But having committed to re-drafting Peter Yagmoor and securing the well-travelled Bed Hudson, the Magpies' recruiting staff will have four live selections to play with.
National Recruiting Manager Derek Hine will wrap up his year’s work at Tuesday’s draft, which is done via a conference call from the recruiting office at the Westpac Centre.
He says that the club’s recruiting strategy will remain as it was in last month’s National Draft: create a list of preferred players and select the best available with each choice.
“I think that there are a couple of younger boys who were surprising, in that they didn’t get picked up (in the National Draft),” Hine told collingwoodfc.com.au.
“We’ll go into it with an open mind. I’m not saying that we need this particular player or that particular player, but as with the National Draft, we’ll just put them in a line and call them out as we go.
“I think, within the group, there will be a little bit of maturity, but again, we’ve got to wait for our turn to pick.”
That maturity is likely to be sourced from the various state leagues across the country that have produced several ready-made players in recent years.
“With the guys that we’re going to bring in next week, they’re here to play senior football.
“There’ll be a few guys in that particular group who have been in the system a little while and have been overlooked for various reasons, so we’re going to give them an opportunity.
“They will be players that will aggressively attack and enhance the program as such that they will create pressure within the playing list. Make no mistake, we will not be calling any names out who we don't think is capable of playing AFL football.”
Hine and his recruiting team have made the decision to enter 2013 with 38 players on the club’s senior list with six rookies in tow, which means the club will not partake in the Pre-Season Draft (conducted minutes before the Rookie Draft).
“What the AFLPA’s been able to do when they were negotiating the CBA is allow clubs flexibility with their primary lists, so you can have 38 players, 39 players or 40 players,” Hine explained.
“In the past there’s been 38 players plus your six rookies, where now you can have 38 players and six rookies, 39 players and five rookies and 40 players and four rookies. The numbers are similar but there are different ways that you can manipulate it.
“For the first time, clubs aren’t mandated to take a selection, so they can choose to have their full quota of rookies, whatever that may be, or they can just choose to have none on the rookie list.
“We’ll be filling every spot we can.”
In Michael Hartley and Caolan Mooney, Collingwood currently has two players remaining on its rookie list from 2012. The pair will be joined by AIS basketballer Ben Richmond as the club’s three Category B rookies. Mooney has been classified as a Category B rookie as an international player for the first time (he was a Category A rookie in 2012), allowing the Magpies to draft an extra player.
Richmond was signed by Collingwood in October after shining on the basketball court at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).
Hine is pleased with Richmond’s trajectory in his short time at the Westpac Centre.
“It’s been difficult for Ben because, not only has he come from another sport, but for a good six or seven weeks once we had committed to him he was training by himself. But now the playing group’s back together and he’s gone away to Utah that’s going to be good for his development.
“He’s covered the program really well and he’s 195-196cm, he’s got a really high endurance level, so that’s going to be his strength to be able to get up the ground and move around, particularly with the interchange rules.
“He’s obviously no certainty but his attitude and the way he’s gone about it, albeit at this very early stage, are encouraging.”
Entering their second seasons, Hartley and Mooney are likely to be major benefactors of full pre-seasons.
“Michael’s coming back from shoulder surgery so he’s working his way back into it. Both his time trials have been really encouraging so that’s really pleasing. That’s a real strength of his. We now need to be able to build off that base,” Hine reported.
“Caolan, coming in from an international program where he’s only played 15 games in total of which four now are senior, is really encouraging.
“Talking to the coaches, he’s picked up where he left off. This period of time in Utah is going to be really good for him.
“He’ll go home for Christmas and then he’ll be back here early January and hopefully he can really make an impression on the playing group and the coaches so he can potentially play round one as a nominated rookie.
“In a nutshell, we’re pleased with how he’s going.”
And as for Hudson? The evergreen ruckman, who will be 34 when Collingwood tackles North Melbourne in round one, looms as a shrewd pick up.
“We’re looking to put him on as a ruck coach and a mentor for our younger ruckmen in Jarrod Witts and Brodie Grundy in particular, but also with a view to looking at Corey Gault and also Michael Hartley and Ben Richmond because we see Ben potentially being able to play that type of role.
“We’re committed to Ben, unless obviously someone calls his name out but I think that would be unlikely.
“Peter Yagmoor (who the Magpies have committed to re-drafting) was delisted to create room within the salary cap so that we could nominate Ben as a nominated rookie which means that he can play potentially from game one.
“So, because we’re carrying 38 players on the primary list, it gives us the scope to have two nominated rookies, of which one we’ve committed to Ben, and it creates competition within the rest of the boys as to who the extra rookie will be.
“We don’t need to name either nominated rookies until March, and then we have scope mid-season to nominate another rookie. We’ve also got the scope (to promote a rookie) if there’s a long-term injury.”
The permutations of the rookie list can be difficult to get a handle on, but with Hine in charge, Collingwood knows that it is in good hands.
Stay tuned to collingwoodfc.com.au for comprehensive coverage of all the Rookie Draft action on Tuesday from 11am.
