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Pies boss Craig Kelly on new footy boss signing, off-season recruits, the father/son rule and more
Lachlan Geleit • December 12th, 2024 12:08 pm
Collingwood CEO Craig Kelly has opened up on many burning questions surrounding the Magpies ahead of the 2025 AFL season.
The Magpies recently landed Charlie Gardiner as their new Executive General Manager of Football after six seasons as an administrator with Sydney.
Gardiner’s appointment comes after Collingwood had a busy off-season, adding Harry Perryman and Tim Membrey as free agents as well as two-time All-Australian Dan Houston via trade.
The Magpies have also had plenty of change at a leadership level with former footy boss Graham Wright and President Jeff Browne departing among other moves.
With that in mind, check out Kelly’s responses to some interesting questions below.
On the addition of Charlie Gardiner as the club’s new Executive General Manager of Fotoball
“He just fitted us beautifully, he’s got great experience,” Kelly told SEN Breakfast.
“He’s been with the Sydney Swans, and I think all of us should agree that they've been a consistent performer and a tough market.
“He's been able to not only be involved in the list, which I think he’s done a great job with. But also, John Longmire has a strong personality so to have that relationship they’ve had (is impressive) and Tom Harley is also an outstanding person.
“He and I have been talking through this process and he’s been so professional, it’s just right.
“The other guys (in the running) Peter Bell and Justin Reid … they were outstanding as well, but they’re slightly different with different experiences.
“Charlie's just the right one for us at the moment, but I thank all of those people … it was a great process.”
On losing Graham Wright to Carlton after he took a sabbatical from Collingwood in 2024
“We had the conversation at the time with Jeff (Browne) and me and he sat in our office and said during the period there, there may be a situation where he gets opportunities elsewhere, (and may not return to Collingwood).
“Those conversations were had during the year, they had to drag out a little bit longer than we wanted to for a whole heap of reasons, nothing to do with Wrighty.
“Good on Wrighty, he's got a great opportunity (as deputy CEO before taking over full-time), Cookie (Brian Cook) is an amazing CEO as a long-term guy in the industry.
“But the thing is now he's at Carlton and we're at Collingwood … last time I checked the two don't like each other that much (laughs).”
On managing the number of veterans on the club’s list
“Geelong's one that's done it pretty well.
“What I really think is happening is that the medical side of the clubs and what we're able to do managing athletes now … our high-performance boss Jarrod Wade and Fly (Craig McRae), their belief and want is to say, ‘There’s no end date here for you guys, let's keep you playing the role you’ve got to play’.
“I think a bit out of the necessity (keeping players longer) because there is definitely a shrinkage of talent out there with more clubs and all of that.
“But the athletes are able to go longer, and we've seen some great performances from Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom, and Brody Mihocek. We’ve also got Jamie Elliott and many others.
“But I'd beg to say that our job is to make sure we're balancing it up, giving the likes of Ed Allan a game, and making sure they're getting miles in their legs.”
On off-season additions Harry Perryman, Dan Houston and Tim Membrey
“They’re ripping blokes … Perryman is a lot like Steele Sidebottom, he’s a very earthy farming guy.
“Dan has his connection with a whole heap of our players already and Tim gives us a great option, he’s big, he works hard and they’re loving it.
“They're just loving the being in a club and it's so enjoyable to watch new people and actually ask the question, ‘Can we do something that you've seen better at another club?’.
“Fly is always doing that.”
On the father-son rule and Tom McGuane who is eligible to join Collingwood under the rule in 2025
“No, (I don’t align with St Kilda’s views on father-son), it's just crazy at the end of the day we should have father-sons.
“I had this argument at lunch with a few of the guys the other day who are quite heavy hitters in the AFL and they were saying it's not fair.
“But the reality is if someone wants Tom (McGuane) at an earlier pick than what we're prepared to give them, they should be able to get him.
“It’s got to be fair value, market value, and that's what we're putting in place now with the new system.
“But it's one of the great things of our game when our fathers and daughters playing at the clubs their parents did.”
