Collingwood Magpies: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds

It’s still hard to know exactly where Collingwood stands and what we can take away from a season that saw them rise from 13th in 2017 to being a questionable free kick away from a flag.

A team that had gone backwards in each of Nathan Buckley’s six seasons in charge suddenly reversed the trend in the most major of manners on the back of a laid-back attitude that mirrored Damien Hardwick and Richmond a year earlier. 

Will the Magpies continue to follow the Tigers’ trend and stay at the top of the competition? After all, the heroics of 2018 were managed with an injury list the length of Chile, so things can only get better, right? 

But then again, the Pies have got the second-oldest list in the league so maybe the premiership window is closing and 2018 was just a dead-cat bounce with a return to the lower reaches awaiting.

One thing we can be sure of is that, with Collingwood, it will always be enthralling to watch what unfolds.

List changes

In

Dayne Beams (Brisbane), Jordan Roughead (Western Bulldogs), Isaac Quaynor (Oakleigh Chargers), Will Kelly (Oakleigh Chargers), Atu Bosenavulagi (Oakleigh Chargers)

Rookies

Tim Broomhead (Collingwood), Sam Murray (Collingwood)

Out

Alex Fasolo, Jarryd Blair, Sam McLarty, Adam Oxley, Josh Smith, Kayle Kirby

Best Brownlow chances

Steele Sidebottom $15, Dayne Beams $18, Adam Treloar $34, Brodie Grundy $41, Jordan De Goey $51, Scott Pendlebury $51

Collingwood has six players rated a 51-to-one shot or better – more than any other team – which will make Pies fans feel good, but also suggests they should be avoided by the average punter with too many players sharing the votes.

However, at the end of this year’s count the Magpies had a total of 96 votes to rank as the number-one club, well ahead of minor premiers Richmond (78) and eventual flag winners West Coast (81), so maybe the black and white stripes are a bit more eye-catching than you might think.

Sidebottom was the bolter in 2018, finishing second to Tom Mitchell after an outstanding season, while Grundy got a share of 10th and Pendlebury was just two votes further behind on 15.

Players to watch

Jordan De Goey, Dayne Beams, Mason Cox

For the second year in a row Jordan De Goey started his season with off-field controversy, but the club showed its faith in the talented youngster and he returned the favour in spades. However, most of De Goey’s 2018 work was done in the forward line and if he wants to reach his true potential it’s going to require a lot more midfield minutes. Whether he'll make round one remains to be seen after he picked up an injury at training in mid-February.

The Pies spent plenty getting Dayne Beams back to the club in a move very much aimed at finding the extra 1% that can deliver a premiership. If the 2012 Copeland medallist can play at his best it will be near impossible for opponents to control the centre of the ground, but he’s only averaged 14 games a season over the past six years and isn’t getting any younger.

The preliminary final win against Richmond will forever be remembered as Mason Cox’s coming of age, but in reality the giant American is 28 years old before round one, has played a total of 44 games and averaged just one goal a match in a 2018 spent almost entirely in the forward line. Cox averaged less than five effective disposals a game through the finals and, 10 dominant minutes against the Tigers aside, appeared to be well worked out by opposition defences. 

Mason Cox with the speccie and the strut!#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/7O3LTeNJIl

— AFL (@AFL) September 21, 2018

A last chance to watch?

Tyson Goldsack, Daniel Wells

A season that looked over before it began almost turned into a fairytale for the ages for Tyson Goldsack, as the veteran defender forced his way back into the side for the finals after a knee reconstruction in the pre-season. The 31-year-old signed for one more season, but with Matt Scharenberg, Lynden Dunn and Darcy Moore all back to fight for the key defensive posts it won’t be easy for Goldy to get a game, let alone be a prominent part of the Pies’ 2019 campaign.

Things will be just as difficult for Daniel Wells as he attempts to get on the ground and amongst a midfield that has been bolstered by Beams’ recruitment and De Goey and Jaidyn Stephenson’s development. The former Kangaroo turns 34 in February, has played just 45 games in the past five years and comes out of contract at the end of 2019. If injuries strike again he may be forced to walk away early.

Collingwood Magpies’ 2019 list

Standing on the outside lookin' in. Our draftees are taking everything in today before beginning training later in the week #FOREVER pic.twitter.com/VFtOvHOCPj

— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) November 26, 2018

Collingwood Magpies’ 2019 Fixture 

Games played on

Thursday: 3
Friday: 7
Saturday: 8
Sunday: 3
Monday: 1

Teams played twice

Richmond, West Coast, Melbourne, Essendon, Western Bulldogs

2019 Preview and premiership odds

Not surprisingly Collingwood goes into 2019 as equal second-favourite for the flag, paying $7.00.

As big a bonus as Beams is, the Pies would have been a lot happier to have landed Tom Lynch from Gold Coast, with the key forward needs far from satisfied. 

Nonetheless, it’s hard to see a midfield of Beams, Sidebottom, Pendlebury, Treloar, Adams and De Goey being beaten too often, so whoever’s in front of goals will be getting plenty of opportunities.

The Pies list isn’t as young as it may sometimes seem, but it’s also not about to tip over the edge of irrelevance, so there’s no good reason why they can’t be right back at the pointy end of the season again.

Unless whatever it was that saw them slide backwards in every other year of Buckley’s reign somehow comes back to haunt them.