New Eagles ‘freak’ as ‘unreal’ Harley thrives; Pies star ‘broken the shackles’ — AFL Track Watch

Two Eagles No.1 picks — one from the national draft and another from a mid-season draft — are turning heads on the training track.

Plus the latest from Collingwood, GWS, Brisbane, Adelaide and more.

Get the latest pre-season news and updates in AFL Track Watch!

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EAGLES ‘FREAK’ TURNING HEADS AS ‘UNREAL’ REID THRIVING

Young Eagle Clay Hall says he’s been left stunned by some of mid-season recruit Tom McCarthy’s match play this pre-season, but insists his rapid improvement is a result of intense hard work.

McCarthy made an immediate impact in a defensive role for the Eagles last year after being drafted with the first pick of the mid-season draft.

But the 25-year-old has been a standout across the summer playing primarily as a midfielder – a role he’s set to take on full-time in 2026.

“He’s a bit of a freak, really,” Hall said of McCarthy to reporters.

“To watch where he’s come from – local footy, VFL footy, get drafted, play a couple of WAFL games — (in) the span of a year it has been a ridiculous step for him. Even coming in mid-season and start stringing some good footy together was unbelievable.

“But now to see the jump he’s taken this pre-season … He’s such a clean player, which the AFL needs these days. You don’t have the opportunity to fumble it otherwise you’re gone – and he just doesn’t seem to do that too often.

“One thing that he’s improved on a lot is he’s really voicing himself now … and applying himself in a bit of a leadership role.

“Some of the stuff he does sort of comes out of nowhere, but it’s of no mistake. He’s always putting so much effort into his game.

“But it does stun you at times the things he can do on a footy field.”

Hall also said close mate Harley Reid had put himself in a strong position this off-season to thrive in his third year with the Eagles.

“To see him come back in the shape he has this year has earned a lot of respect, I think,” Hall said of Reid.

“It’s taken a bit of learning for him, it doesn’t come naturally to everyone. But to see the effort he’s putting into his diet, his fitness, even some of his defensive running through we’ve seen this pre-season has been just unreal so far.

“I’m hoping he can have another good year and see how it goes for him.”

PIES ‘RECRUIT’ LOOKS TO HAVE ‘BROKEN THE SHACKLES’

Collingwood coach Craig McRae may have found a boom ‘recruit’ in the form of a premiership superstar.

A fit and happy Jordan De Goey had seemingly broken the shackles of a setback riddled 2025 when he was one of the standouts at the Magpies’ main session on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old played just 11 games last season – which included only a half against Brisbane – after an interrupted start to the year.

De Goey came good by the end of the season and was brilliant in the first final – but the impact of his absence had already taken a huge toll on the Pies.

There will be solace in seeing that trademark explosiveness ahead of 2026, particularly in a drill called “1v1 fight” that simulated an around the ground ball up or boundary throw in.

In a wrestle close to the tap, De Goey was undefeated and did so with an element of cheek, laughing at some of his teammates when he won a battle despite forfeiting early position.

Unlocking the best of De Goey has a major domino effect for Collingwood, as less demand will be heaped on Nick Daicos and veteran Scott Pendlebury.

Daicos had arguably a career-best season last year but he and the Magpies needed another ace in the middle to lighten the load.

He sent a shiver down the spine of Collingwood fans last week when he left the track but he returned later that session and suggested a clean bill of health on Wednesday.

Neither De Goey nor Daicos participated in the final drill but the former was in good spirits on the sidelines while the latter completed some goal kicking.

Ned Long, looking leaner and easily covering the ground, was in the group doing extras near the end of the session while Patrick Lipinski and draftee Tyan Prindable trained well.

A deeper trust in De Goey and his body will allow greater flexibility for some of Collingwood’s ageing stars.

Pendlebury spent the line fundamentals portion of training exclusively a part of the backline.

There’s conjecture around whether that is a certain move for the veteran or whether he was filling the void of a defender-heavy contingent of players on light duties.

Jack Crisp, Isaac Quaynor, Darcy Moore, Reef McInnes, Dan McStay and Beau McCreery were on the far wing doing an extended warm up before some slow run throughs.

Pendlebury himself was receiving treatment on a hip region and applied a lower back brace after the warm up but ultimately took part in the session.

McRae likened Pendlebury to a conductor directing an orchestra when he iced a game against Melbourne across half back late last year.

Pendlebury is a certainty to reach Brent Harvey’s games record this year (needing just eight) but he will spring well beyond that if he can play a less demanding role across half back.

Collingwood rolled out a smorgasbord of bite-sized drills on Wednesday, including one designed to sharpen a fading fundamental of the game.

A small drill focused on maintaining possession had a mandatory factor of kicking on your opposite foot.

The craft of kicking on the non-preferred foot has slowly drifted out of the game but the Magpies clearly still see it as a valuable weapon to have.

It wasn’t the only clever drill or practice in place, with McStay seemingly working on going to ground safely in tackles.

McStay, who has had his fair share of knee troubles, was putting his one-on-one conversation with a coach into action late in the session.

The coach was showing different ways of landing and twisting before they went through a number of light tackles to the ground.

STAR’S GIANT OLIVER WARNING

Reigning Giants best and fairest winner Tom Green has declared the arrival of fellow star midfielder Clayton Oliver will only strengthen, not complicate, the dynamic of the team’s on-ball brigade.

Oliver, a four-time best and fairest winner, triple All-Australian and dual AFLCA Champion Player winner, was one of the biggest names to move clubs during last year’s trade period, leaving Melbourne to link up with the Giants after a difficult past two seasons at Melbourne.

The premiership Demon links up with another star inside ball magnet in Green at the Giants.

Oliver and Green have worked together in the past, with Green crediting the ex-Demon’s advice for his ability to perform strongly in the back-half of recent seasons because of Oliver’s advice.

“It’s absolutely fantastic. He’s been incredible so far,” Green said of working with Oliver. “We all know what a superstar player he is – his resume speaks for itself – and he’s been fantastic to work with.

“I knew him a little bit – he’s actually helped me out in my career before he came here, which is something I’ll be forever grateful to him for – and now being able to work really closely alongside him is something that’s been great.”

Despite their similar style and traits, Green insists Oliver’s arrival will only add to what the Giants already have at the coalface.

“I’m really looking forward to developing that chemistry throughout the year,” he said.

“Our styles mix with Finn (Callaghan) and the other balance of our midfielders as well, I think it’s actually going to gel really, really well and help everybody’s game out.

“Our roles that we have in the midfield will complement each other because neither of us have to carry as heavier a load in that space. Other parts of our game can flourish as well.

“It’s about picking and choosing our moments. We don’t want to both be going for the same ball all the time – which we haven’t really yet. He’s a really smart player, so we’ve been able to bounce off each other and understand when it is and when it’s not.

“It’ll take some time for that chemistry to develop throughout the year, but I think it’s something Giants fans will be able to see throughout the year.”

Oliver has been on light duties in recent days due to a minor calf setback.

Elsewhere, Green said veteran teammate Stephen Coniglio was looking “explosive” and “really strong and confident in his body” over the pre-season.

LIONS’ PLAN TO REPLACE FREE AGENT

Dual premiership Lion Ryan Lester believes his side has the defensive depth to cover the departure of Brandon Starcevich this season.

Lester, 33, is part of a Brisbane defensive unit that lost enforcer Starcevich, who after eight years with the Lions moved home to Perth in the off-season to join West Coast Eagles as a free agent.

“There’s not many players that play like him (Starcevich) in the competition as well as he does. But you’d probably say Noah Answerth is a pretty similar player and very reliable, can play on those really dangerous small forwards,” Lester told reporters.

“We lose someone of good quality, but we think we’ve got enough quality players to fill that gap.”

Lester said the Lions had a “good mix of experience and youth” in defence.

“Seven to 10 of us have played a large part in the last couple of years. We lose ‘Starce’ this year, which creates a hole and someone else to get an opportunity. But we also had ‘Noz’ (Answerth) and Kiddy (Coleman) miss large parts of last year, so there’s going to be a squeeze.

“Guys like Luke Lloyd and Zane Zakostelsky are really impressing and improving. Like any club, we’ve got lots of options and it’s exciting.”

Elsewhere, Lester said it’ll be a tough decision in choosing a new Brisbane co-captain should the club again have two skippers this season following Lachie Neale’s decision to stand down.

Neale earlier this month announced he was vacating the captaincy role he shared with Harris Andrews for the previous three seasons due to “personal matters” after the well-publicised breakdown of his marriage.

With Brisbane’s captaincy duties decided by a player vote, Lester and his teammates must now decide whether Andrews takes sole possession of role as skipper or it is again a case of co-captains in the Lions’ quest for a hat-trick of premierships.

Last year’s vice-captains, star midfielders Hugh McCluggage and Josh Dunkley, seem the obvious candidates to fill the void left by Neale if they Lions opt for the same captaincy model for the fourth successive year.

“(Andrews) could definitely take it (by himself) if that’s the way (it goes),” Lester said on Wednesday.

“We have a player vote, so that ultimately will decide it.

“‘Dunks’ and ‘Huey’, I find them very hard to split if you were going to go down the path of two captains.

“It’s one or three for me.”

CROWS DUO ‘FINE’ AFTER INJURY SCARES

There were a couple of scares at Adelaide on Wednesday, but both star forwards Izak Rankine and Riley Thilthorpe looked to have escaped serious injury.

Rankine looked to have picked up a knee issue early in the session and was seen speaking with the team doctor, before returning to action.

Thilthorpe limped from the field after a knock to his leg during match simulation. While he didn’t return to the field, The Advertiser reported Thilthorpe was said to be OK.

“You get a little bit scared, especially when other guys have gone down … but it’s all part of doing contact training,” Crows ruck Reilly O’Brien said.

“I saw Riley after and he was fine, he just got a knock.

“Especially when you first get back into it, there’s risk of a few knocks early because you’re not used to that level of intensity.

“Rankine had a knock and was fine as well.”

It was unideal timing for the Crows, considering young gun Dan Curtin’s injury setback earlier this week.

Curtin, who’d been a summer standout for the Crows, dislocated his kneecap during a wrestling drill with captain Jordan Dawson on Monday. If Curtin undergoes surgery, it would rule him out for around three months.

O’Brien defended the Crows’ use of wrestling drills during training.

“It’s not putting guys in positions to get injured generally,” O’Brien said.

“Generally it’s pretty controlled.

“It hasn’t had an injury in it for years so it was just disappointing Dan hurt himself.

“You do stoppage drills and match sim, and guys get injured from that as well, and you’re not going to stop doing that just because there’s an injury.

“One freak accident in a drill doesn’t discount the merit of such a drill.”

O’Brien said recent recruit Cal Ah Chee had made an immediate impact.

“He’s another guy with such good experience and premiership experience, similar to Alex Neal-Bullen last year,” he said.

“He’ll just elevate our group with his leadership and with his experience, but also with his obvious skill set that he brings.

“He’s a threat in the air, very skilful, and above all he’s a real team player, does the little things that you need to in games.”

ELSEWHERE …

– Melbourne football boss Alan Richardson says veteran midfielder Jack Viney is making positive progress as he battles Achilles soreness. Richardson told Zero Hanger: “We expect him to return to full training in the next few weeks. Jack’s been managing that Achilles soreness, and pleasingly has been making some really positive steps through that rehab.”
– Premiership Cat and All-Australian Tyson Stengle has returned to Geelong, according to The Age, after being granted leave from the club. He’ll reportedly rejoin the Cats on a modified program.

— Top North Melbourne draftee Lachy Dovaston is well placed for a Round 1 AFL debut, according to the Herald Sun, after impressing this summer with his speed and agility,