PIES MAKE CALL ON KEY BACKLINE TRIO
COLLINGWOOD has moved quickly to tie down a trio of backline players, with John Noble, Jack Madgen and Tom Wilson all pledging their futures to the club for 2022.
Madgen and Wilson will remain Magpies for next season, and Noble’s new deal runs until the end of 2023.
The retaining of the three players gives new Collingwood coach Craig McRae one less thing to worry about ahead of a major season for the club next year.
Magpies GM of football Graham Wright was pleased to lock in the trio and was excited to see how they continue to evolve in 2022.
“We are pleased to reward John with another two years and Jack with another season,” Wright said. “Both boys played a key role in the Pies’ backline this year.
“Tom has proven himself in the VFL and has shown great promise at AFL level.
“He returned to the game at a time when it was hard to play consistent VFL football because of the coronavirus, but matured greatly as a player this year and we see him as part of the group of young players in our program that are pushing through.”
Noble was selected by Collingwood with the 14th pick in the 2019 mid-season draft and made his debut in the same year. He played 22 games in 2021.
Jack Madgen joined the Pies a year earlier than Noble, but played only eight games for their AFL side across 2018 and 2019, as he dipped between the club’s senior and VFL teams.
Wilson made the switch from a five-year career as a basketball player to AFL in 2019, made his debut for Collingwood against the Swans on 15 May this year.