Collingwood fans were thrown into absolute turmoil this weekend, while a season of promise for the new-look Dees failed to pass its first real test.
As Magpies coach Craig McRae often says, his club are "in the business of getting better".
What does that look like this off-season, after a heart-breaking, post-siren end to their year, and with two furniture-like club champions no longer walking the halls?
Melbourne's meteoric rise is sure to make them an attractive destination in free agency, should they go down that route. A pair of long-tenured swingmen in Tom McDonald and Jake Melksham called it quits this season, too, with the club no doubt eager to fill those voids. They also own Gold Coast's first-round draft pick, courtesy of the Christian Petracca trade, so how should they best use it?
All that and more, answered below!
Collingwood Magpies
The Pies have a war chest. They have been banging on about it all year, but with failed pursuits of Zak Butters, Ben King and Mitch Lewis populating this year's player movement record, it remains largely untouched.
Brisbane Lions legend Lachie Neale, should he land on Olympic Boulevard, will chew into a large portion of it, and provide some much needed cleanliness and grunt at stoppage, and leadership for the Pies' suddenly-young on-ball brigade.
Western Bulldogs superstar Marcus Bontempelli earmarked emerging star Ed Allan as a player to watch as recently as this week, and is still without a contract. With the Butters pursuit now over, the signature of the West Australian they drafted with their first -round pick in 2022 must become priority 1A.
Allan and fellow West Australian Sam Swadling look like long-term running mates for rampant talisman Nick Daicos, and must be secured because of this.
A decision also appears imminent regarding the future of Dan Houston, who, for whatever reason, has failed to replicate his All-Australian best in the black and white stripes. Houston is being paid handsomely, and if both club and player see fit for him to move, then a third club could be on the horizon for the former Port Adelaide standout.
The Pies also have decisions to make regarding the futures of the out-of-contract Tim Membrey, Liam Puncher, Lachie Sullivan and the desired Wil Parker, as well as a host of VFL contributors like Jakob Ryan, Noah Howes and Mitch Podhajski, the latter two of whom saw AFL action this season.
Collingwood owns their first-round draft pick for the first time in years, too, and will relish the opportunity to bring in a top-10 talent for the first time since they drafted Nick Daicos in 2021.
