Collingwood will head out to Genis Steel Oval in Preston on Saturday to take on the Northern Bullants for a crucial Round Seven VFL clash.
The Pies are coming off the back of a tough trip to Southport last week where they fought hard against the Sharks, however ultimately fell by 27 points.
They’ll be hunting a third win of the season when they take on the Bullants who are yet to win in 2024.
With a host of changes on the back of injuries and movement within the AFL side, the team will be the most heavily VFL-listed squad of the season.
Last time we met
It was the Pies who came out on top when they travelled to Preston at a very similar point in the season last year.
The 51-point victory was headlined by key forwards Sam Glover and Nathan Krueger, with the former kicking four and the latter three.
The Round 11 win was the Pies’ fourth of the year in a season where they made finals, providing optimism for the side in 2024.
Finlay Macrae was typically strong that day with 25 touches, while Jakob Ryan continued his fantastic debut year with 20 disposals of his own.
The Pies have only played the Northern Bullants twice since they and Carlton split their affiliation as the Northern Blues in 2020 and have won both times.
Team news
The Pies have seven changes from their Round Six clash against Southport last week, with a host of names elevated to the Club’s AFL side.
Reef McInnes, Finlay Macrae, Joe Richards and Jack Bytel all go out of the team as they suit up against West Coast on Sunday.
Tew Jiath, Josh Carmichael, and Ed Allan all won't play as well, the former two due to injury, while the latter will be held over as an emergency for Sunday's AFL game.
They’ll be replaced by Tom Wilson, Jack Hutchinson, Chad Mulvogue, Jett Hartman, and Conor Willis who come back into the 23 having played at various stages this year, as well as Harry Flynn who will play for the first time in 2024.
Rye Penny will retain his place however was not initially playing last week until Jakob Ryan pulled out late due to hamstrong tightness.
The season so far
The Pies started the season strongly, however, are in the midst of three losses as we approach the midway point of the season.
While they haven’t won for the past three weeks, last Saturday’s 27-point loss was the biggest of the trio with each game competitive and often going down to the wire.
Two wins out of three games to start the season was a positive beginning to 2024, however player turnover has been a key theme over the past month.
Young defender and Category B rookie Wil Parker has been a strong addition to the side since debuting in Round Four, with his ball use and composure off half back a feature of his game.
Utility Josh Carmichael has also been quite a consistent performer, booting nine goals from his six games and often assuming different positions of three field.
Ruck Aiden Begg has also had an extremely positive start to his season, running well and showing his skills with ball in hand, while being a force at the coalface with an average of seven tackles per game.
How can I watch?
Entry is $10 to Genis Steel Oval, with the first bounce at 2.05pm.
The game can be streamed on AFL.com.au and the Official AFL Live app.
