Australian Football Hall of Famer Terry Wallace doesn’t believe Collingwood’s key position stocks are in the same class as other clubs vying for this year’s premiership.
The Magpies came within a whisker of winning last year’s Grand Final against West Coast, going down by five points after being in front for almost the entire contest.
Wallace believes the Eagles' superiority in the air was the difference between the two clubs on the day and it’s a deficiency that lingers for the Pies going into the new campaign.
“My main question mark on Collingwood is their key position,” Wallace told SEN Afternoons.
“Their big blokes were soundly beaten, and I know they didn’t have a few of them there, but they were soundly beaten in the Grand Final.
“The Grand Final ended up being decided not by the midfielders and who really won the clash there, it was a big boys.
“They got on top in the rucks, it was (Jack) Darling, (Josh) Kennedy and I thought (Nathen) Vardy’s last quarter when he went down forward, they got on top, so that’s my question.”
The three-time premiership Hawk broke down a number of Collingwood’s key position players and where they are currently poised approaching the 2019 season.
“(Lynden) Dunn, can he do it? You’ve got to come back from injury at a ripe old age, can he do it?” Wallace added.
“(Jordan) Roughead? I think it’s a good pick up, but we’ve got to see whether he fits in.
“Darcy Moore? We haven’t seen him do it as a key backman. Yes, he was fantastic on the weekend and easily had the better of Charlie Curnow. There’s plenty of upside there, but we still haven’t seen it over a full season.
“(Ben) Reid? Can his body hold up? Will he play any part?
“Brody Mihocek? Will he get better? Will he come back a little bit? I still think with Mason Cox there’s a huge difference between his best and his worst at this stage.
“I’m not saying that it won’t happen, but I don’t think that group of players as key positions instils as much fear as what some of the other key sides in the competition do.”
Nathan Buckley’s men get their 2019 campaign underway against Geelong at the MCG on March 22.
Listen to Terry Wallace's chat on SEN Afternoons with Andy Maher in the player below
