“Going to be a wonderful player”: Lloyd praises maligned Pie after clutch performance

Collingwood forward Lachie Schultz came up clutch for the Magpies in their 79-78 win to keep their finals hopes alive against Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday.

The Lions raced out to a 30-point lead late in the first term, but the Magpies struck back in the second and ran over the top of Brisbane late with three goals in the last five minutes to snatch victory.

Up forward, it was Schultz who was the catalyst with two late goals to go with his 16 disposals, five marks and seven score involvements.

The 26-year-old has been under the spotlight so far this season given the Pies gave up a first and second-round pick to get him across from Fremantle last trade period, with some considering it a bad piece of business from the Magpies as he’s struggled with form, suspension, illness and concussion in his first campaign for the club.

While Schultz hasn’t hit his straps completely as a Pie, he’s still averaging more than a goal a game and is ranked fourth for tackles inside 50 across the competition.

Essendon great Matthew Lloyd thinks that Saturday’s performance is a sign of things to come for Schultz who he expects to be a wonderful player at Collingwood for the rest of his career.

He discussed his late heroics with Tony Jones on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.

Lloyd: “Enter Lachie Schultz, he had a couple of big moments

“I’m a big fan of Lachie Schultz, I know it hasn’t been a perfect season for him but he’s going to be a wonderful player for the next seven or eight years for the Collingwood Football Club.

“Schultz got involved again for his second goal, he was playing on instinct and I think they’ve got to allow him to play a little bit more instinctively and they’ll get more out of him.”

Jones: “The Lachie Schultz narrative is interesting … it was, ‘The worst trade ever’, but now everyone is pumping him up and rightly so.”

Lloyd: “I’d like to say that I’ve touched on this saying that it’s too early to say, ‘Jack Ginnivan this, Jack Ginnivan that’.

“I think they’ll both be good for their clubs … but I think Schultz will be a very good player for Collingwood over the journey.”

Schultz will hope to back up his big performance when the Pies play to keep their finals hopes alive next Friday against Melbourne at the MCG.