Best 23: Who misses out on Collingwood's finals push?

Collingwood’s dominance of the 2025 AFL season comes with a serious issue – they have too many good players.

With the first-placed Magpies still having a host of stars set to return from injury or being rested, Tim Watson and Garry Lyon unpacked the harsh selection crunch on SEN Breakfast, questioning who makes way when the Pies’ best 22 is available.

The pair noted that Collingwood were without Steele Sidebottom, Bobby Hill, Lachie Schultz, Jordan De Goey, Beau McCreery, Billy Frampton, and Mason Cox last weekend.

Their embarrassment of riches prompted Lyon posed the big question:

Who immediately goes out?

Lyon: “Roan Steele probably."

Watson: “No, he wouldn’t be in the best at the moment.

Lyon: “(Oleg) Markov.

Watson: “No, wouldn’t be in their best.

Lyon: “Ed Allan is the other one (that will come out).

“Sidebottom plays obviously, and Bobby Hill’s gonna play.

“So, does Bobby Hill play over (Lachie) Sullivan? He does at the moment (or when he's available), doesn’t he?

“Will Parker, we can add him into that mix as well… he’s gonna struggle.”

Tim Watson then suggested two stars to exit the Pies squad, which shocked Lyon.

“Tom Mitchell wouldn’t be in their best right now," claimed Watson.

“(Will) Hoskin-Elliott wouldn’t be in their best if all those other players are available.

Lyon: “Really? The two that strike me at the moment – Hoskin-Elliott and Mitchell – you don’t think are in their best?

Watson: “No. I tell you who they love,

“Schultz, they love because of all the attributes that he has, he plays.

“Sidebottom plays.”

Is Jordan De Goey even in the best 22 right now?

“De Goey (plays), he’s your X-factor player,” Watson admitted.

“You gotta be comfortable and satisfied that he’s got the conditioning.

“I think he’s a guy that actually needs to play a couple of weeks to get himself really up and motoring.”

Lyon: “He’ll have to play a couple VFL games, won’t he?”

Watson: “Yeah, they’ll have to stagger his return.”

Lyon: “So, he’s gonna have to prove through those VFL games that he’s ready to go.”

Waston: “You’re not telling me if he’s done all that, you don’t think he’s in their best team, are you?”

Lyon “No, if he gets through, of course he’s in their best. He’s in their best five players up and going.

“But, there has to be a question mark over it.

“Just say he’s not ticking all the boxes, well do you then go ‘I’ll stay with Hoskin-Elliott because I know what I’m getting here.'

"(He) plays week in and week out.”

Watson doubles down on Hoskin-Elliott not being in the Pies’ best team

“They’re very role specific though, Collingwood,” Watson exclaimed.

“So, it would be based on other players available, and roles that need to be filled.

“He’s not a walk-up start to their best team with those other guys available.”

After Pies’ fans heard Tim Watson claim that Hoskin-Elliott isn’t in Collingwood’s best squad, fans flooded the station on SMS insisting that Watson was incorrect, and that Hoskin-Elliott should be in the best 22.

“Interesting that a lot of Collingwood fans believe that Hoskin-Elliott is in their best team,” Waston revealed.

“Who goes out then?

“I’m saying Sidebottom comes back in.

“(If) De Goey’s fit he comes back in.

“(If) Schultz is fit he comes back in.

“(If) Hill’s fit he comes back into the side.

“And McCreery is a definite lock in their best team.

Lyon: “And Frampton.

Watson: “So, they’ve got six guys who I think are in their best team, so six guys have to go out.

Lyon: “I don’t think there’s gonna be too much argument with Roan Steele go, Markov will go… Sullivan probably misses out in the end."

The Ned Long vs Tom Mitchell debate

Watson: “Is (Ned) Long in their best team?”

Lyon: “I think he is.

“Someone on the SMS says that it will be between Long and Mitchell in the end.

“They may have to make a decision between the two because you probably wouldn’t play both.

Watson: “It’s a tough decision, and you’re not losing out by it.

“If Tom Mitchell’s in your team, you’ve still got a very good AFL player in your team, which goes to the heart of how strong they are, and how deep there is as well.

Lyon: “What a problem to have!

"They just look like they’re humming.”

Does Tim Membrey come out?

Watson: “And what about Tim Membrey’s place in the side?”

Lyon: “He is at the moment.

“I suspect when they took Membrey over the summer, they thought, ‘Well we got (Dan) McStay and (Brody) Mihocek, he’ll be nice to have (as a backup).’

“He got an opportunity, and I don’t think he goes out, not the way he’s playing.”

Garry challenges Tim on his Hoskin-Elliott call

“They are specific role players though, aren’t they?” Watson noted.

“You do your job, and you do it to the best of your ability, and you’re selfless about the way you go about it in this Collingwood team, and therefore you lock your position away.

Lyon: “I think you’re talking about Hoskin-Elliott, who’s the ultimate role player, he can play any role.

Watson: “So, you think he’s in their best team?

Lyon: “This is what makes it fascinating for me, yeah (he is).

“It’s a hard one when you’ve got six of those blokes who’ve gotta go out.”

Collingwood’s “great problem to have”

“But the old point about all this (is) that we know that the way that football is, by the time this comes around… there will be injuries, there will be players that aren’t available for whatever reason,” Watson added.

“But, they’re in great shape, aren’t they?

“They’re sitting on top of the ladder, they’re smoking the cherry at the moment.”

Lyon: “They’ve got some nice depth.

Watson: “It’s a great problem to have."

With Collingwood having plenty of stars set to re-enter the lineup, Craig McRae will have need to make the tough decisions on who to cut from his best team.