Craig McRae has named Collingwood’s side for Friday’s Round 11 clash against Walyalup (Fremantle) at Optus Stadium.

The debuts of Perth local Ed Allan and Category B Rookie Wil Parker headline five inclusions to the side that has gone undefeated since Round Two.

Charlie Dean, Brody Mihocek and Beau McCreery also come into the side for the second week of Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

Jordan De Goey (abdomen), Reef McInnes (concussion), Will Hoskin-Elliott (hamstring), Oleg Markov (personal commitment) and Finlay Macrae (omitted) are the five players to make way.

The tactical substitute will be selected from the extended bench and will be named 60 minutes prior to the first bounce.

Nathan Kreuger, Ash Johnson and Finlay Macrae are the three emergencies for the clash.

Craig McRae earlier this week spoke about how pleasing it has been to have young players step up to play at AFL level.

“We’re proud of players coming in, doing their jobs and that’s a credit to our development team, Josh Fraser and others,” McRae said.

“Players don’t look out of place, so we’ve got good depth.

“We’re forced to, every team is forced to play players at some stage and we’ve also got good character. The game played on the weekend, maybe a couple of years ago we would’ve lost that game, but there’s that desire and will want to win so a couple of good signs in recent weeks.”

Perth born and bred, Allan played Under 18 football for Western Australia and WAFL Colts for Claremont before being selected at Pick 19 in the 2022 National Draft for the Magpies.

The 194cm midfielder has averaged 19 disposals from his 25 VFL games in black and white since being drafted, with a career high 26 in last year’s Wildcard Round fixture against Richmond.

Across 2024 Allan has played seven VFL games, collecting 25 disposals on two occasions in Rounds one and three.

Parker joined the Magpies in February this year, signing as a Category B rookie after spending four years playing professional cricket for Victoria and the Hobart Hurricanes.

A talented junior sportsman, Parker chose cricket over football in his draft year of 2020, making his first-class cricket debut for Victoria aged 17, becoming the fourth youngest to ever do so.

The leg spin bowler played four First Class matches, one domestic One Day match and nine BBL games from 2020 to 2024, including a Tour Game for Victoria against Pakistan last summer.

After signing with the Magpies, Parker made his VFL debut against Coburg in Round Four, kicking a goal and 21 disposals.

The half back has averaged 16 disposals and 3.2 tackles in his five VFL games and will play his first game at AFL level in 104 days. Parker  last played Premier Cricket for Richmond Cricket Club and represented Victoria in a tour match against Pakistan.

Forward Lachie Schultz will play his 100^th AFL game on Friday night, taking on his former side Walyalup. The forward has kicked 111 goals from his previous 99 games, including 10 in his first season in black and white.

After time with Williamstown in the VFL, the Moama product was selected at Pick 57 in the 2018 National Draft by Walyalup at age 20. Schultz made his AFL debut in the Opening Round of the 2019 season versus North Melbourne, kicking two goals. 

The clash also marks Pat Lipinski’s 50^th for the Club, seven games after reaching his 100^th AFL game. Lipinski joined the Magpies at the start of the 2022 season after five years at the Western Bulldogs.

Collingwood will on Friday once again wear it’s 2024 Sir Doug Nicholls Round guernsey, with the game holding extra significance as the design featured on the guernsey was developed on Noongar Country near Perth by Trevor Davis.

Friday May 24
Walyalup v Collingwood
Optus Stadium, Whadjuk
8:10pm (AEST)/6:10pm (AWST)

In: Allan, Parker, Dean, Mihocek, McCreery
Out: De Goey (abdomen), McInnes (concussion), Hoskin-Elliott (hamstring), Markov (personal commitment), Macrae (omitted)