Essendon great Tim Watson says the returns of injury-prone duo Darcy Moore and Jamie Elliott are the equivalent of two new recruits heading into the 2019 season.
Moore and Elliott have flown to Germany to meet with highly-credentialed Bayern Munich head doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt in a bid to solve their chronic soft tissues problems.
“Jamie Elliot is only 26 years of age, we’ve hardly seen him over the past couple of years,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.
“I don’t say this word lightly, but he was a superstar small forward talent in the game.
“If he can recapture that and Darcy Moore, Collingwood have effectively got two great recruits for 2019.
“There’s a lot of optimism about Collingwood this pre-season.”
Melbourne great Garry Lyon believes the Magpies could just about be favourites to win next season’s premiership if the pair can stay fit and play to their potential.
“If Darcy Moore plays 15 games plus, Jamie Elliot plays 20 games plus and Dayne Beams, they can win the premiership – they’d nearly be favourites,” Lyon said.
Moore was restricted to just seven games in 2018 while Elliott failed to make a single appearance and has played just 17 matches since 2015.
Listen to this morning's edition of SEN Breakfast with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson in the player below