Adelaide, SA) / Josh Turner / Alex Woodward (Hawthorn AFL)
- Out (selected): Lachlan Ferguson (Collegians) / Callum Matheson (QLD) / Ben Moloney (Geelong VFL) / Angelo Rambaldi (Coburg) / Jeremy Taylor (Uni Blues) / Jackson Viola / Jesse Wallin

DEPARTED PLAYERS WHO’LL BE MISSED:

Ben Moloney: “Ben had been at the club for four years (and 66 VFL games). He was part of the leadership group and a senior player for the VFL program. No doubt he’ll be sorely missed for his ability to bring the AFL-listed and VFL-listed players together – he really drove that culture along with our captain Jack Hellier.”

Lachlan Ferguson: “Lachie will be missed for the way he went about his footy and just being a great teammate. He definitely had some skill around goal and those kinds of guys who excel around the feet of the big fellas inside 50 are always hard to find.”

RECRUITS WHO COULD MAKE AN IMPACT:

Alex Woodward: “Alex has come from Hawthorn’s AFL list. He had some serious knee troubles (three knee reconstructions and only two AFL games since 2012) but he’s been first-class since he arrived at the club. He’s really going to help our midfield depth.”

Michael Chippendale: “Michael plays a third tall defender role and won a premiership with Norwood in the SANFL (in 2012). He’s going to help us down back and is a natural footballer who reads the ball really well.”

Stephen Tahana: “Stephen is from North Adelaide. He’s a young kid (20 years old) but has some raw talent. He played some really good footy at senior SANFL level last year. He’s a defender who’s really good one-on-one, rarely gets beaten and can play on tall and small forwards.”

Kye Beveridge: “Kye is just out of the TAC Cup where he played for the Sandringham Dragons. He’s come in and looked really positive for us. His endeavour and hunt to get the ball has been first-class. He’ll be pushing for a spot in the team coming into Round 1.”

BEST-AND-FAIREST CONTENDERS:

“I thought (runner-up) Jordan Kelly was very stiff in the best-and-fairest last year – he could have won it along with Brent Macaffer. He was super for us all year with his consistency down back and on-ball at times. I’m tipping he’ll probably be up there again this year, along with Alex Woodward who will spend time in the midfield. Ryan Pendlebury, who’s in the leadership group, has been a good player for us for a few years down back.

“Gus Borthwick has been here for a couple of years now – he’s young but has a lot of power and strength around the contest, so hopefully he can find another gear and be up there as well. We’ve also got other young guys, like Jordan Collopy who’s been here for a few years. He plays that fifth or sixth high forward role but can also give us some relief in the midfield. Dale Hinkley (pictured) has had a year in the system and can step up again. He’ll play a bit on the wing but played down back most of last year. He’s a really good decision-maker and smart with ball in hand. Nick Gray has been consistent for us over the last few years as well. He can play as an inside midfielder and give us a bit of grunt but he plays his best footy on a wing.”

BREAK-OUT CANDIDATES:

Gus Borthwick: “Gus is a real inside midfielder. He’s a really powerful kid and really attacks the ball – the type of player teammates love playing with and coaches love to coach. He’s got a good left foot and was a really consistent player for us last year (10 goals in 17 VFL games). He can definitely lift another gear.”

Lachlan Tardrew: “Lachie plays multiple positions – down back, in the midfield or on a wing. He’s young (19 years old) but definitely developing towards becoming a really consistent VFL player. Our main focus this year is trying to get some of these kids drafted.”

BIGGEST TEAM STRENGTHS:

“Our strength will probably be the depth we’ve built in previous years. I feel we’ve got a good core of 10 to 15 blokes that can play every week. Understanding the alignment we’re in with the AFL team, it’s going to be tough for some of those blokes to get in the side each week, but I feel like if we’re all fit, we’re going to have consistent lines across our forwards, midfielders and backs. Just having that consistency and depth in all areas of the ground is going to help us get to where we want to go.”

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT ON 2016:

“We just need to understand that our forward line will be quite young this year. In previous years our kicking inside 50 probably let us down on a few occasions, so we want to move the ball as best we can to give our forwards every chance. We’ve been working on that entry kick inside 50 over summer to help us try and turn that around.”

COACHING PANEL CHANGES:

“We’ve had Ryan Power – who coached at Frankston for a few years – come on board to look after the forwards. He’s got VFL experience and the boys love the way he goes about it. He’s a hard worker, which you need in a VFL program. Brad Gotch – who coached South Adelaide in the SANFL over the last couple of years and has been really successful – will look after the midfielders. He’s going to be really important for myself having had that coaching experience at AFL, VFL and SANFL level. We’ve also got Jamie Cassidy-McNamara coaching the back line. He’s been at Collingwood for a few years in the skill acquisition area, but he’s had an eye on VFL footy and wanted to help out. He’s a young coach who sees the game really well. It’s a young and exciting coaching group with some experience there too. I think it’s a good mix.”

* Next preview: Casey Demons

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Collingwood season preview

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