Nathan Buckley has refuted criticism on the list profile of the side he picked in the club’s Round 4 loss to the Giants, saying he will only look at younger players when they are ready.
Collingwood’s side on Saturday was the second oldest of the round – behind Geelong – and after their third loss of the season, some Pies fans have called for younger players to be blooded in the coming weeks.
Buckley said the injection of youth into the competition has been a theme so far this season but said he would only look at younger players on his list when they are AFL-ready.
“It’s a bit of a trend across the competition isn’t it,” Buckley told reporters on Tuesday about younger players starring this season.
“We’ve seen Sydney, who have probably been the marquee example of it, and Essendon in recent times from a performance perspective.
“We’re all in the caper of winning games of football and we haven’t selected teams in the last four weeks not to win or perform.
“‘Play the kids’ is a common refrain at the moment. If I was sitting watching the footy with my grandpa back in the day, he’d yell ‘just kick it’ and saying ‘playing the kids’ makes about as much sense as that.
“If they’re ready they’ll play. Finn (Macrae) has deserved his opportunity as did Ollie (Henry) with his form across pre-season and as Beau McCreery did leading into last weekend.”
Collingwood return to Optus Stadium on Friday night for a blockbuster clash with West Coast, with the match marking their first meeting since their memorable one-point victory over the Eagles in last year’s Preliminary Final at the same venue.