Young Magpies have chance to grab places, says captain
SCOTT Pendlebury says it is time for Collingwood’s kids to “put their stake in the ground” — but has also warned not to rule the 1-4 Magpies out of this year’s premiership race.
Endurance machine Jay Rantall will make his AFL debut on Anzac Day, while 192cm target Nathan Murphy is set to play his first game since 2018.
The Magpies unveiled outside midfielder Finlay Macrae last week while Beau McCreery has started to look at home as a tackling forward.
“I’m fortunate, I get to train with these younger guys all the time,” Pendlebury said.
“I know there’s talent underneath that’s coming through. It’s not just the crop that we’ve just drafted — there’s guys who have been sitting there for two or three years.
“But at the moment with injuries there are opportunities if they are in form and now they get their chance to really cement their spot in the side.”
Rantall was the club’s top pick in the 2019 draft (No 40) although the captain said 2021 was effectively his first season.
“Those formats (last year’s scrimmages in AFL hubs) didn’t let his strengths shine,” said Pendlebury, a Kayo ambassador.
“Now that we’ve got fulllength games again we can see the athlete he is. He can run all day, he’s very clean, he’s very predictable as a midfielder and a guy who’s earned his stripes.
“I feel he’s one of those guys who’s just going to run himself into the ground.”
Pendlebury said Murphy was a “wing and high half-back” with strong aerial skills.
“It’s his fourth year now on the list and he’s a guy who’s just persevered. He’s had some injuries along the way,” he said.
Pendlebury said it was too early to dismiss the 2021 Pies.
“I speak about that middle tier, that 24-to-27-year-old bracket — Darcy Moore, (Brayden) Maynard, (Jordan) De Goey, (Will) Hoskin-Elliott, (Brodie) Grundy — guys like that are extremely talented,” he said.
“I feel like we’ve played some good footy in patches, but obviously not enough to win. If we can turn that around this year is not out of the equation for us.”