Less hubris, more realism: The Pies need to change tack or risk wasting Nick Daicos

April 10, 2026 — 5:30am

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Like Geelong, Collingwood have resisted the notion that a team must have a downturn, a multi-year period of exile from premiership contention or finals, to replenish their playing stocks.

Rebuild-aversion has been seen in public statements and off-record musings by key Collingwood people throughout the Craig McRae era.

It also has been evident in decisions made, as the Magpies defied the convention that says that teams must use the first rounds of the draft to regenerate a list old enough for lawn bowls.

This cannot continue. A reset is needed to ensure the once-in-a-generation Nick Daicos leads several tilts at a premiership in the next dozen seasons.

As we know, the Pies traded out of the draft’s first rounds for 2024 and 2025, despite fielding teams that were already the oldest in competition history, gaining the gallant Lachie Schultz and foot-skilled Dan Houston, at considerable cost. They plundered the future.

This repeated a pattern, under different regimes, of burning first-round picks for mature players.

The attitude, voiced by Scott Pendlebury most recently, is that Collingwood need not do rebuilds because they are subject to different rules of attraction.

“I think one of the benefits of being Collingwood in my time being here is you always attract free agents, you always attract really good players,” Pendlebury told 3AW, making clear that he didn’t favour long-term rebuilds. “So sometimes the draft you don’t need.”

At the Gabba last week, we saw what Collingwood resembled without Daicos and Pendlebury, the young Jedi and his instructor.

The Force was not with Collingwood, who were shredded by a Lions line-up replete with classy younger legs, further strengthened by free agents........

© The Sydney Morning Herald