The shake-up coach Nathan Buckley foreshadowed after last weekend’s loss to Port Adelaide has been realized, with Ben Reid, Andrew Krakouer, Jarrod Witts and Clinton Young making their way into the 22.
Quinten Lynch and Harry O’Brien could not be considered due to injury while Jordan Russell and Kyle Martin have made way.
Read collingwoodfc.com.au's Ultimate Preview of Friday night's game.
In other news, ruckman Darren Jolly is likely to miss the next three matches due to a minor knee injury. The dual premiership ruckman, who missed the match against Port, had arthroscopic surgery today.
“Darren was experiencing pain in the knee and it was decided to have a look and take the necessary action. Unfortunately, the outcome is that he is likely to miss somewhere between three to five weeks,” Collingwood director of football, Geoff Walsh, said.
The headline inclusion for tomorrow night’s blockbuster is Young, the former Hawk and 2008 premiership wingman who has put a frustrating run of injuries behind him to don the black and white stripes for the first time.
Two strong performances in the VFL – the second an eye-catching effort against Port Melbourne last Saturday – were enough to convince the Magpie hierarchy that Young’s run, carry and piercing kick have been absent for long enough.
The 27 year-old played 116 games for the Hawks over eight seasons before crossing to the Westpac Centre as a free agent at the end of last season.
Like Young, Krakouer and Witts were also fine performers in the VFL last weekend.
After stringing five games together between rounds 6-10, Krakouer took a brief break from the game but has demanded a recall through two stellar showings at the state level. With the Magpies only able to kick seven goals against Port, Buckley and his staff will be looking to Krakouer to bring his renowned creativity to the attack.
Witts returns for his fourth match of the season as Lynch makes way due to a back problem that the former Eagle has battled with over the last month. Witts last played in round nine and is likely to accompany key forward Travis Cloke up front, although Reid could also make an appearance inside the forward 50 as he did against Brisbane in round 10. Reid was subbed out of the round 12 match against the Western Bulldogs with hamstring tightness and was not taken to Adelaide.
O’Brien was unable to be considered due to an ankle injury he has carried for the past fortnight. A decision was made to rest the dashing wingmen/defender in the hope that he will be available for the Adelaide match in round 16.
Carlton v Collingwood
Round 15
Friday 5 July
MCG, 7.50pm
Collingwood
B: Nathan Brown, Nick Maxwell, Ben Reid
HB: Clinton Young, Heath Shaw, Marley Williams
C: Steele Sidebottom, Brent Macaffer, Luke Ball
HF: Jamie Elliott, Jarrod Witts, Dane Swan
F: Ben Kennedy, Travis Cloke, Josh Thomas
Foll: Ben Hudson, Scott Pendlebury, Jarryd Blair
Int: Andrew Krakouer, Ben Sinclair, Paul Seedsman, Sam Dwyer
Emg: Jordan Russell, Marty Clarke, Kyle Martin
IN: Andrew Krakouer, Ben Reid, Jarrod Witts, Clinton Young
OUT: Quinten Lynch (back), Harry O’Brien (ankle), Kyle Martin, Jordan Russell (omitted)
