Collingwood are now on the hunt for a key defender after the heartbreaking retirement of Nathan Murphy.
Murphy had a history of head trauma and suffered his last concussion in the Magpies’ 2023 premiership victory. He hasn’t played in another AFL game since.
After advice from medical experts, he made the emotional decision to quit all contact sport on Tuesday.
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7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary has now revealed the next steps for the club, and also explained why they are facing a “desperate” situation.
“The Pies have one pick at the mid-season draft now with Nathan Murphy (retired),” Cleary said on Channel 7’s Talking Footy.
“Expect them to look and scour the market over the next 6-7 weeks as to what they can find in this space.
“Outside of Darcy Moore and Jeremy Howe, who is about to turn 34, and some other youngsters like Charlie Dean, they don’t have a lot in this (key defender) space.
“They went after Tom Doedee last year (the former Adelaide key defender who is now at Brisbane) and missed him, so clearly it’s an area of need for the Pies.”
This year’s mid-season rookie draft will be held on Wednesday, May 29.
And, according to Cleary, Collingwood are expected to have only one pick in that draft, despite the long-term injury to forward Dan McStay (he ruptured his ACL in December following a medial collateral ligament strain in his right knee during last year’s preliminary final).
“Dan McStay could be put on the long-term injury list (and therefore the club would get an extra pick in the mid-season draft) but they are expecting him to make a play to play in August or September,” Cleary said.
Meanwhile, Murphy still has a contract for the 2024 and 2025 season and the club is unsure what that means for its salary cap as the AFL hasn’t released that information.
“Clubs are right now desperate to find out the ruling specifically from the AFL as to what happens with these concussion payouts,” Cleary said.
“Angus Brayshaw and Nathan Murphy will get paid (but) it’s a matter of how much of that is in the cap, and how much of it sits outside.
“Clubs expectations are that the bulk of it will come from outside the cap, so it helps Collingwood (and) it helps Melbourne right now to go after other players.
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“I mentioned Doedee. They lost Taylor Adams last year (to Sydney) which allowed them to go and get (Fremantle’s) Lachie Schultz.
“(Steele) Sidebottom and (Scott) Pendlebury are to come off good money. And they’ve extended deals for Daicos, the (Isaac) Quaynors, the (Jordan) De Goeys, the (Darcy) Moores.
“They are in a good salary cap space as opposed to where they were a couple of years ago, but they don’t have a first-round pick right now ….”
Last year Collingwood pursued Fremantle’s Lachie Schultz, handing over a future first-round draft pick plus pick 34 for the small forward.
Without top-order draft picks this year, Cleary said the club would look at the free agent market, but the missing salary cap information was problematic.
“Some key backs on the market .. are (St Kilda’s) Josh Battle, Jack Henry at the Cats, Jake Kolodjashnij (also Geelong), but right now the Pies aren’t flush for picks given they gave up that pick last year for Lachie Schultz,” Cleary said.
“It does hamstring them a little bit in what they do in terms of what they do at the trade period this year.”
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