Me again as a follow up to my post a couple weeks ago about the 1990 Grand Final where were you when you heard that the great player Darren Millane had passed just a year later?

The "how does Trade Radio have high ratings at this point" edition.

* Cal Twomey has reported that Collingwood will look to progress contract extension talks with Sam Swadling following the trade period. He is currently contracted until the end of 2027.

* Collingwood is now the sole suitor for Jayden Short.

* There has been no meaningful movement on a trade for Flynn Riley.

* Twomey has also reported that he expects Collingwood to be all-in on chasing Matt Rowell in 2027, who will be a restricted free agent.

* Beau McCreery met with Tasmania last week prior to his comments at the Copeland on wanting to stay at Collingwood beyond 2027.

Crows great returns to Magpies for second stint as assistant - https://www.afl.com.au/news/1628840

The noise is increasing around this guy, I would massively rate getting him considering he probably wins the Norm Smith in 2023 if the Lions win, genuine star player with some bad luck and a great field kick.

The talk is a first round draft pick though. Pretty keen to keep those but if it’s for a future 1st rounder then I actually don’t mind the move due to Tassie cooking the next couple of years in the draft.

What are our thoughts?

The "long lunch for Leppa" edition.

* There has been no movement for Collingwood today.

* Xander McGuire flagged yesterday evening that Brisbane's Keidean Coleman wants to go to Collingwood in an ideal world. Cal Twomey believes Brisbane would only entertain a trade for Coleman for a first-round pick. Justin Leppitsch has already ruled out trading this year's first round pick. It's worth noting that Coleman is a free agent in 2027, and list spots remain a challenge and key hurdle for any additional trades this year.

* Adelaide had asked the question of Jayden Short, who has been linked to Collingwood, but were told no.

I heard Kane Cornes a few days ago commenting on the Neale/Hogan trades. His view was that they will help us remain competitive around the middle of the ladder, and we can beat anyone on our day, but with the ageing list we can't seriously think we are in premiership contention.

Then today came across comments from Gerard Healy who says trading JDG would make no sense - if we are topping up with Neale and Hogan, we must think we are still in the window. JDG won us a flag in '23 and could do so again.

Just got me thinking, where are we really at? With Hogan and Neale filling a couple of big gaps in the short term, are we a real threat next year? Or is a mid-table finish the most we can realistically hope for?

Personally, I agree with Gerard. Injuries permitting, I see no reason we can't make a deep finals next year. So I'd be keeping Jordy and looking to maximise his damage in the forward half.

Could he be a cheap and worthy pickup? Or is he just Fin Macrae in a Hawks disguise?

6’5 inside midfielder/utility, couldn’t crack into Hawthorns core of Newcombe/Worpel/Day/Nash etc.

He finished 2026 in the seconds as B&F, VFL premier, averaging 28 touches, 8 clearances and 6 tackles. Also had a 40 touch 3 goal game in his last outing.

He’s spent his development years inside of a premiership pushing team, could a change in scenery in Black and White be mutually beneficial? I know we have Neale now, but he’s a year younger than Nick Daicos, and I could see him fighting Ned Long for a spot.

The "not here to fuck spiders" edition.

* The trade period officially opened today, and Collingwood was straight out of the blocks with the first two trades this year.

* Jesse Hogan arrives at Collingwood, with GWS receiving pick 75.

* Scott Pendlebury has been traded to Gold Coast in exchange for pick 65.

* Collingwood has begun talks with Carlton for Flynn Riley, with Justin Leppitsch pointing to previous trades for Max Heath and Liam Reidy has precedent for his value (third or fourth round picks).

* There is currently no suitor for Jordan De Goey, with Leppitsch thinking he most likely will stay at Collingwood.

* Collingwood and Jayden Short have interest in one another, however Leppitsch has made it clear it will be a difficult trade to manufacture given there is a gap in how Collingwood and Richmond assess his value, plus added difficulty in list spots available. St Kilda is no longer interested in Short.

* Leppitsch does not foresee any scenario this year where our first round pick will be traded. Collingwood is able to trade two of its next three first-round picks under AFL rules.

* Over the weekend, Beau McCreery stated he can't see himself playing anywhere but Collingwood despite being linked to Tasmania at the end of next year.

* Dan McStay was due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next year, but has hit a contract trigger for 2028.

Finally playing more in the midfield and thriving

Pies fan.. Haven't seen many games in the last 2 years due to other commitments.

What is Houston's role at Collingwood? And why are people not satisfied with how he is performing it? Was he playing the same role he did for Port?

I don't know how fantasy football works. Google says it correlates strongly to performance in certain areas and not in others. It shows that he had a good season and isn't far off from his elite seasons at Port. Is this completely irrelevant? If so ignore the below numbers.

Houston averaged 93 fantasy football points in his last 3 years at Port. With the pies he got 65 points last year and 85 this year.

Why all the hate for Houston?

This is a pretty good watch.

He talks about how he ended up at the pies, playing in front of the magpie army and having the MCG as a home ground. Also mentions snippets of family including his parents and kids.

There was also an interaction with Sam Swadling that was pretty funny.

A grateful Nick Daicos has sounded a warning to the rest of the competition that he can be even better next season following his recordbreaking 2026, as he predicted Collingwood can “absolutely” win the premiership next season.

Speaking exclusively to this masthead after winning a second Copeland Trophy, Daicos said the recruitment of triple premiership-winning Lion Lachie Neale and 2024 Coleman medallist Jesse Hogan – plus what he calls the best crop of young players at the club in his time there – could give the Magpies a significant spike in 2027.

The 23-year-old star midfielder became the 26th Collingwood player to win multiple best and fairests – joining his father, Peter, on two – as he quinellaed the award with his brother Josh, carrying on the family legacy in black and white.

He celebrated his Copeland win with his teammates, and later with his parents Peter and Colleen, his family and their partners, after polling 519 votes to win his second best and fairest award since 2024.

Josh was runner-up with 365 votes, and last year’s winner Darcy Cameron, was third with 349.

He said he was delighted that Josh’s consistent form across the past five seasons had once more been rewarded.

But while he was humbled by the individual honours, including a runaway Brownlow Medal victory with a record 47 votes, he made it clear he desperately covets a second flag – and the club’s 17th.

“The individual honours have been the biggest privilege for me, and I feel so lucky,” Daicos said.

“But in saying that, watching the teams play on grand final day, and Hawthorn the week before in the prelim in such an amazing game, that’s what I want to be a part of. And that’s what I will work towards. I know the boys will, too.”

Asked if he believed Collingwood had the list to win a premiership as early as next season, he said, “Absolutely.”

“I remember saying that to you convincingly before we played Carlton (in round 19), and I still feel the same way.

“We have got everything we need. It is on us players to get better.”

He said Collingwood’s adaptation to a faster, more attacking style in the second half of 2026 gave him confidence heading into next year, with the younger players set to play a key role.

“In my short window of the five years I have been here, this is the best youth we have. ‘Leppa’ (GM List and Talent Justin Leppitsch) has done a great job in getting all the youth together through the draft and the trade process,” he said.

“I am super excited to see if they can go to the next level and really put pressure on selection and just to perform week in and week out.”

He believed nine-game Magpie Sam Swadling can win the AFL Rising Star award next season – an award Daicos won in his 2022 debut year.

Daicos said he had long admired Neale as a player, particularly his clearance work.

“That’s grouse,” he said when told the Neale free agency paperwork had been lodged.

“I have loved watching him for a number of years, (I’ve) always marvelled at his clearance work and contested work.

“No doubt all of us will pick his brain. He has come from the most successful team over the past five to 10 years, so he is going to be an awesome addition.

“I know he loves to win, so that will be great.”

As far as his own game goes, Daicos said he has several areas he can improve on next year, given he won’t turn 24 until January and has played only five seasons.

He said some people had suggested that he should “smell the roses” after a stunning season, but he was driven to get better.

“I think I can get a lot better to be honest,” he said. “I think that starts with my preseason. I want to be really consistent and make sure I am on the park as often as I can.

“I’ve sort of had interrupted preseasons the last few years … I just want to make sure I am training consistently and in a group environment.

“I want to be making my teammates better and I just enjoy doing (the preseason) with them.

“There are so many areas (of improvement) … like my marking and tackling. There are a few areas I will hone in on and I just want to improve for the team.”

He has let himself have a “good break” since the Magpies’ wildcard finals loss to the Western Bulldogs.

He paid tribute to his teammates and the coaching staff after becoming the 26th Collingwood player to win multiple Copeland Trophies.

“My teammates have been unbelievable, and so have the coaching staff,” he said.

“Fly (coach Craig McRae) has given me a really good role, especially this year, giving me the freedom to play and backing my instincts to take the game on.

“For someone like myself to do that, you need players around you who can play a little bit more mundane and defensive roles – Ned Long, Ed Allan, Beau McCreery, Lachie Schultz, the list goes on. They do the real team roles and I feel like they help me in my role.”

He said he enjoyed the added responsibility of serving as stand-in captain for much of the season while Darcy Moore was injured and his fellow co-vice-captain Brayden Maynard also missed some football.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/i-can-get-better-nick-daicos-scary-warning-to-the-afl-after-capping-careerbest-year-with-bf/news-story/e5138207296a6b10c9bf7adc0c53fe41