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Live sport on SN this weekendWin or bust: Cornes' future concerns for "cooked" Magpies
SEN • August 15th, 2025 2:52 pm
Collingwood’s five-week stumble has left the club in a desperate situation ahead of finals football.
With an away day against table toppers Adelaide, the Magpies are at risk of losing out on a top four spot, as five sides trail within a game of the former premiership favourites.
If results permit, the double chance still may not be enough, as the side’s evident defensive falters have grown into a consistent concern, particularly in the absence of Jeremy Howe.
As the machinations of 2025 begin to paint a potentially daunting picture, Kane Cornes has opted to look beyond this season, questioning where Collingwood will find themselves in 2026 and beyond if they aren’t able to secure a grand result come September.
Collingwood’s average age of 28.7 years is nearly two years older than the second oldest list in the AFL (Geelong at 26.8 years), with the likes of Scott Pendlebury (37), Jeremy Howe (35), Steele Sidebottom (34), Jamie Elliott (33), Jack Crisp (32) and Brody Mihocek (32) all approaching the twilight of their AFL careers.
Given their ageing list and lack of top young talent (Nick Daicos aside), are the Magpies in any trouble beyond this season?
“Is it over for Collingwood if they don’t win on Saturday night?” Cornes told SEN Fireball.
“Is their season done? And the further question to that is, is the next five years done if this season is done?
“That’s my belief. I think they are all in for this year, their whole focus has been on 2025, and if it doesn’t work out, there is a whole level of pain coming from this playing list that I don’t think they’re prepared for.”
Despite the dire list situation, co-host David King believes that the pure size of the football club will be enough to carry them into their next phase.
“I think they’ve got pulling power to attract some talent,” King said.
“We’re talking about (Jack) Silvagni potentially going there – they’ll be able to reload, because they’re Collingwood. There’s a lure to want to go and play for Collingwood, because they’re one of the big clubs in the competition.
“I think they’ll be okay going forward, I don’t think it’s over for a generation or anything like that. They may lose a few, and they may have to make some tough calls.
“I think it’s okay to go all in like this, because the other side of the coin is a disaster.”
Returning to the Magpies’ contest with Adelaide, both King and Cornes conceded that if Collingwood can’t find a way to win, their premiership chances may be shot.
Cornes: “So, if it is a loss to Adelaide - which I don’t think anyone is going to hold against them because not many teams are going to go to Adelaide and win - but is the season in terms of winning this year’s premiership done?
“Do you put a line through them if they don’t get it done against Adelaide?”
King: “Yeah, I don’t think they’re winning the flag this year, if that’s what you’re asking me.”
Cornes: “What if they happened to upset Adelaide, would your view change?”
King: “It’d depend on how they did it. If they did it defensively and got themselves going defensively, you’d have to be impressed.
“If they had a shootout, and it was 120 points each, it wouldn’t really thrill me. We’ll wait and see, but I think Adelaide are going to pack too many punches for them.”
Cornes: “I think they’re cooked now. There are too many spot fires in their game to be solved with two weeks left in the season.
“You need to be in a lot better form than they are in, and they are paying the price of the demographic of the list that they have gone with - their lack of star power in the midfield and behind the ball.”
Collingwood’s contest with Adelaide kicks off on Saturday night, with the minor premiership and top four prospects on the line.
