Collingwood goes into the 2021 season coming off a year where they snuck into the eight and had significant player turnover in the off-season.
Eight of the Magpies’ 2018 Grand Final side have departed the club in the short time since, meanwhile West Coast has only lost four.
With their significant player turnover, what can we expect from the Pies this season?
Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy is worried about their overall list profile.
“I think they’re significantly weaker. You look at their list, it’s actually quite a surprising profile,” Healy told Sportsday.
“In fact, it’s quite an alarming profile in some respects if you’re a Collingwood supporter thinking you’re about to win a flag.
“(They’ve got the) seventh youngest list, eighth least experienced and you’ve got to ask yourself if it’s unbalanced and I only ask the question because I’ve got the answer for you.
“Is the Collingwood list unbalanced? You can only have one answer for that and the answer is, yes, it is unbalanced.
“They have seven players (over) 30 years of age. That is the most of any club. They have the fourth fewest between 25 and 29 and the second fewest between 21 and 24.
“They have a hell of a lot of players 30-plus and a hell of a lot of players that are 21 or under.
“That is an unbalanced list, but it’s a list of a similar profile to Port Adelaide, so it’s not as if you can’t do it, but your kids have to be exceptional like Connor Rozee, like Zak Butters and like Xavier Duursma.
“But there’s a big, big hole and it’s bigger because of the names that have left the club.
“Has there ever been a Rising Star leave the club within three years of winning it? That’s just extraordinary. I’m not sure what the hell went on there.
“Clearly there were some circumstances, he’s in a hub, he didn’t cope with the hub, he had some scandals, he’s got some issues, but tell me which player doesn’t have issues under 21.”
Collingwood kicks off the 2021 season next Friday night, taking on the Western Bulldogs at the MCG.
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