What are our chances for 2024?

[Harrysz]

Collingwood has not gone "back to back" for 87 years. Think about that! The closest was 2010/2011. The less said about the 2011 Grand Final the better.

AFL seasons are very long and a lot can go wrong, even if the team plays well. Luck with injuries is crucially important. In this regard we had some bad luck during the finals losing Tay Adams and McStay. Then we lost Murphy during the Grand Final. Still, we got up to win, but it was so close.

My main reason for having doubts about back-to-back this year is the opposition. It's very likely that GWS, Carlton and Brisbane will be right up there. Unlike some on here, I think that Essendon will improve. Then there's Adelaide and Port Adelaide. And what about Gold Coast? They have a lot of really good players and they now have a good coach. What about Melbourne? May says they're better than us so they must be good. I think they'll slip. We will see.

Having finished on top, we have a tough draw. That's not necessarily a bad thing but there it is. We have a very good side with some great experienced players and some very exciting young players coming through. I have my eye on Ed Allan.

As has been said many many times, an AFL season is not a sprint. It's a marathon. If we have moderate luck with injuries and finish top 4, then WATCH OUT.

[K]

...
AFL seasons are very long and a lot can go wrong, even if the team plays well. Luck with injuries is crucially important. In this regard we had some bad luck during the finals losing Tay Adams and McStay. Then we lost Murphy during the Grand Final. Still, we got up to win, but it was so close.

My main reason for having doubts about back-to-back this year is the opposition. ...

Yup, luck is very, very important. (Dunno why some folks wanna deny it... Even when the lucky ones are our enemies! )

And we need to fix our scoring, contested ball and centre clearance problems. Felt like we were just hanging on for the last half of last season. Great effort but can't just hang on for 18 months!

[Take_a_Screamer]

New indoor training facility for the players
Yes, we are a destination club...

‘Hasn’t gone down well’: Magpies training video sparks controversy

Sport Management academic and author Hunter Fujak was more blunt: “Congratulations on using women’s sport to siphon taxpayer money into one of the wealthiest men’s football operations in Australia.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/ ... 8961769eb7

Jeremy Howe presenting it...
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M7C7c3odWDE

[What'sinaname]

^
Lol. We got rid of a money pit. Don't blame Collingwood that the entire sports of Woman's Netball is a fiscal dumpster fire.

[piffdog]

A typical example of a modern day scandal.... (lol)

1. Perhaps someone could have thought through the potential ramifications of such a post and been a little more tactful?
2. Feel for Jeremy Howe - nothing to do with him
3. Club has said it was paid for with club funds
4. Punters ignoring that the club has womens teams in both AFL and VFL (are they not eligible for government funding?)
5. Usual nameless/facelss nobodies blowing up on twitter
6. Dont hate the player, hate the game (ie the government system of awarding grants - application could have been rejected)

This all leaves me to assume this is 10% genuinely something to talk about/look into and question, 20% 'cause they cut the netball team, 20% we're all pumped for the season to hurry up and start and 50% because its Collingwood...

[LaurieHolden]

^noted, but let's get the discussion back on track of our chances for '24.

[Magpietothemax]

This club has achieved the extraordinary in 2023, and I put no limits on the possibilities for 2024.
Alot will depend on who/what will compensate for the loss of Dan McStay. I am not sure that it will be a single individual - just as likely, a combination of several.
Also, alot will depend on how we structure the midfield given that Tay Adams is gone and Pendles might need more conservation than last year.
the development of Ash Johnson, Reef McInnes and Finn McCrae will be very significant in our chances for back to back.

[think positive]

I’m not convinced Adamsis a loss aside from most of us loved him, he was always injury prone, and he’s longish in the tooth. Ginnies replacement is comparative gold! Watch the game again this week, lippa had a couple of clangers but made up for them, Ginnie wasjust plain crap! He should have nailed both shots on goal!

I’m off to training in 2 weeks, can’t wait to see the new boys in action and Fin is apparently smashing down the door, jumping the fence and winning it on his own!

I’m full of optimism!

[LaurieHolden]

Cast back Round 1, supporters season expectations were dealt a heavy blow when Jeremy Howe a key structural pillar in our backline suffers a sickening compound fracture of his left forearm.
As he was stretchered from the field, supporters looked on and wouldn't have been unjustified if they thought injury might call time on his 220-game career.
4 months and 4 surgeries later, in Round 15 Howe made one of the more remarkable recoveries and returns to senior football since our own Tyson Goldsack went down with an ACL at the start of the 2018 season, before returning for September action.
Howe, for a player as important to our backline / defensive structure, hasn't quite received the plaudits that reflect his importance to our backline structure. His presence boosts the confidence and cohesion of the team and as a mentor to the younger players in the squad.
Howe plays as a match-winner and a game-changer for our Magpies, and his impact on the 2024 AFL season will be a real boon to our premiership defence, particularly in light of having played in only 14 games over season 2023, and a vital role in our 16th Premiership.
His 10 marks, 6 rebounds and 17 possessions against GWS in the Prelim showed why he’s one of the best intercept defenders the game has ever seen.
What we have is a 140 mark per year defender with the football IQ equivalent of Steele Sidebottom. Year in year out he leads our marking averages hence his contribution week by week coupled his footy IQ is invaluable.
Howe has been a member of the Collingwood leadership group for six consecutive years and will continue to support the Captain Darcy Moore in 2024.

Enter Nathan Murphy, whom had a breakout 2023 season with 145 marks. Injury might be the only thing holding him back from establishing himself as one of the premier defenders in the competition.
Issac Quaynor also crossed over 140 marks for the first time. Crossing 140-marks for a season places you in the company of the competitions best, 160 plus is elite territory.

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_player_rankings?year=2023&rt=LT&pt=DE&st=MA&mg=5

So, we enter the season with 4 defenders capable of not only controlling their airspace but making it very difficult for sides to kick match winning scores. This unit should offer Tew Jiath development time to hone his craft and present as an able replacement for Howe when he decides it's time to hang up the boots.

Coming off a premiership, undoubtedly Collingwood will become the hunted in 2024. We need to have the same mentality but use skill and smarts to outwit the best opposition Clubs can muster.

Debate to an extent goes on regarding the quality of the 2010 / 2011 sides in comparison to today and if we can go back-to-back.
To me 2024 can become 2011 if the quality of our ball movement improves in order to give our mobile forwards first use of the ball.
The standout during 2011, was the dynamic and exciting ball movement, it was sublime.
Having a key forward in TCloke pull in 192 marks, ably supported by Dawes 81 and The Anvil with 86 coupled with Krakouer 82 resulted in a feast of goals.
Reflective of the earlier statistics on marks, it highlights Ben Reids dominant AA season in the backline which saw him haul in 161 marks. The impact he had over that season has been overlooked. I won't blame him though for getting taken apart by Hawkins, Malthouse can share this one.

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/2011.html#11

Even Darcy Moore's season best is 137, shows how important these aerial marking targets are to the momentum of a game.

If Mihocek drags in 120+ marks for the season and Johnson and McInnes can combine for 75 marks each, then the forward marking combinations can cover the structural absence of McStay.

There's no reason we can't execute as well as we did last year, but I'll be looking closely each week at our marking as a key barometer of how we're performing over much of the season.

[Pies4shaw]

Just quietly, I'd rather 2024 became 1990 than 2011.

[Take_a_Screamer]

^^^ I wrote off Jeremy Howe after his bad injuries, but he defied all odds. He came back and played a very signifant role to win us the flag. Moreover, in the (grand) final copped a nasty blow to his ribs. However he did the pre-season. Howe is indistructible. Now in 2024 the thought is that he will spend some time taking big marks in the forward line.

I echo all the sentiments in this and other threads. Our ageing players are playing their best footy. Our young brilliant players and recruits are pushing for selection. The stage is set for a dominant Collingwood. What a time in history to be barracking for our team. Can't wait for the start of the season.

[pietillidie]

^^^ I wrote off Jeremy Howe after his bad injuries, but he defied all odds. He came back and played a very signifant role to win us the flag.

I can remember thinking he came back moving like he was five years younger. Another great story in an awesome year, and another bloke you love seeing land a premiership. A seriously good footballer and club man.

[Take_a_Screamer]

Can anybody tell me why Howe crossed from Melbourne to join us?
A serious loss to Melbourne over the years...

[Rex]

…well, don’t put ‘Howe transfer from Melbourne?’ into your browser…you get the airport bus timetable!
Howe came to us because he wanted positional certainty. Melbourne played him both ends whereas he wanted a consistent wing/half forward role. He did play a couple of games up front, but we soon ran out of backmen and Buckley had to move him down back and apologise for breaking the transfer promise. That was eight years ago. Maybe time to let him fulfill his dream. Plus it increases his chance of taking Mark of the Year (again).

[simon tonna]

Odds have us as favourites