Bounce
Collingwood has named its team ahead of Saturday night’s Round 1 clash with the Adelaide Crows at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Magpies will go into the match with the same side that defeated St Kilda by 12 points in Opening Round.
Captain Darcy Moore will again be unavailable as he recovers from a calf injury. In Moore’s absence, defender Brayden Maynard will assume the captaincy role on Saturday night.
Forward Dan McStay will make his 200th appearance at AFL level against the Crows. The 30-year-old moved to Collingwood as an unrestricted free agent in 2023 after 161 games for the Brisbane Lions, donning the black and white 38 times since.
Veteran Scott Pendlebury has been selected to take the field for the 427th time, overtaking Hawthorn’s Michael Tuck to move into second on the VFL/AFL games played list.
Following the match, Pendlebury will need to play five more AFL games to draw level with North Melbourne’s Brent Harvey on 432, who has held the record since 2016.
To go with the honour, Pendlebury will share the field with forward Jamie Elliott for the 200th time. Elliott is the fourth teammate Pendlebury will break the 200-game barrier with following Steele Sidebottom (327*), Jack Crisp (234*) and Maynard (209*).
Sidebottom will make some history of his own on Saturday night, moving into the top 20 of the VFL/AFL games played list.
The midfielder will run out for the 356th time, equalling Fitzroy/Sydney’s Paul Roos and Carlton’s Bruce Doull.
The three emergencies for the clash are midfielder Lachie Sullivan, ruck Oscar Steene and forward Charlie West.
Though there are no on-field inclusions, there is one massive change off-field: former Collingwood defender Oleg Markov has been drafted in to be the new match day host for 2026 home games. Get to the MCG early to hear Oleg make his debut on the microphone!
The match is set for Saturday 14 March at 7:35pm (AEDT) at the MCG. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Footy and Kayo Sports.
Match details
Saturday 14 March
Collingwood v Adelaide
MCG, Wurundjeri
7:35pm (AEDT)
