Why 2025 is a massive “make or break” season for Collingwood

The 2025 season is “make or break” for Collingwood.

The Magpies have seemingly gone all in on the upcoming campaign by recruiting the likes of Dan Houston, Tim Membrey and Harry Perryman in the off-season.

Add to that the fact that several veterans signed on for another season including Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom, Jeremy Howe and Will Hoskin-Elliott and it appears as though the Pies are gung ho on winning the flag in 2025.

Kane Cornes has queried the makeup of Collingwood’s list, pointing out that in the predicted best 22 there aren’t too many recent draftees.

“Their philosophy of being all in for the now. Of their best 22, and there's always a difference of opinion on one or two players, but in Collingwood's best 22 for 2025 they’ve only got three draft picks,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.

“Three players that they have drafted since 2014 in their best 22, and two of them are father-sons handed to them on a platter.

“So you’ve got Nick and Josh Daicos (as father-sons), and Isaac Quaynor from the Next Gen Academy, then Beau McCreery is the only player in Collingwood’s best 22 that they have drafted at the National Draft since 2014 in their best lineup.

“That's just extraordinary and it had me thinking about make or break years in 2025. Would you say this is the biggest make or break year for a club ever?”

While Cornes believes Craig McRae’s 2023 premiers are good enough to bounce back after missing the finals in 2024, he feels that the age profile of the current list and apparent dearth of quality youngsters could become a problem beyond 2025.

“If this goes wrong - and I don't think it will go wrong mind you because I love Dan Houston. I think he was the best player on the trade table and they got him,” he continued.

“I think Lachie Schultz will be better. I’m assuming Jordan De Goey will just have to be better after the disastrous year that he had last year, Darcy Moore is going to have to have a better season than what he did last year.

“So I'm not suggesting it's going to go wrong, but if it does the ramifications are going to be significant because they've just neglected the draft for so long and we've seen that at clubs when this happens. We’ve seen it at West Coast when you go to Tim Kelly and trade your picks and you neglect the draft, if it doesn't go well it's disastrous.

“Make or break years - Collingwood, for me, number one.”

Co-host Sam Edmund admitted he was surprised that the extensive group of 30-plussers played on in 2025, wondering how it will fall when they inevitably do hang up the boots this year or next.

“Those veterans staying on was the bit that surprised me that how Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Will Hoskin-Elliott that they would all go on together,” Edmund said.

“I thought they would have staggered. They're all going to go within the space of 12 months it would appear, 12 to 24 months at a stretch. So that’s going to leave a big goal when 4-6 players with incredible aura leave your footy club.

“It’s probably worth it, the risk, philosophically speaking.”

The experienced Pies will take on Richmond in the AAMI Community Series on February 26 before gearing up for their Opening Round clash with GWS at ENGIE Stadium on March 9.