Collingwood may be in a tumultuous state off the field and they may be out of the finals mix, but the young talent would be putting a smile on the face of their fans.
First-year players Caleb Poulter and Trent Bianco (drafted in 2019) were influential in the side’s win over Adelaide on the weekend, while Isaac Quaynor continues to develop as a talented defender.
Jay Rantall got his opportunity on the weekend, while Beau McCreery, Tom Wilson, Ollie Henry, Nathan Murphy, Will Kelly and Max Lynch have all shown promising signs.
On top of that, they have the prospective number one draft pick on the way in Nick Daicos.
Kane Cornes believes Pies fans should be excited about the talent coming through.
“On Friday we were speaking about the Collingwood situation and what a mess it has been,” Cornes told SEN Breakfast.
“I came away from the Adelaide Oval, I was there live, with some real optimism about what the future may look like.
“Trent Bianco, we saw Caleb Poulter stand up in big moments with his composure, Josh Daicos is another one, we know another Daicos is on the way, Isaac Quaynor is a good player.
“I thought hang on, it’s not all doom and gloom. That’s what one game can do and I did think there was a shift in the way they moved the ball.”
Garry Lyon added that internally, Collingwood is confident their younger players can lead them back up the ladder.
“Talking to people throughout it all, they are convinced their young kids are really good and in time they’ll get there,” Lyon said.
“We saw some of that on the weekend against an Adelaide side that had goal kicking issues.”
Collingwood now prepares for the Queen’s Birthday clash with Melbourne in Sydney on Monday.