Collingwood Mid-Season Draft recruit’s selection chances has been delayed due to injury.
Collingwood newcomer Ned Long may be one of the best prepared players in Wednesday’s AFL Mid-Season Draft, but the former Hawthorn midfielder will be unavailable for selection in his early days as a senior Magpie owing to injury.
With 16 players on Craig McRae’s injured list, Long might have played for Collingwood as early as this week, given the club’s lack of onballer skill for Friday’s game against the Western Bulldogs.
Long spent the summer training under McRae in an early push to gain a promotion at Olympic Park but did not make the roster; nonetheless, the 21-year-old has continued to train with the reigning premiers on occasion while playing VFL on weekends.
The former Hawthorn player was one of two Collingwood VFL players selected in the Mid-Season Draft, with key forward Jack Hutchinson, who joined West Coast.
Speaking through the club’s media arm, Collingwood’s recruitment manager expressed his delight for the duo while adding Long is battling with an injury.
“He’s got a little niggle at the moment, which is only a one-or two-week injury, but you could make a case potentially that he may have already played given our profile,” Hine added.
“We are rapt. I can’t emphasize enough how crucial it is that we continue to improve the VFL program. It’s a tribute to both Ned and ‘Hutchy’ being picked, as they were the only two players from the same club.
“(Ned) is a versatile player who can play in a variety of positions for us. That has a strong appeal.
“We don’t need to train him for any position or likely position he’ll play since he’s already played it.
The Magpies also selected Eastern Ranges ruckman Iliro Smit with their first pick in the Mid-Season Draft, after the 18-year-old overcame his own injury issues in recent years to resurface on the radar of AFL teams.
Smit, seen as more of a development option for Collingwood, will join the Magpies’ growing ruck stocks, which include Aiden Begg and the untested Oscar Steene.
