Collingwood makes a call on key backline trio for 2022

Collingwood has moved quickly to tie down a trio of backline players, with John Noble, Jack Madgen and Tom Wilson all pledging their futures to the club for 2022.

Madgen and Wilson will remain Magpies for next season, and Noble’s new deal runs until the end of 2023.

Catch all the ICC T20 World Cup action live & exclusive to Fox Cricket, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today.

The retaining of the three players gives new Collingwood coach Craig McRae one less thing to worry about ahead of a major season for the club next year.

Magpies GM of football Graham Wright was pleased to lock in the trio and was excited to see how they continue to evolve in 2022.

“We are pleased to reward John with another two years and Jack with another season,” Wright said.

“Both boys played a key role in the Pies’ backline this year.

“Tom has proven himself in the VFL and has shown great promise at AFL level.

“He returned to the game at a time when it was hard to play consistent VFL football because of the coronavirus, but matured greatly as a player this year and we see him as part of the group of young players in our program that are pushing through.”

Noble was selected by Collingwood with the 14th pick in the 2019 mid-season draft and made his debut in the same year.

The 24-year-old’s importance in the famous black and white guernsey has grown throughout his career, with Noble making 22 appearances for the club in 2021.

Jack Madgen joined the Pies a year earlier than Noble, but only played eight games for their AFL side across 2018 and 2019, as he dipped between the club’s senior and VFL teams.

24-year-old Wilson, who only made the switch from a five-year career as a basketball player to AFL in 2019, made his debut for Collingwood against the Swans on 15 May this year.

The Pies will hope the re-signing of Noble, Madgen and Wilson can help propel them up the ladder after a dismal season in which the club finished 17th and only six points ahead of wooden spoon winners North Melbourne.

But with a new coach at the helm in McRae, there’s renewed hope he can deliver some success to a club starving for it.