“We will be at the front of the queue”: Collingwood is ready to move for 2024 off-contract stars
“We are a place where people want to come and play football.”
After fixing their salary cap concerns from several seasons ago, Collingwood are poised to continue to make a splash in the trade and free agency markets and will be “at the front of the queue” for next year’s top off-contract stars.
The Magpies moved to part with a quartet of wanted players in 2020 due to salary cap limitations, with Adam Treloar, Jaidyn Stephenson, Tom Phillips and Atu Bosenavulagi all finding new clubs in Victoria as Collingwood reshaped its list.
The club would endure a difficult 2021 campaign to register just six wins and a 17th-place finish, bidding farewell to long-serving coach and club great Nathan Buckley in the process.
Collingwood appointed football boss Graham Wright ahead of that season and would slowly turn their fortunes around—both on the field and financially—with the Magpies making waves last year in the trade and free agency space following an impressive campaign under new coach Craig McRae.
The Victorian powerhouse secured Brownlow Medal winner Tom Mitchell, eventual Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill, Brisbane key forward Dan McStay and Adelaide swingman Billy Frampton following their top four finish, with all four players holding key roles in the Magpies’ flag run under McRae in 2023.
Ahead of their premiership defence, Collingwood were able to edge out five other rivals to secure the services of wantaway Dockers sharpshooter Lachie Schultz, who viewed the Magpies as a “destination club”.
Under McRae’s mantra of always wanting to improve, Collingwood are positioned to be in the mix for more access to the game’s top names next year after rectifying their salary cap issues.
“One of the things that has occurred in the time that this new board has been elected is we have rectified our salary cap problem,” Collingwood president Jeff Browne said at the club’s annual general meeting this week, via News Corp.
“We are in good shape for managing the salary cap well under the expert eye of Graham Wright. Last year we actually traded four players into our side and three of them played in the grand final and were instrumental in our win.
“Let me tell you, there were six clubs chasing Lachie Schultz (this year) but we were the club he wanted to come to because we are the destination club.
“We are looking at all those opportunities (that will come next year) and if a player comes up that meets our needs, we will be at the front of the queue. And I know we will get a good hearing because we are a place where people want to come and play football.”
Western Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith, Gold Coast spearhead Ben King and Brisbane winger Hugh McCluggage are among the leading players still without deals beyond the 2024 season.
Smith is still expected to garner high levels of interest despite suffering a knee injury at training this week that has put a line through his 2024 season.
King has been heavily linked to several Victorian clubs throughout the course of his career in Queensland, with the Suns said to be moving to lock away their star forward prior to his contract year.
McCluggage is another Victorian native who has shined in the Sunshine State, already amassing 155 games for Brisbane since being selected at Pick 3 in the 2016 National Draft.
The Lions midfielder is eligible for free agency in 2024, with the likes of Port Adelaide forward Todd Marshall, North Melbourne’s Cam Zurhaar and Essendon’s Andrew McGrath also eligible.
Collingwood are set to see a number of veterans come off-contract next year, including premiership trio Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe, while defender Nathan Murphy and midfielder Patrick Lipinski are also without deals beyond 2024.
