After a tumultuous Trade Period, an exciting AFL Draft and the announcement of Eddie McGuire's decision to step down at the end of next season, Magpies fans have endured an interesting off-season and we haven't even reached the new year.
Collingwood crept into the top-eight in 2020 and with many believing they have taken a step backwards since, they could miss out on September football next year and add to the rumoured unrest within the fall walls of the Holden Centre.
The pressure is already mounted on the shoulders of the 22 players that run out onto the field for arguably the biggest club in the league and now with the recent shock departures of Adam Treloar and Jaidyn Stephenson, the barometer could hit breaking point for a number of key figures in the black and white.
Speaking onย SEN Breakfast,ย former Australian cricketer and media personality Simon O'Donnell believes the events of the off-season will have a prolonged impact on the current Magpies playing squad.
โIโm more concerned about the inner sanctum, about the players themselves with all the Adam Treloar issues and players exiting Collingwood, the rumor mill and who said what. That just didnโt go away for a long period of time,โ OโDonnell said.
โI wonder where that all sits now with the coach and his players. Thatโs the relationship that needs to be rebuilt if there has indeed been a fracture.
"Trust is the key ingredient for any sporting club, and for the elite ones itโs the bones, itโs the whole lot, itโs everything.
โThatโs going to be the most important thing for Nathan Buckley because when it comes to looking your players in the eye and asking your players for herculean effort, it only takes one pair of eyes that donโt pay attention and youโre done.
O'Donnell added that he believes there will be an added degree of pressure and interest on the 2021 Collingwood squad.
โI think they always are, but thereโs an extra layer to it now with what has happened,โ OโDonnell said.
โWhen you question trust within a unit, that is probably the biggest stumbling block you have to get over. If you donโt get over it, the fall from grace will be mighty.
โEddieโs decision is an interesting one that will run alongside this as well. Will there be that bit of โdo it for the boss, do it for the guy who has given 23 years of impeccable service to the clubโ?
โThere are a lot of different layers here that I want to watch unfold.โ
To add to the theatrics, the Magpies will play the Bulldogs at the MCG in Round 1, kicking off a tough start to their new campaign which will be followed by matches against Carlton, Brisbane, GWS and Essendon.
