Collingwood coach Craig McRae has implied the club will be active in the trade and free agency space in 2026 in a bid to improve its list.
The Pies fell short on King's Birthday against Melbourne, with obvious deficiencies in the midfield and key forward positions.
McRae, speaking straight after the game, was quizzed on the club's plans, and he didn't hold back.
“I'm impatient, I'm impatient to get the right people in our environment and also try to get our list to a state where we can compete,” McRae told Fox Footy.
“That's exactly what our intentions are, and we'll work to whatever that looks like.”
Collingwood has been linked heavily to Lachie Neale, who is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.
Neale is considering his future, and is a live option for most rival clubs, while Brisbane is resigned to the fact the two-time Brownlow Medallist needs to determine what's best for him.
“You'd like to think anyone who's a free agent that hasn't signed, we've got some sights on," McRae said.
“Some you feel like a little bit more deeper in the market than others and there's a lot outside your control. But, days like today and Anzac Day — if you're watching at home, I'm sure there's an attraction to that.”
Last month, Pies CEO Craig Kelly was adamant the club will attack the draft in a bid to rejuvenate its list.
"We've got a great plan," Kelly said on SEN.
"Don't underestimate the importance of experience. We're getting so much longer out of our athletes.
"Our plan is to continue to go to the draft and get two draft picks every year. We've been struggling, in previous years before the current group were there, we gave up our first-round draft picks a little bit too easily.
"We want to retain those and keep those. We want to get to the draft this year, but we also want to trade in and bring in quality individual players.
"We are a destination club. We know we'll attract players. And what's why we know we can hang onto our players.
"The legends we've got, they got to make the decisions. Our coach has always said, and as a club, let's make them make the right decision. We'll work with them when they should leave.
"This draft is a pretty good draft. Talking to Leppa, Shane O'Bree, Richard Little, we've got a terrific team. We're doing a lot more analytics and data. There's a lot more stuff being done I think, to make sure we bring in the right people."
