Collingwood has updated their football department structure ahead of the 2024 season as footy boss Graham Wright plans for a six-month sabbatical.
In December, the club confirmed Wright would step away from his duties for six months starting late February, with his workload to be shared between the club's leading staff.
Football, coaching, and leadership manager Brendon Bolton has stepped into a senior role as a 'point of call' on AFL matters, with Justin Leppitsch to place a focus on football and list strategy.
Football operations and AFLW will be led by Clare Pettyfor, who remains a key administrator for the Magpies across both competitions.
“We support Graham's period of leave and as a Club we want to ensure there is opportunity for senior leaders at Collingwood to have a work-life balance and normalise this type of leave for our key people,” Collingwood CEO Craig Kelly said in a club statement.
“Graham's absence creates opportunities for others inside our Club to gain experience and develop further and we are pleased to be able to provide further and continuing opportunities for Brendon Bolton, Justin Leppitsch and Clare Pettyfor."
Collingwood will commence their premiership defence on Saturday, March 9 at GIANTS Stadium against GWS before returning to the MCG the following Friday to host Sydney.