How undersized Collingwood backline became the team’s most reliable unit
Adelaide: Collingwood’s story right now is being told at one end of the ground. But it might be unfolding more truthfully at the other.
For weeks, the narrative has centred on a forward line searching for connection — shallow entries, missed chances, and a sense of something just slightly out of sync. That remained evident in Friday night’s tight loss to Fremantle. The Magpies generated territory, won the inside 50 count, and still couldn’t quite land the decisive blow.
In the end, they coughed up four points.
But speak to Jeremy Howe in the aftermath, and a different storyline emerges — one that speaks to identity, resilience and a defensive system that, even when exposed, refuses to bend.
“I felt like we played the right way,” a battered and bloodied Howe said in the rooms after the game. “It just comes down to a few missed moments… a bit of polish.”
That polish — or lack of it — is the obvious takeaway. But it risks obscuring something more telling: Collingwood’s back six, undersized and often outmatched on paper, has stabilised itself as the most reliable defensive unit in the competition, even without the inspiring Darcy Moore.
In fact, if you listened to the injured skipper during a pre-game interview on 3AW, he almost summarised the game before it happened.
“We’ve got some work to do on offence… but having said that, I’m pretty sure 17 other teams in the league would like to be ranked the number one defence, and the reality was that was us last year,” Moore said.
A week ago, however, they were “sieved” by Brisbane, as Howe put it. He didn’t shy away from it.
“We wore it pretty hard,” he said. “That’s been pretty rare for us as a backline… we felt like we hadn’t lowered our colours like that for a long time.”
The response was immediate. Against a Fremantle forward line boasting size, aerial power and flexibility — particularly with Luke Jackson drifting forward as a fourth tall — Collingwood’s defenders didn’t just compete. They recalibrated.
“To keep any side to seven goals, regardless of conditions, is good,” Howe said. “Particularly, one with their weaponry.”
That “weaponry” loomed large. Fremantle’s structure should have stretched Collingwood to breaking point. The triple threat of Josh Treacy, Patrick Voss and Jye Amiss were kept to two goals between them. Instead, it became a test of method and mindset — and one the Magpies largely passed.
Part of that is personnel. Part of it is philosophy.
Collingwood consistently plays undersized in defence. Isaac Quaynor and Brayden Maynard are not built like traditional key defenders, yet week after week they are asked to play like them — to absorb the physical mismatch, to compete in the air, and then to beat their opponents at ground level.
It is a structural gamble. But it is also a psychological one.
“I feel like we’re consistently a little bit undersized,” Howe said. “But I feel like that almost brings a little bit more out of you… you’re like, ‘stuff it, I have to get it done.’”
That mentality — part defiance, part necessity — is shaping Collingwood’s defensive DNA.
Quaynor’s closing speed, Maynard’s combativeness, Howe’s aerial presence and leadership — they don’t just compensate for a lack of height, they redefine what the role demands. It becomes less about winning the perfect contest and more about surviving imperfect ones.
“I felt like we just managed to band together,” Howe said. “I was pretty proud of that, yeah, I was stoked.”
Collingwood’s defence is not reliant on dominance. It’s built on cohesion. When it fails, as it did against Brisbane, it’s noticeable because it deviates from its norm. When it holds, as it largely did against Fremantle, it reinforces a belief that their method stands up under pressure.
That belief matters, particularly in a season Howe himself acknowledges is still taking shape.
“We’re still working it out,” he said. “We’re finding a couple of little new roles… tweaking things.”
And yet, the juxtaposition remains stark.
Collingwood won the inside 50 count by 16 – a significant margin. They controlled territory. They created enough chances to win the game. But as Howe pointed out, territory without execution only gets you so far.
“We got the territory, but it’s still centre-forward,” he said. “Shallow entries aren’t ideal… I’d rather be in a position to get the inside 50s and not finish, than struggling to get them.”
That is the optimism — that the problem is fixable.
Forward connection can be refined. Ball movement can be sharpened. Finishing can improve.
Defensive system, by contrast, is harder to build. It requires trust, repetition and a collective buy-in that often takes years to establish.
Collingwood appears to have that part in place.
And if the Magpies can marry that defensive resilience with the forward polish Howe alluded to, the surrounding narrative may shift quickly.
For now, though, the story sits in contrast.
A forward line still searching.
Sam McClure is an award-winning AFL journalist and broadcaster.Connect via X or email.