Despite conceding the second-fewest points of any team in the competition throughout the first half of the 2023 season, Collingwood is reportedly keen to lure a key defender this off-season in an effort to add further steel behind the ball.
Coughing up just 884 points across the opening 13 weeks, only St Kilda has proven stingier than the Pies this season, with the Ross Lyon-led Saints conceding a league-low 829 from their first 12 starts.
Following the cessation of Craig McRae's debut season at the helm, the Pies hit the 2022 off-season hard, securing the signatures of Billy Frampton, Bobby Hill, Daniel McStay and Brownlow medallist Tom Mitchell, plugging gaps across several lines.
This ability to sprint into the future came in the salary cap stresses that stretched back to 2020, stresses that New Corp has reported have now eased noticeably.
Collingwood has previously been linked to talented Giants free agent Harrison Himmelberg, with the 27-year-old's noted abilities at both ends of the field acting as his unique selling point.
Still, with the Giants opening conversations with the swingman's management regarding a five-year contract extension, the Pies
Outside of Himmelberg, the marketplace for key-sized talents adept in defence is thin, with the ilk of Tom Doedee (free agent), Ben McKay (FA), Trent McKenzie (FA), Lewis Melican (FA), Tom Highmore (non-free agent), Alex Keath (NFA), Esava Ratugolea (NFA) and rising Bomber Brandon Zerk-Thatcher (NFA) the best of the uncontracted bunch.
