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Sport Nation
Trade talk: Rumours Magpies will land a big fish this off-season
SEN • June 12th, 2025 7:45 pm
There’s a feeling around the AFL that Collingwood will lure a star player away from a rival club this off-season according to AFL Media’s Cal Twomey.
The Magpies were busy again last off-season, adding Dan Houston via trade as well as Harry Perryman and Tim Membrey via free agency which has no doubt helped them to their 11-2 start to the 2025 campaign.
While the Magpies traded away this year’s first-round pick as part of the Houston deal, Twomey is certain that they’ll be aggressive again come October.
One name that the Magpies have been linked to is Gold Coast midfielder Matt Rowell, who comes out of contract at the end of the 2025 season.
While most would expect Rowell to remain at Gold Coast, he’s still unsigned as they head into a bye this weekend. There’s no doubt that murmurs about his future will heat up if he is still without a deal for 2026 come July and August.
Even though Twomey isn’t sure whether Rowell is the big name that clubs think could be headed to Collingwood, he did confirm that rumours are going around the competition of a ‘big fish’ headed to the AIA Centre.
“Matty Rowell, well this is continuing to lurk,” Twomey told AFL’s Gettable.
“He’s out of contract and we know he met with them late last year as well.
“They’re in that race and there is a feeling around the Pies and around the competition that they have a big fish locked in. It’s just a matter of who that is.
“Just keep an eye on that one, there’s a feeling there’s a locked and loaded player at Collingwood.
“Whether it’s Matty Rowell, I don’t know, I’m not saying it is him, it could be somebody else.”
As well as chasing a star from a rival club, the Magpies will have a busy off-season when it comes to re-signing free agent Brayden Maynard, dealing with rival interest for Darcy Cameron and securing enough draft points to select Father-Son prospect Tom McGuane and Academy options Zac McCarthy and Jai Saxena.
