Champion Data analyst Daniel Hoyne considers Collingwood the second-best team in the AFL behind Sydney after Round 13.
While the Magpies sit sixth on the ladder, they’re equal fourth in terms of points alongside Port Adelaide and Geelong and are just four points off Carlton, who sit second.
Collingwood have managed to get themselves to a record of 7-2-4 and have only lost once since Round 2 despite having a ravaged injury list and their latest win came against Melbourne by 38 points on King’s Birthday.
Although the Pies are seriously depleted in the midfield and up forward, one area of their line-up that hasn’t been hit hard by injury is in defence and Hoyne thinks that part of the ground is doing some heavy lifting with so much of the best 22 out.
“Clearly, they have a lot of injuries at the moment and they're doing an amazing job to be where they are considering the personnel that they have on the sidelines,” Hoyne said on SEN Sportsday.
“But one area of the ground that hasn't really been affected too much is their back six or back seven.
“Yes, Frampton over the last couple of weeks has made the move as a key forward in place of Brodie Mihocek - but then Charlie Dean's come in and I think he’s been quite good the last couple of weeks.
“So, Moore, Maynard, Noble, Quaynor and Howe have pretty much been a mainstay of this back group for the last six weeks - Howe missed a couple of weeks but has been there for four of the six-week period.”
With their defence firing and the likes of Jordan De Goey, Brody Mihocek, Daniel McStay, Jamie Elliott, Mason Cox, Scott Pendlebury, Tom Mitchell and Joe Richards set to return up forward and through the middle in the short to medium term, Hoyne is bullish on where the Pies can get to.
He revealed some stats that shows how well Collingwood is going without the footy.
“This is why you know you're so bullish in terms of what Collingwood is going to be able to do and why I consider them at the moment, the second-best team in the competition,” Hoyne explained.
“When the opposition starts with the footy at any time, they are the second hardest team in the competition to turn that possession into a score against.
“When you go inside Collingwood’s defensive 50, good luck, they are the second hardest team in the competition to score against.
“The pressure game - every time you hear you know anyone from Collingwood speak in front of the media, whether it be players or coaches, you're guaranteed to hear the word pressure four, five or six times in that interview.
“They are the third-best pressure team in the competition over that last six-week period.”
Hoyne also says that the Magpies are tracking far better as a defensive unit compared to what they produced in the lead-up to the 2023 finals series where they’d eventually be crowned premiers.
He thinks that the Pies will be incredibly hard to beat if they can bring back some midfield and forward firepower on top of that backline.
“Last year, for them to actually win it last year heading into September, their defensive profile was nowhere like this,” Hoyne said.
“It wasn't like that for a good couple of months heading into it (finals). So, for them to actually gather themselves and then get defensively sound for a three- or four-week period was an amazing effort.
“But that there (their defensive six-week block) is going to be extremely difficult to beat for anyone if that continues.
“Their offensive work at the moment is going okay, but then you add in the personnel that you know will actually come back into this team over the next few weeks.
“It's perfectly placed at the moment to actually launch with some genuine substance behind what they're doing.
“That's why you trust them despite not actually having their best 22 out there at the moment.”
Collingwood will hope to improve to 8-2-4 when they face North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
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