Collingwood Magpies Preview 2026

The GDS Anchors

Nick Daicos

There’s no question Nick Daicos is one of the best fantasy assets in the competition. Finishing 2025 as the seasons third highest averager, Nick would have been locked into most sides each and every week. Having 10 scores above 140, set and forgetting him was a genuine play but it wasn't all sunshine and lollipops. 

There were weeks where Nick was worked out of the game by the opposition, resulting in 5 scores below 100 in 2025. If you played him in these disappointments, it almost didn’t feel too bad because the vast majority of coaches were in the same boat. The real opportunity with Naicos is therefore knowing when to NOT play him!

Look, to be perfectly honest I was planning to write the next paragraph about the red flags for Nicks low scores but there doesn’t seem to be a trend. A couple of these games were affected by minor injuries but there didn’t appear to be any major tagging issues. If you do work it out though its an almost guaranteed 30 point jump on the coaches around you! 

In 2026 I’m hopeful Nick will have the ability and people around him to jump to the next level. I’m not asking for higher scores, I’m asking for more consistent scores. He clearly has the quality and match awareness to be the pies primary ball mover but in order to do that he needs people around him capable of doing the grunt work.

Collingwood have made a real effort over the last few seasons to bring young mids in through the draft so hopefully they start to reap the rewards as players like Pendles and Sidebottom near the end of their careers.

Darcy Cameron

Cameron rarely seems to gets any love from GDS coaches because he tends to sit just outside the elites when we picture rucks. One of the most versatile in the comp, he sits at 6th overall in 2025 average for the current position group. When we can only pick 2 rucks, it might not seem like we will ever need to get to 6th best, but there are a few above him I see falling in 2026. 

Marshall will likely drop thanks to the inclusion of TDK.  Xerri will take a big hit in output with the new ruck rules. Gawn never seems to stop, but with the umps no longer waiting for teams to nominate rucks, we may see him struggle to make it to every contest resulting in him sitting outside the action. That leaves English and Grundy who along with Cameron, should go into 2026 unaffected by any changes.

In the special comps he is a no brainer and in the right matchup, he has the ability to hit those 150 scores.

What’s new in 2026?

Jordan De Goey

What a year to season to forget. De Goey went from being a stable scorer with forward status and the occasional explosive ceiling score to missing a majority of the season. The poor guy even picked up a concussion during his rehab training which added an extra 14 days onto the recovery! He took on midfield status last season so the mediocre scores in the games he did play made him virtually irrelevant. 

Its not all bad news though. Those underwhelming performances last year were enough to convince the team a champion data to give him back that valuable forward status and things seem to be looking good for him this pre season.

In my opinion, De Goey is essential for Collingwood to allow Nick Daicos the freedom he needs. Without a quality ball winners Nick will have to work overtime doing jobs that are below him. De Goey is a hard player which is essential for all balanced midfields.

Forward status, proven history, opportunity and a good pre season all point to good things!

Josh Daicos

The other Daicos has catapulted into relevance for us this year with a favourable position change to defender. He spent most of 2025 in a role that was 90% pass it to his brother and 10% kick ins. 

As dumb as that sounds, when Collingwood's tactics (and future) revolve around 1 player, being the feeder into that system is very lucrative!

Im expecting a bit more involvement through the contest this season and that's been reflected in training. My only question is, will that move actually be good for us? He was the equal leading kick in taker which will be lost points with a shift into the guts. It could open the door for someone to take over that feeder role.

Still worth a start in my opinion based on what we’ve seen him do, but be prepared to pull the pin and pivot into another option if things fall apart.

New 2026 Signings

Angus Anderson (No.57 draft pick), Jack Buller (trade, Sydney), Zac McCarthy (No.55 draft pick), Tyan Prindable (No.32 draft pick), Jai Saxena (Category A rookie), Samuel Swadling (No.37 draft pick)

Departed Players

Mason Cox (delisted), Charlie Dean (delisted), Will Hoskin-Elliott (retired), Ash Johnson (delisted), Fin Macrae (delisted), Oleg Markov (delisted), Brody Mihocek (trade, Melbourne), Tom Mitchell (delisted)

2026 GDS Position Changes

Player	Club	2025 Position	2026 Position
Jordan De Goey	Collingwood	Midfielder	Forward
Josh Daicos	Collingwood	Midfielder	Defender
Lachlan Sullivan	Collingwood	Midfielder	Forward
Oscar Steene	Collingwood	Ruck	Forward

Dynasty Strengths

Collingwood have focussed heavily on recruiting quility to load into their midfield engine but the opportunities are still maybe a year off. With the likes of Pendlebury and Sidebottom going around for 1 more year, it will be tough for any to make the field.

Currently, no eligable U22 players are listed in most predicted best 23s so it seems like the bubble is at least one more year away.

Joel Cochran, Harry DeMattia and Charlie west would be the picks of the bunch but I wouldnt be expecting too much from them in the first half of the season.

Under 22 Eligable Players

Name	Position	Team
Noah Howes	FWD	Collingwood
Sam Swadling	MID	Collingwood
Tyan Prindable	MID	Collingwood
Jai Saxena	FWD	Collingwood
Zac McCarthy	RUK	Collingwood
Charlie West	FWD	Collingwood
Edward Allan	MID	Collingwood
Harry DeMattia	MID	Collingwood
Iliro Smit	RUK	Collingwood
Jakob Ryan	DEF	Collingwood
Joel Cochran	DEF	Collingwood
Tew Jiath	DEF	Collingwood
Will Hayes	DEF	Collingwood

Fixtures and scoring Profile

Some tricky fixture early on including a couple of teams that heald Daicos to sub 100.

Byes rounds: 2 + 14

First 5 Fixtures: St Kilda, Adelaide, Bye, GWS, Brisbane

PODs and Breakout Potential 

Lachie Schultz

Schultz was the definition of taking the good with the bad last season. In his first 4 games he went 92, 122, 123 and 101 which for a forward is the kind of start we dream of. He then followed that up with a 40 and a bunch of scores in the 60s and 70s. 

What I do like about Schultz is the fact that we know he can be a quality scorer for us. No, he won’t be a top 7 forward but that doesn’t mean he’s not the right player in the right situation. In 2023 during his last season at Fremantle he averaged 91.48 across 23 games, so we know he is capable. 

He’s a tackling machine which means the points should flow no mater how well Collingwood hit the scoreboard. Definitely sits in the POD category and there will be far worse players you could pick for you Primetime/Showdown lineups.

Risky Picks

Dan Houston

Houston was a walk up starter for us most weeks when he was still at Port. He had that profitable role as the user across half back who would take kick ins and occasionally push forward for a cheeky goal. Collingwood were in desperate need of someone like that which made it seem like a match made on heaven, but that dream scenario didn't play out how we would have hoped. 

Josh Daicos appears to have taken up the role Houston was seemingly brought in to the club to do which is a bit of a head scratcher. If things stay the same in 2026, Houston will be a hard sell, especially with his direct competition picking up defender status. 

What I'm hoping happens is Josh spends more time through the middle allowing Houston to be the loose ball users behind. Profitable for both and surely a good result for Collingwood, even in a non GDS context.

I would never recommend allowing “hope” into your decision making so Houston sits comfortably on the watch and wait list. Favourable pre season reports wont be enough for me to consider him for my side, opening round. There are too many things that need to shift first... but if they do, the reward will be there.

Final Word

Nick Daicos is the clear star for Collingwood and although he will drop a couple of games, the risk of not playing him and getting it wrong is almost worse than taking the hit. There are a few players pushing for relevance this year so the pre season hit outs will be important to follow!