A summary of all the Pies’ plays in the 2025 Continental Tyres Trade Period following its conclusion last night.
With 2023 Premiership player Brody Mihocek departing for Melbourne, there was a requirement to find his replacement. And Collingwood got their man.
The Pies welcomed Sydney’s Jack Buller to fill the hole left by Mihocek, a 24-year-old from Claremont in Western Australia, originally selected by the Swans with pick 13 in the 2023 Mid-Season Draft.
The 199cm key forward has played 10 games and booted 11 goals in his AFL career, with a career-best game in Round 24 against West Coast where he collected 14 disposals, eight marks and three goals.
General Manager of List Strategy and Talent Justin Leppitsch was glowing in his assessment of the qualities Buller will bring to the black and white.
“Jack is a tall forward who has strong marking ability and is accurate in front of goals,” Leppitsch said.
“For a tall player, Jack’s high pressure and competitive playing style were attractive attributes for us.
“At 24, Jack has a lot of football ahead of him and we look forward to seeing where he can take his football with the support of those inside our Club.”
After a busy 2024 trade period, it was an ultimately quiet trade period for Collingwood this year around. But that’s exactly as the Pies had planned it.
Speaking to media at Marvel Stadium following the conclusion of this year’s trade period, Leppitsch outlined the Club’s intentions with their movements.
“It was always going to be a year to consolidate,” Leppitsch said.
“You can’t do everything every year otherwise you’ll blow the [salary] cap.”
Even though the plan was to fly under-the-radar, the Pies didn’t get through the period without being linked to various players, one being North Melbourne Captain Jy Simpkin.
Leppitsch admitted the Pies offered multiple options for the Roos’ leader, but the asking price was too great.
“We had the mantra that we wanted to keep our future and our picks and also they had a high price for their leader. It was always going to be a difficult challenge … it fell over unfortunately,” Leppitsch said.
“We did offer more than that (a second-rounder). We’re picking the player, not the captain, so I think that’s where the biggest gap in the negotiations fell over.”
When asked if the rumours that the Pies were open to trading star Jordan De Goey were true, Leppitsch strongly denied the reports.
“I think it was one of the great furphies of the trade period,” Leppitsch said.
“We hadn’t even considered it. I know Jordan wants to eventually sign a long-term deal at the football club, so we’ve talked about what that could look like in the future, but nothing in any detail.”
Thought this year was for consolidation, expect Collingwood to attack next season’s trade period.
“We’ve got the picks, we’ve got everything in play for the future which is great for us,” Leppitsch said.
“It gives us a bit of cap space … we’ll have enough space to do some good things for the Club in future.”
Leppitsch’s attention now turns towards the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft, but there has already been some preparations made, with the Pies informing father-son prospect Tom McGuane they won’t be committing to selecting him.
“We know how many picks are going to be in the draft and where they’ll sit. Just given the sensitivities, and given his father’s a champion of our Club, we wanted to hit it up as soon as we knew to give the family and Tom the readiness for it,” Leppitsch said.
Trade summary
In
- Jack Buller (Sydney)
- Pick 45
- Pick 56
- Pick 61
- 2026 fourth-round pick (tied to Sydney)
Out
- Brody Mihocek (Melbourne)
- Pick 59
- Pick 71
- 2026 third-round pick
2025 Telstra AFL Draft picks
39, 45, 56, 61, 77, 95, 113
