Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life 2026: AFL 2026 Side by Side

January 29, 2026 by 1 Comment

G’day to all; True Believers.

 

Hope you had a great Christmas / New Year, within the ‘bad times’ – that period between our last game of the previous Season and the first game of the new Season. I would routinely not include that Finals’ game that we did not participate in. I would, however, include the practice matches of the new Season as they are a way of getting into ‘the game’. And this year, I’d also include the State of Origin – more on that below. A minor aside – I received two birthday emails, in addition to the more usual family and friends calls, etc; one from my favourite Winery – ‘Bests’ at Great Western in Victoria and the other – from the Collingwood Football Club. Both, a huge surprise and much appreciated.

 

Firstly, a welcome. Denise & Geoff, welcome. Reportedly, identified while giving blood (thank you, Genevieve). I’m sure you’ve been advised this is just a bit of fun amongst ‘family’, which of course, is what Pies’ supporters from hugely diverse backgrounds constitute. There are no right or wrong answers, but opinions, particularly differences, are most welcome. We look forward to your contributions as we head into the Season, out of the ‘bad times’ (as defined above).

 

A minor administrative issue. We had a couple of addresses ‘bounce’ last year. I think these were resolved. We are now close to 90 members; I’d love to make it 100. Suggestions / nominations please?

 

Pre-Season games?

 

 

 

 

If you are going to any of these see my plea, below, regarding reporting.

 

The List:

 

Going, going gone. Okay, so Mihocek, Cox and Hoskin-Elliott each departed, plus a number of others, a few who in my view didn’t get much of a chance to show what they could do; some due to injury. I hugely valued the contributions of Mihocek, every week, Cox, on those special occasions, and Hoskin-Elliott, consistently. And how do you farewell a Brownlow medalist? Quietly? I wish them all well, especially those retiring or heading to new Clubs. I still wish Noble well after his move a couple of years ago, except when we are playing The Suns. And I was disappointed we didn’t pick-up McGuane as a Rookie.

 

I’m pretty comfortable with the List. It’s not really too different to last year’s, but there is always scope for improvement. Down Back, I considered we needed another key defender, highlighted by Howe’s injury and absence and Moore’s performances. We’ve picked up Perryman. With Houston, overdue for better performances, we need to be seeking to man-up an opponents’ key attacking avenue while concurrently freeing up Moore and Howe to play their intercept game. Up Forward, we’ve added Buller. The question will be whether McStay is a regular up Forward – last year was not convincing though, of course, the potential is there. Of course, the attacking Smalls are a great group. Midfield? There’s a wealth of talent. A couple of comments:

 

  • NickD is better with Allan beside him;
  • JoshD is hugely undervalued – key Midfield, key Defender;
  • Cameron – needs supporting ruck; and
  • Pendles is fantastic as an on-field marshall – use him in the Midfield or as a close Defender.

 

Coming / Here / Going / Gone? Go to www.afl.com.au/news/1461725/what-you-missed-in-the-off-season.

 

New players – Go to www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/1946022/the-new-players-you-should-know-about-in-2026.

 

Injuries? www.afl.com.au/news/1460795/afl-pre-season-2026-fantasy-news-injuries-matches-role-changes-fixture-more.

 

Performances:

 

What do we want to do better this year? How about some key aspects relating to the Game Plan (nothing new here):

 

  • Application. Nothing is more important and Attitude is King.
  • Taggers. Tagging roles might be useful, particularly a specific tag on some key opponents and/or a hard lock-down role on opposing attackers. And equally important, protecting our players? That should also be key.
  • Midfield Management. Pendles guidance / on-field coaching to the collective Midfield remains critical (as above).
  • Passing. Accuracy of passes by foot and hand is critical. Remember a misdirected pass, resulting in a turnover of the ball, passes possession to our opponent, immediately shifting control of the game to them. See later comment regarding kick-ins.
  • Drive. Drive out of the Backline is a key part of our game plan. Kick-ins are a key issue – we need to have a plan that everyone knows and are able to implement.
  • Kicking into the 50. High kicks into the 50 to packs, that we seem to revert to on occasion, is not the best avenue to the Forwards (or out of our Backline) even with Cameron as a target. Much better avenues are lower, harder kicks to specific targets, moving in different directions to confuse the defenders. The speed of high kicks also allowed defenders to intercept or, at the least disrupt, the passage of the ball.
  • Kicking for Goal. This has on occasion been pretty awful. We need to exploit a dominance in Inside 50s by scoring goals. The players need to consider and apply a willingness to pass the ball inside the 50. The key players with the ability to kick the hard goal is laudable, but not always successful. Ball delivery needs to be to the best goal-kicking position. Importantly, scoring a Behind is a waste – for 1 Point, you hand over ball-possession to the opposition. It’s not worth it – get the ball into a better position.
  • Tackles. Still a failing with some opponents spinning out of tackles or brushing off the tackler. This has been one of our strengths last Season; we need to get it back. Love the multiple tacklers.

 

Our Aim? Be happy. It’s worth reinforcing – our team, yes, we are part of it, were incredibly dour during the OR game against GWS in Sydney last year (and the year before); same against Hawthorn more recently late in the Season. Everyone, players and supporters, need to get the smile back.

 

External assessments:

 

 

 

Usual additions:

 

TV: Go to www.afl.com.au/broadcast-guide-premiership or go to Kayo or Fox Footy, depending on your like / dislike of the commentators.

 

Weather: Critical. Glad we’re not playing this week. The chance of rain on game day, or on the days beforehand, will determine how slippery the ball and the players will be. Go with the boots with ‘stops’.

 

Ground Reports? If you are going to a game, even the practice matches, please send us all a Report? And if you are not going but watching it on TV, do the same, please? I’d especially like to hear from other armchair warriors watching from afar?

 

Other:

 

  • I used to maintain an ‘Eddie Watch’ section but it’s been a bit quiet on him, apart from his US College ‘kicker’ son and the other, a Football commentator. Anything from our Melbourne resident members?

 

  • Friday, 27 February – ‘Final Siren – Inside the AFL’ – a 4-part series on Prime Video.

 

  • Anything else from anyone? 

 

Next:

  • As above, re practice matches.
  • Does anyone attend training? I’d welcome some advice on that.
  • Season 2026:
  • OR            Sunday, 8 March; 7.20pm. St Kilda versus Collingwood at the MCG;
  • R1             Saturday, 14 March; 7.35pm. Collingwood versus Adelaide at the MCG; and
  • R2             Bye

 

To see the sort of stuff we talk about, go to www.footyalmanac.com.au/?s=cam+hooke. It is reasonably extensive.

 

Welcome your thoughts and ideas? Please?

 

This is our year; still believe! Always believe; never, ever give up! Go Pies.

 

Cam

 

More from Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life can be read Here.

 

 

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Comments

  1. george smith says
    January 29, 2026 at 11:03 am

    It’s about time. most post Christmas commentary has been by the Baz Luhrmanns of the anti Collingwood brigade, who collectively had our mob finishing 12th. And, at the same time, they were adding interesting fluids to their trousers over Brisbane, GWS and Gold Coast.

    Worth pointing out, Collingwood finished third, after heading the ladder for most of the season. also, Mr Injuries turned up like Bad Santa for the preliminary final, smiting Pendlebury, Mihochek and Mcstay. Bobby Hill was MIA for most of the season.

    So there is plenty of good and bad to look forward to. The good is the plethora of young players who have their chance now that some of the old timers have moved on. Charlie West and Angus Anderson are the two that stand out at the moment, West and Macinnes were on their way to replace Mihocek and Howe until they got injured. The rest of the recruits, well there’s vacancies all over the place but they are all unknown quantities.

    The bad news is Bobby Hill. You cannot replace a Norm Smith Medalist overnight. Harrison and Schultz can do this, but it would be better with Bobby out there. It is a shame and a huge waste of talent. but we’ve survived the loss of champions before, and there is always a chance, which is why he’s still on the list.

    It is funny how hacks turn into champions as soon as they leave Collingwood, according to “They”. Ginnivan went from a duck merchant to a brilliant small forward as soon as he went to Hawthorn. Mihocek is suddenly irreplaceable, likewise Mason Cox. Don’t worry Baz Boys, we may not win the flag, but we’ll be fine.

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