Mitch Podhajski's football journey has been a long one, but the wait has been officially worth it after the mid-season recruit was named to debut for Collingwood in the King's Birthday clash against Melbourne on Monday.
The 27-year-old was picked up by the Pies with pick 18 in the mid-season draft a week ago after kicking 28 goals in eight games for Coburg in the VFL.
On draft night, Collingwood national recruiting manager Shane O'Bree was buoyant on Podhajski's prospects for making an early debut for the club.
“We are hoping Mitch can come straight in, play in our forward-line and kick goals for us,” O'Bree said.
“He has been doing it at Coburg for a couple of years now in the VFL system and we think the way he plays will help fill the role of losing Jamie (Elliott) on the weekend.”
Podhajski booted 2.4, made seven tackles and collected 10 disposals during his first match for the Magpies last weekend against Footscray in the VFL.
The 192cm veteran used to be an intercepting defender and occasional inside midfielder at VFL level.
However, a shift forward unlocked his true potential as Podhajski caught fire in attack, booting 111 goals in 38 games before being drafted.
