Collingwood’s Dilemma: Balancing Age and Ambition
Collingwood finds itself in a challenging position after nine weeks of the 2026 season. The team is currently sitting 10th on the ladder, appearing to be a side on the cusp of finals contention. However, they have been outplayed by both of last year’s grand finalists—Brisbane and Geelong. This has raised concerns about the club’s long-term strategy and sustainability.
The core issue lies with the team’s aging roster. Collingwood currently has the oldest list in the AFL in terms of both average age and average games experience. If they were to win the flag this year, they would make history as the oldest team to do so in the competition’s history.
Over recent seasons, the club has taken a bold approach, aiming for another premiership following their 2023 success. They have made several high-profile trades, including giving up first-round draft picks for players like Dan Houston and Lachie Schultz. Despite these efforts, the results have not been consistent.
Draft Performance and Youth Development
Players drafted by the Pies in the 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 drafts have combined for fewer than 40 total games for the club since arriving. In contrast, St Kilda and Hawthorn’s similar drafts have already surpassed 200 games played. This stark difference highlights the challenges Collingwood faces in developing young talent.
The club has also moved on from several veterans, including Mason Cox, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Brody Mihocek, Oleg Markov, and Tom Mitchell. Even with these changes, Collingwood will still have 12 players over the age of 30 at the end of the year unless further adjustments are made.
Scott Pendlebury, at 38, Jeremy Howe and Steele Sidebottom, both 35, Jamie Elliott, 33, and Jack Crisp, who will turn 33 this year, remain crucial to the team’s success in 2026. Their experience is invaluable, but it raises questions about the club’s future.
A Concerning Youth Presence
The youngest 12 players on Collingwood’s list have combined for only nine total games played. Third-round draftee Will Hayes accounts for six of those. This lack of depth among younger players is alarming, especially when compared to other teams.
The next oldest team in the competition, Brisbane, has a youngest 12 that have combined for well over 100 games. Another contender, Fremantle, has 71 games combined from their younger players. These numbers clearly show that Collingwood has not hit the draft as effectively as their competitors.
Sydney, currently at the top of the table, has 29 games from their younger group. However, they have several promising players between the ages of 22 and 24, such as Errol Gulden, Chad Warner, Malcom Rosas, Braeden Campbell, Logan McDonald, Jai Serong, Matt Roberts, and Angus Sheldrick.
Among Collingwood’s players under the age of 25, only Nick Daicos stands out as a long-term star. Ned Long is also seen as a potential 100-plus-game player. However, Daicos missed the game against Brisbane and was restricted by a tag against the Cats, leading to the club’s two worst results of the season.
Risk of a Long-Term Drought
There is growing concern that Collingwood’s lack of general talent under the age of 27 could lead to a prolonged period of mediocrity, similar to what West Coast and North Melbourne experienced in the 2010s. Both teams pushed too hard with aging rosters and ended up in deep rebuilds that are still ongoing in 2026, although the Kangaroos are showing signs of recovery.
Collingwood CEO Craig Kelly recently acknowledged the need to shift focus from heavy player trading to hitting the draft more consistently. His comments reflect an unspoken fear within the club about the long-term implications of their current strategy.
“Our plan is to continue to go to the draft and get two draft picks every year,” Kelly told SEN before the Hawthorn draw. “We’ve been struggling because in previous years, before the current (list management) group were there, we gave up our first round draft picks a little too easily, and we wanted to keep those.”
A Warning from a Legend
Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes believes things could get “ugly” for the Magpies if they don’t quickly address the age profile of their roster. He pointed to Geelong as a prime example of how an aging team can still succeed through smart recruitment.
Geelong, the oldest premiership team in V/AFL history in 2022, still boasts several players over the age of 32. However, they have re-energized their list with impressive players aged 25 and younger, such as Bailey Smith, Sam De Koning, Tanner Bruhn, Ollie Henry, Max Holmes, Shannon Neale, Ollie Dempsey, Lawson Humphries, Jhye Clark, Connor O’Sullivan, and Mitch Edwards.
“This Collingwood situation, at some point, it’s going to get really difficult for them,” Cornes told SEN on Monday. “You look through their best players on the weekend and they’re not young. Their highest-rated players—Jordan De Grey, Jeremy Howe, Scott Pendlebury, Josh Daicos, Brayden Maynard, Dan Houston, Jack Crisp, Pat Lipinski. Not a whole lot of youth in that crew coming through. It’s going to get mightily ugly for this group.”
A Test Against the Swans
Collingwood now heads to New South Wales to face the dominant Sydney Swans in another test of where they truly stand this season. They will do so without Pendlebury, as the 38-year-old is rested to allow him to break the V/AFL games record at the MCG the following week against West Coast.
Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt has expressed concern about how integral Pendlebury remains for the Pies at this stage of his career. “There is a big worry with Pendlebury out, you think about the last two games Scott Pendlebury has been involved in, Anzac Day and (against Geelong), he’s been the highest-rated Collingwood player on the game,” Riewoldt told Fox Footy.
Pendlebury himself has previously dismissed concerns about the club’s lack of investment in the draft in recent years. “We haven’t really gone to the draft very much have we in the last few years, so, yeah, I think we’re in a window where we think we can win and challenge,” Pendlebury told 3AW in March.
Future Challenges and Opportunities
Collingwood will also lose at least one player of note to Tasmania when they enter the competition in 2028, with the Devils linked to forward Beau McCreery. Given Tassie’s head of recruiting previously worked at Collingwood, and club great Nathan Buckley is the odds-on favorite to be the inaugural coach, there may be a greater Magpie flavor in the Apple Isle than expected.
