1 week Ago
New Collingwood midfield ‘beast’ Ned Long’s days as a substitute appear over after coach Craig McRae heaped praise on the former Hawk for his starring role in the Gather Round win against Sydney . Long, a mid-season draft pick last year, played the best game of his AFL career at Adelaide Oval on Friday night, finishing with a career-high 29 possessions – a game-high 17 of them contested – nine clearances, six tackles and seven inside 50s in the 31-point win. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play.
New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The 22-year-old’s breakout game after he had been named as a substitute in three of the Pies’ first four games of the season.
“I don’t think he’ll be sub for a while ...
his game was remarkable right from the start,” McRae said. “His contest work is so strong, he looks such a beast at the contest, and if he’s not winning it himself he’s getting it back. “We just rewarded him inside .
.. it was hard to tell him a couple of weeks in a row he was the sub but tonight it was ‘Just go and enjoy it, mate’ and he’s elevated our midfield.
“He’s had a full pre-season, a year of growth in himself and we believe in him enormously. “He complements our group right now, he just adds pressure and you saw tonight he’s going to be hard to stop when he plays like that.“ The 194cm midfielder played five AFL games with Hawthorn in two seasons before he was delisted at the end of 2023.
Nick Daicos was the game’s leading possession winner with 34 after working hard to shake the James Jordon tag, but that wasn’t the figure that impressed McRae. “He’s got a guy in his back pocket the whole game and he has nine tackles,” the coach said. “I’m not concerned about the (possession) numbers because I know that he’ll accumulate, but the nine tackles is something we celebrate.
“He’s contributing in ways, if you watch the tape close enough, you see he’s doing things for others, which we really love. “The opposition will try to take him away, and I think we can do some subtle things to make it easier for Nick, but we’re proud of his defensive game.” McRae was delighted with the cohesive display, with all phases of the Pies’ game working in unison, on the big stage of Gather Round.
“We look really well-connected, and we want to take great pride in that,” he said. “Come watch us, we all look like we’re in tune with each other. “Thanks to our fans for turning up in Adelaide in record numbers, our fans are incredible, we love you so much .
.. we want to put on a show for them.
“We want to entertain, this is Gather Round, everyone in the footy industry has come to Adelaide to watch footy and be entertained and we want to entertain. “I loved how we played a system that allowed us to move the ball and defend the ground ..
. it’s something we want to be known for. “I love Gather Round, I know it’s only early days, but the last couple of days feels like another level of this Gather Round (concept).
“Everyone has sort of got wind that this is a pretty cool place to come ...
it’s a great place and Adelaide do a great job. “We’re very lucky and grateful to be a part of this.”.
