u/Pragmatic_Shill

The "long lunch for Leppa" edition.

* There has been no movement for Collingwood today.

* Xander McGuire flagged yesterday evening that Brisbane's Keidean Coleman wants to go to Collingwood in an ideal world. Cal Twomey believes Brisbane would only entertain a trade for Coleman for a first-round pick. Justin Leppitsch has already ruled out trading this year's first round pick. It's worth noting that Coleman is a free agent in 2027, and list spots remain a challenge and key hurdle for any additional trades this year.

* Adelaide had asked the question of Jayden Short, who has been linked to Collingwood, but were told no.

The "not here to fuck spiders" edition.

* The trade period officially opened today, and Collingwood was straight out of the blocks with the first two trades this year.

* Jesse Hogan arrives at Collingwood, with GWS receiving pick 75.

* Scott Pendlebury has been traded to Gold Coast in exchange for pick 65.

* Collingwood has begun talks with Carlton for Flynn Riley, with Justin Leppitsch pointing to previous trades for Max Heath and Liam Reidy has precedent for his value (third or fourth round picks).

* There is currently no suitor for Jordan De Goey, with Leppitsch thinking he most likely will stay at Collingwood.

* Collingwood and Jayden Short have interest in one another, however Leppitsch has made it clear it will be a difficult trade to manufacture given there is a gap in how Collingwood and Richmond assess his value, plus added difficulty in list spots available. St Kilda is no longer interested in Short.

* Leppitsch does not foresee any scenario this year where our first round pick will be traded. Collingwood is able to trade two of its next three first-round picks under AFL rules.

* Over the weekend, Beau McCreery stated he can't see himself playing anywhere but Collingwood despite being linked to Tasmania at the end of next year.

* Dan McStay was due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next year, but has hit a contract trigger for 2028.

Former Collingwood star Bobby Hill says seeing Shai Bolton join him as a Norm Smith Medallist has “put a bit of fire in the belly” for a return to football, even though the interest from clubs has been little.

The premiership winner had his contract with the Pies terminated with a modest payout after he was unable to commit to the professionalism required at Collingwood.

That deal was worth $750,000 a season to 2030 but the annulled contract was done in a manner which allowed him to play with another side into the future.

But as Code Sports revealed last week, the interest from other clubs in giving him a lifeline has been modest at best after the professionalism issues he had at Collingwood.

Despite this, Hill said he was desperate to get another chance at the AFL.

“That’s all I grew up knowing, just footy, footy, footy and that was my plan A, not having a plan B and C,” he told Nine.

“I think I just lost the love of the game and now I’m back, full on and want to get back into it. I do miss it, so I can’t wait.

“Very fortunate to win a grand final and top it off with a Norm Smith, and I just want to move forward now.”

Hill’s time at Collingwood was capped by him winning the medal for best on ground in the Pies’ 2023 premiership.

The 26-year-old said seeing fellow Western Australian Bolton being named the Norm Smith Medal, despite being part of a losing side for Fremantle, did give him extra motivation to return to footy.

“Congratulations to Shai (Bolton) for winning one (Norm Smith), welcome to the club. It put a bit of fire in the belly,” he said.

“Hopefully if clubs out there want me and hopefully I can get back on there, I’m pretty confident I can show what I can do, if not even better and win games for teams.”

But it is set to come down to that clubs would want concrete assurances about his behaviour and would also want to know he would not be a distraction to their list.

Hill had been linked to a move back to Western Australia in previous seasons before opting to remain at Collingwood.

However, now he's uncontracted, Hill says he would happily move to any club that would be open to giving him a chance to revive his career.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/bobby-hill-says-shai-boltons-norm-smith-medal-has-put-the-fire-in-the-belly-for-an-afl-return/news-story/f3c86f8e2373e4d32f2b512448495f66

Collingwood’s bid to lure midfielder Matt Rowell by the end of next year would unite four of the last seven Brownlow Medallists in a star studded Pies midfield.

The Pies have made Lachie Neale aware of their plans to aggressively round out their midfield group as he prepares to join the Pies when he finishes his Lions campaign.

Daicos said on Tuesday Morning he was determined to lure Rowell home at some stage.

The Suns midfielder is a free agent next year and the brilliant inside mid and 2025 Brownlow Medallist is considered extremely likely to exercise those rights next October.

The prospect of Carey Grammar mates and former football buddies Rowell and Nick Daicos playing together in the Collingwood midfield would be especially fearsome for rivals.

Daicos, who won this year’s Brownlow Medal with 47 votes, missed out on attracting Zak Butters to the Pies, will quickly move on to making Rowell his next target.

The Herald Sun revealed earlier this year that 2020 and 2023 Brownlow Medallist Neale would join the Pies in the off-season on a three-year deal.

The Pies have made clear to Neale that he and Daicos will form a lethal partnership, but Collingwood is determined to continue building out its midfield in 2028.

Adding Rowell to that mix as the inside bull in Craig McRae’s midfield would allow Daicos to be just as damaging but also do less of the heavy lifting in the club’s onball unit.

Collingwood wants to keep its early picks this season but the Herald Sun reported this year that the Pies had cleared vast cap space for a free agency assault.

The Pies would likely have to trade for a player of Rowell’s calibre given the Suns would match any free agency bid to maximise their return.

Geelong is also in the market for Rowell, with clubs having met him over the summer of 2024-25 when he considered his future before re-signing on a two-year deal.

But Daicos made no secret of his determination to lure Rowell home on Tuesday morning after referring to his Caulfield Grammar schoolmate multiple times in his winning speech.

“I think Rowelly, he’s got the runs on the board and he’s an absolute superstar. He is an ultimate professional,” he told SEN.

“I was so happy to see him win it last year and he’s had an amazing career and he’s got an amazing career ahead of him. Hopefully we can get him back to Melbourne at some point but he’s been unbelievable.”

Daicos was part of the personal pitch to Butters, who in the end chose his childhood side at the Western Bulldogs.

Collingwood will secure Neale on a three-year contract that does not require them to hand over a draft pick, so it can go to the draft with its early selections this year before Tasmania enters the competition.

The Pies are interested in Richmond’s Jayden Short for a later pick and have also committed to trading for Blues ruckman Flynn Riley as back-up to Darcy Cameron and Oscar Steene.

But if they could continue to bring in young talent after first-year draftee Sam Swadling made an impressive debut, then Rowell might round out their midfield.

His great mate Noah Anderson, also a Carey Grammar football star, told this masthead after the last round he was committed to the Suns and would consider their contract offer over summer.

The Suns signed up Jed Walter, Touk Miller and Bailey Humphrey all within a matter of weeks but Rowell is likely to present them with another year-long contract drama.

He eventually signed a two-year deal last season after much agonising but is tipped to return to Melbourne despite telling the Suns in recent weeks he will not be making any move this off-season.

Hill pushing case for AFL return

Collingwood’s Norm Smith Medallist Bobby Hill is open to training with an AFL club over summer for a rookie spot but so far has had little interest in his services.

The Pies star had his contract with the Pies terminated with a modest payout after he was unable to commit to the professionalism required at Collingwood.

That deal was worth $750,000 a season to 2030 but the annulled contract was done in a manner which allowed him to play with another side into the future.

Clubs would want concrete assurances about his behaviour and would also want to know he would not be a distraction to their list.

Hill would need to get in front of a club and prove to them he was worth the risk but so far he seems far from that possibility.

He has been training with Joss Holdsworth, owner and director of functional gym and high altitude training centre Pulse8 in Murrumbeena.

Hill has trained alongside his relative Brad Hill and also attended his 300th game celebration after St Kilda’s last game in round 24.

The Hill relatives are special guests at a gym appearance on Thursday at Holdsworth’s centre and have been training alongside the likes of Toby Greene and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.

Ugle-Hagan is attempting to play next year at a lighter playing weight to get across the ground more easily as he waits for a one-year contract.

Hill played 14 games last year but none this season in the AFL.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/all-the-latest-afl-trade-and-free-agency-news-from-around-the-competition/news-story/51bb834cc123ddd48d8d0a860742f5d2

Collingwood quietly extended the contract of senior coach Sam Wright last year amid the worst three-season stretch in the club’s AFLW history.

As the Magpies face increasing scrutiny over the management of their women’s football program, it can be revealed Wright has been contracted for 2027 despite being yet to reverse the club’s on-field decline.

The former North Melbourne player, who replaced Steve Symonds at the end of 2023, has a win-loss record of 4-24 (14.3 per cent) midway through his third season.

It is understood there was no formal review – internal or external – conducted into the Pies’ AFLW program before the decision was made to extend Wright’s tenure.

Collingwood finished 15th with a 3-9 record last season and applied for a draft assistance package from the AFL.

The league granted the Pies two additional list spots in 2026, down to one extra list spot next season, as expansion clubs Gold Coast and GWS were the other two sides to receive assistance.

Collingwood sacked Symonds – now Richmond’s AFLW director of coaching – after his side missed the finals in 2023 with a 5-5 record.

Symonds had a win-loss percentage of 62 during his five seasons at the helm, which included finishing sixth in the first 18-club season at the end of 2022.

Wright came to the helm at the same time the Magpies promoted their performance analyst Jess Burger to women’s football boss ahead of the 2024 season.

Burger was on the panel that appointed Wright, who had been an assistant coach for two seasons at powerhouse North Melbourne after working in development and welfare roles at The Australian Ballet and Cricket Victoria.

Wright’s tenure has been plagued by injuries to key players including former captain Brianna Davey, who has only played nine of a possible 28 games since his arrival due to a series of ankle, foot and leg setbacks.

Collingwood told media before the season that the side would unveil a more entertaining, higher-scoring brand of football after focusing on implementing a new defensive system in the first two seasons under Wright.

While they showed improvement against Hawthorn in round 3 with a dominant 42-25 inside 50 count, the Pies only managed a score of 3.8 (26) – their lowest total in five games this season, with a high of 4.8 (32) in last week’s loss to Gold Coast.

Captain Ruby Schleicher has been thrown forward in a bid to liven up an attack which has lacked a focal point ever since the disastrous loss of Chloe Molloy to Sydney in 2022.

Schleicher and several other senior players including Sarah Rowe, Mattea Breed and vice-captain Jordy Allen (who unsuccessfully sought a trade last year) are out of contract at the season’s end.

Several list managers from other clubs have indicated they are monitoring the out-of-contract players, expecting some will seek trades if the team’s form does not improve in the second half of the season.

The winless Magpies host in-form Geelong this week in the first of three consecutive home games at Victoria Park.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/aflw/collingwood-quietly-resigns-aflw-coach-sam-wright-until-2027-amid-historic-onfield-slump/news-story/0a99bdaafe63d6c92cb58aa3bcd26450

Collingwood’s two-year deal for Jesse Hogan is heavily incentive based as the Pies back in the three-club star after strong endorsements from their own playing group.

Hogan chose the Pies over the Blues and Gold Coast as they zeroed in on the ex-Demon, Docker and Giant when GWS withdrew a mid-season offer.

Hogan kicked 77 goals two seasons ago but has only played 16 and nine games in the past two seasons as he battled a range of injuries.

The key concern in recent seasons with Hogan has been durability rather than any negative influence on the locker room after his own admissions of previous off-field concerns at the Demons and Fremantle.

Collingwood is adamant that he will be an additive presence to their culture.

The 31-year-year has drawn rave reviews from friends Lachie Schultz and Harry Perryman.

The club’s key defenders have also made clear how hard he is to play on as the Pies prepare for him to play in the same side as Dan McStay and Tim Membrey.

His partner Chloe is keen to set up a pilates studio in Melbourne as they make their move south eight years after he left the Demons for Perth.

The Pies have also met Hawks key forward Calsher Dear as he looks for a way out of the Hawks, having met him last week.

Charlie West will also push for more chances after nine games this season but one of that quarter of key talls would likely be pushed out if all were fit.

Hogan will be able to earn as much as $600,000 a season but will have to perform for that sum in a deal stacked with incentives.

So it is a win for both parties in an off-season where the Pies could end up adding Hogan and Brisbane’s Lachie Neale.

The Pies have also been linked to Richmond’s Jayden Short but would have to give up an early selection for the 30-year-old. [Lol wtf Ralphy]

The Pies will secure Hogan for a late pick and Neale on a three-year deal as an unrestricted free agent.

They plan to hoard their early draft picks and again consider state-league talent with later selections after securing the likes of Liam Puncher and Angus Anderson in the mid-season draft and national draft.

It will allow the Pies to stockpile vast cap space to have a genuine crack at a mid-20s free agent next season like Matt Rowell.

Collingwood has re-signed Ed Allan on a four-year deal but will hold over uncontracted trio Jai Saxena, Harrison Coe and Noah Howes.

The club has told them it will have to wait until after the trade period to consider their futures.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/collingwood-trade-latest-pies-stars-push-case-for-jesse-hogan-signing/news-story/9a00f7e3b7c7404effa87b9ea9dda9c4