Former Collingwood ruck Harrison Coe had a whirlwind six months in the AFL.
From being plucked out of his job as an electrician with Pick 8 in the 2026 Mid-Season Draft, Coe spent the second half of the year on the edge of an AFL debut. However, that dream was never realised.
Collingwood instead turned its attention to 209cm Carlton ruck Flynn Riley, who went at Pick 4 in the same draft. In that admission, the Pies showed their true desire for who they wanted at the MSD.
It would have been a heartbreaking realisation for Coe, who now lives in AFL limbo having been delisted by the club that took a chance on him in May.
However, the 26-year-old's future in the league is not necessarily finished, with Coe telling Code Sports that he and his management were speaking to AFL clubs. Likely in relation to being picked up as a delisted free agent, in the rookie draft, via a train-on role over summer or by auditioning through their state league side.
So which AFL clubs could be in the market for Coe? A 204cm ruck who averaged 14.7 disposals, 3.4 marks and 27.2 hit-outs across nine VFL games for the Pies.
Coe's best outing for Collingwood's VFL side came in the final game of the season when he registered 15 disposals, five marks and 44 hit-outs against Port Melbourne.
Three rival AFL clubs appear to be possible landing spots for Coe. The first is the scorned lover's option in Carlton.
Collingwood replaced Coe with Carlton's Riley, so could the Blues and Coe come together for a slice of football romance revenge?
The Baggers need some more ruck depth to support Marc Pittonet after Riley and fellow young ruck Hudson O'Keeffe (Western Bulldogs) departed in the off-season.
For Coe, it would be the perfect opportunity to show Collingwood what it missed out on when it delisted him after six months.
Having earned his AFL chance through impressive VFL showings at Frankston, Coe's second option sits closer to home in fellow bayside club St Kilda.
The Saints lost a ruckman of their own in Rowan Marshall (Geelong), and need an experienced body (age-wise) to help support Tom De Koning and emerging ruck Alex Dodson in 2027.
Greater Western Sydney is a third club in need of a ruck to deepen its squad depth.
The Giants lost Kieren Briggs (Richmond) as a free agent during the off-season, leaving their ruck options to Nick Madden and Leek Aleer.
Coe would provide another layer of protection to GWS' squad for 2027 and could be a bargain pick-up for a club that has been renowned for providing players with second and third chances.
However, the Giants are expected to pick up former Blue Alex Mirkov.
In the Code Sports interview, Coe spoke openly about how his first six months in an AFL system played out.
"I think the writing was on the wall when they wanted Flynn Riley mid-season … I don't know what I had to do to stay there," Coe said.
"Maybe it wouldn't have mattered anyway, which I took a little bit of comfort from. But hopefully something else pops up. I'd be pretty keen to stay in the system for a little bit longer.
"It was a great six months. Cliché, but it does go quick.
"It was a weird feeling, rocking up every week and thinking you might be playing (your) first AFL game in front of 80 or 90,000 people.
"Every week you'd be like, ‘This might be the week'. Living week to week like that can be pretty hard, because it stays in your mind the whole time.
"Yeah, it was pretty crazy to get off the tools and rock up, and you've got Nick Daicos and Scott Pendlebury there next to you. You realise they're all just normal blokes who are really good at footy. I got along with them all and made some friends. I wouldn't change any of it."
