Garry Lyon has labelled Collingwood a “middle of the rung” team following their “ordinary” nine-point win over Sydney on Thursday night.
The Magpies enjoyed 50 inside 50s to the Swans’ 33 at the Gabba but could only muster a score of 6.14.(50) to eventually secure the victory courtesy of a late piece of Josh Daicos magic.
In the wake of that subpar showing, Lyon raised his concerns for Nathan Buckley’s injury-hit side who had lost twice on the trot prior to last night.
“They were just a very ordinary team for the first half,” the former Melbourne captain said on SEN Breakfast.
“They played ordinary footy. They were ordinary in the way they used the footy, they were worse than ordinary in the way they converted their inside 50s.
“That’s a horrible number. It was 33 to 11 by half-time.
“Then they came out after half-time and got their act together a bit, but they were missing some really important players.
“Right now, they are just a middle of the rung footy team.”
Lyon acknowledges that the Magpies are missing a number of vital players such as captain Scott Pendlebury, intercept defender Jeremy Howe, star forward/midfielder Jordan De Goey and now leading on-baller Adam Treloar who suffered a hamstring strain against the Swans.
However, their current form has left him not quite as bullish as he was in earlier stages this season.
“I’ve been big on them all year. I’ve had them as my premiership team but they are not in that form right now,” Lyon said furhter.
“Whether Nathan Buckley can get them back in the next seven weeks? Pendlebury is obviously huge. We know about all their losses.
“Their losses are massive. I understand that but they are just middle of the rung at the moment. They’ve got to try and hold it together and hopefully they get some of those really important players back.
“With injuries now to Treloar and (Will) Hoskin-Elliott, who is not as important but he’s a part of what they do, then they are going to struggle.
“They are going to battle away to just sort of hang together and hope they get some quality back.”
Lyon concluded: “When I say they are average, I understand why they are average.
“When you lose the players of the quality that they’ve got, they’ve come back to the pack.
“It’s a good challenge for Bucks. He’s got to hold them all together and hope he can get Pendlebury back. He’s not going to get Howe or De Goey back.
“It’s totally understandable. It’s hard work, they are hard going, they ground out a win when they had to against the Swans.”
The Pies currently sit seventh on the ladder and next take on the winless Crows at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night.