Collingwood has announced the debut of two young players, Ed Allan and Wil Parker, for their match against Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Friday night, following the injury ruling out star midfielder Jordan De Goey.
Ed Allan, son of Hawthorn premiership player and former Dockers captain Ben Allan, and Wil Parker, a former first-class cricketer, will play for the defending premiers. Allan, a tall midfielder, was a surprising draft pick when Collingwood selected him at No.19 from Claremont in the 2022 national draft. He was ineligible for a Hawthorn father-son selection as his father moved to Fremantle after 98 games with the Hawks. Allan has shown promise in the VFL but found it challenging to break into Collingwood’s senior team.
Conversely, Parker only joined Collingwood’s VFL team a month ago after being listed as a category B rookie, transitioning from a promising cricket career. Parker, who debuted for Victoria in cricket at 17, also played in the BBL with the Hobart Hurricanes. He has impressed as a running half-back flanker for Collingwood’s VFL team.
The opportunity for Allan and Parker arises as Collingwood confirmed De Goey’s absence due to an abdominal strain from their win over Adelaide. Additionally, Reef McInnes will miss the game after suffering a concussion.
De Goey, 28, left Tuesday’s training session early and will undergo scans to assess the injury’s severity. He had returned against Adelaide after a groin injury and played through the abdominal issue to score the winning goal. Coach Craig McRae confirmed De Goey’s injury and the plan to assess its depth further.
McRae noted that De Goey’s recent scaled-back loads were to prevent osteitis pubis, but his current injury is unrelated. The Magpies will adjust their lineup to cover De Goey’s absence in the midfield. Forwards Beau McCreery and Brody Mihocek are expected to return from concussion and hamstring strain respectively, having trained normally on Tuesday.
“It’s [the forward line] been a bit of a revolving door,” McRae stated. “I mentioned after the game that forwards coach Scott Selwood has done an incredible job, as our forward line hasn’t looked the same for three or four weeks, yet we’re still finding ways to score.”
Currently, Jamie Elliott, Dan McStay, Jeremy Howe, Will Hoskin-Elliott, and Reef McInnes are among the sidelined attacking options.
McRae also hinted at the possibility of resting players due to the six-day break and the long trip to and from Perth for Friday’s game. Additionally, youngster Tew Jiath hobbled off at the end of Tuesday’s training session.
