Former Collingwood recruiter Matt Rendell says the Pies have to change up their forward line mix as the current set-up doesn’t work.
Collingwood kicked just seven goals in their loss to Western Bulldogs in Round 1 - the lowest of any side in the opening round of the season.
Rendell said his “frustration” with the Magpies largely centred on coach Nathan Buckley asking his forwards to do too much, saying he should look at using other players further up the ground and keep his attckers closer to goal.
“This has been a frustration for me for quite a few years with Collingwood,” he said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“When Darcy Moore came in as a 19 or 20-year-old, he was playing as a key forward and they wanted him to be at the top of the square and compete for the long balls in, they wanted him to be on the wing to compete for the long ball down the line and then be in the defensive 50 … talk about trying to kill a kid.
“They have Mason Cox doing the same thing basically and Nathan Buckley even said it in an interview, they’re asking their key forwards to do too much.
“I can’t remember seeing Jack Riewoldt in defence and certainly Dustin Martin doesn’t go over the halfway mark and Tom Lynch doesn’t go down there.
“I get the theory around Mason Cox standing the mark around the 50 as it does add a few more metres on the kick to make the distance, but I think they’re asking their forwards to do too much.
“I’d rather see someone like Will Hoskin-Elliott and Jordan De Goey up and competing on the wing and let those other blokes play a bit deeper is probably what I would prefer.
“They need to do a lot of work on their forward line, in my time there they did nothing so it doesn’t surprise me that their forward line doesn’t function well.”
The Pies will be looking to win their first game of the season when they come up against Carlton at the MCG on Thursday night.