COLLINGWOOD are fresh off a demolition job of the struggling Gold Coast Suns last week, but will field far from their best 22 against Hawthorn on Sunday.
With September action already ruled out, Collingwood have starting putting players out to pasture for the remainder of the season.
Taylor Adams, Ben Reid, Alex Fasolo and Tom Langdon headline a growing injury list, with Dane Swan also announcing the end of a sparkling AFL career yesterday which was ended by a badly broken leg and foot in Round 1.
Darcy Moore is the latest casualty at the Holden Centre, suffering a hamstring injury against the Gold Coast on Saturday night.
Pies’ coach Nathan Buckley told Fox Footy on Monday night that out-of-favour forward Travis Cloke would replace Moore for the clash against the Hawks on Sunday afternoon, despite Cloke being ineligible to play VFL finals if he plays one more AFL game.
Moore’s absence will be a huge blow for Collingwood – the young forward has kicked 24 goals in 17 games this season and will certainly be key part of the Pies for years to come.
Tyson Goldsack was a late withdrawal from the Pies’ line-up last Saturday with a foot issue and is no guarantee to play this week.
Despite their injuries, Collingwood’s top line players produced some excellent footy last week.
Adam Treloar has been one of the best recruits in 2016, and added to his stellar season with a 38-disposal, one-goal game which also included six tackles and seven inside 50s.
Scott Pendlebury continues to get the job done week in, week out and did so again on Saturday, racking up 32 possessions at 90.6% efficiency.
The Pies did as they pleased against the Suns, with 12 players in black and white collecting 20+ disposals to Gold Coast’s two.
Jeremy Howe and Bordie Grundy have come into their own in the second half of 2016, and the Hawks will need to put time into these players on Sunday afternoon.