Scary proof Pies are in ‘rare air’. The ‘most important’ figure in flag push isn’t who you’d think

Collingwood’s dominant flex against Hawthorn showed the Magpies has the “highest ceiling” of any side in 2025, according to AFL great David King.

And King believes one figure holds the key to Collingwood’s flag hopes, but it’s not who you might think.

Craig McRae’s side belted the Hawks by 51 points last Friday night in a powerhouse performance from the ladder leaders as they begin to separate themselves from the other contenders.

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The Pies inflicted extreme efficiency — getting 26 shots from 44 inside 50 entries and putting up 107 points while restricting Hawthorn to 56 in a big statement.

“I’m not sure I’ve seen a better home and away performance for a long time. It said to me they have the highest ceiling of any team in the competition, that their best is better than the rest,” King said of Collingwood on Fox Footy’s The First Crack.

“I haven’t seen Brisbane do it this year, they've played some good footy in bursts.

“But what I saw for 120 minutes the other night is hard to ignore. The game this year is all about damage — knowing how to restrict your opposition and get it on the scoreboard yourself.”

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 30: Isaac Quaynor and Darcy Moore of the Magpies celebrate with fans after winning the round 12 AFL match between Collingwood Magpies and Hawthorn Hawks at Melbourne Cricket Ground, on May 30, 2025, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

With damaging the opposition so key in the modern game, Collingwood’s 2025 numbers put it in “rare air,” as put by King.

The Pies rank No. 1 in the AFL in possession to score and No. 2 in opposition possession to score. The last teams to rank No. 1 in both areas won the premiership — Geelong in 2022 and Geelong in 2007.

Collingwood also has the most experienced team in the AFL by some margin. Friday night’s team (average of 153.5 games) was effectively a season more experienced than the next most (Brisbane at 134.4 games).

It included the Pies having 16 players with 100-plus games experience ahead of Brisbane (13) and Geelong (12).

While it’s led to concerns if Collingwood’s veterans’ bodies would hold up, McRae’s side has largely stayed healthy across the board outside of Joran De Goey (Achilles) and Dan McStay (knee).

With that in mind, King thinks Magpies fitness boss Jarrod Wade is the most crucial figure at Collingwood to set up its finals run in the second half of the season.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - September 26, 2023. AFL . Jarrod Wade, High Performance manager looks towards an approaching Taylor Adams of the Magpies during Collingwood training session at Olympic Park, Melbourne. Photo by Michael Klein. Source: News Corp Australia

“Who is the most important man at Collingwood right now to keep them in this position in the back-half of the year? It’s Jarrod Wade,” King said.

“He has to have the four months of his life to give this group pure health.

“They’ve started to manage players over the last few weeks, we’ve seen Geelong do this in the back-half of seasons gone by.

“Manage this group to within an inch of its life and see if you can to the point where you’re playing like this in three months’ time.”

King also wasn’t concerned by the potential of the 10-2 Pies peaking too early, suggesting their experience would hold them in good stead.

“I think it’s counteracted by the fact this group has played so much footy that their bodies are in tune with the reequipments of playing a full season. They understand what the marathon is like,” the dual premiership Kangaroo added.

“If you talk about young players erratic with their preparation and not there physically nor mentally to cope with this load and pressure, maybe that is the case and you get fluctuations.

“I don't subscribe to that, I think it’s going to be an advantage for McRae.”

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