Collingwood captain Darcy Moore was 75 per cent of the player he normally is without Jeremy Howe in the backline according to the pair’s former coach Nathan Buckley.

The Magpies are almost certain to be able to include Howe and the structurally important Billy Frampton back into the backline for the finals-shaping clash with Hawthorn on Thursday night.

Collingwood veteran Jeremy Howe has been missed since injury hit against the Suns.

Collingwood had set a goal of winning 14 matches to qualify for finals with club sources saying reaching that target after their win over Carlton in round 17 may have taken an edge off their performance. Coach Craig McRae admitted after they defeated Richmond one round ago he had to adjust his messaging to give the team a new goal to chase.

Howe has missed through injury or been subbed out in each of Collingwood’s four losses this year which was a reflection of his significance to knitting the Magpies’ defence which has spluttered without him.

Buckley said Collingwood were never as dominant as their ladder position indicated when they were ten points clear on top of the ladder and they are not in crisis now after three losses in four games.

The return of Howe was critical to helping a disorganised defence find some connection, he said.

“They are reliant on Jeremy Howe and they have been for a long time. Jeremy Howe is the glue for the back half and his connection with Scott Pendlebury who is the glue for the midfield whose connection to Jamie Elliott who is the glue for the forward line. They are your pieces from a leadership aspect,” Buckley said on SEN.

“That’s understood and demonstrated. You don’t always know who are the glue guys that pull it all together.

“Darcy Moore is the captain, but he is not the glue of the back six. In fact, without Jeremy Howe I think Darcy Moore is 75 per cent of the player that he has become. You do need those guys that pull the coat tails, that give you the razz, give you that pat on the back and make the plays that need to be played and Jeremy Howe is that guy for Collingwood in the back half.”

Buckley’s former coach and Collingwood premiership captain Tony Shaw was even harsher on Moore.

“Darcy Moore is in shocking form,” Shaw told 3AW.

“Last night he punched the ball away twice with both fists. If you can get both hands on it, why not mark the ball? That’s where his confidence is at the moment.”

The importance of a smart tall defender and interceptor to replace Howe longer term is part of the rationale for the Magpies’ interest in free agent Jack Silvagni from Carlton at season’s end. The Magpies have never properly been able to replace Nathan Murphy since his premature retirement.

There is also concern about the synergy among their running defenders with Isaac Quaynor, Harry Perryman and Brayden Maynard forced to defend multiple times as Josh Daicos and Dan Houston move up the ground to attack. This is leaving holes inside the Magpies’ defensive structure.

Buckley said the Magpies were not as bad as three losses in a month suggest but the time was now to bring anything into the game that Craig McRae had been holding back.

Brody Mihocek is one of a number of players waiting on new deals.

He said the midfield was beaten by Brisbane, in the third quarter in particular, but had largely held up during the year. The drop recently had been in connection forward and in defence.

“It’s the pointy ends and in those pointy ends they are giving up too many scoring opportunities in D 50 or much more than they had before that and that comes down to the mix of the back six. And not being able to connect as much in the forward 50.

“So if you fix two entries that way, two scoring opportunities and you finish off with two more your way that is a significant difference and Collingwood aren’t three losses from the last four they are only one loss from the last four and we are looking at them differently. That’s how marginal it is.”

He said this reflected the natural short-termism of football assessments based on form.

“We put Collingwood too far out in front six weeks ago … and I suppose by the same reason we are now questioning their bona fides because of three losses in the last month,” Buckley said.

“We do get caught up in the shorter stuff. I don’t think they were as far out in front six to eight weeks ago and I don’t think that there is too much to panic about in terms of the last month.

“I still like a lot of what Collingwood have. There are a lot of little things … but the guts of their game is still really solid.”

Collingwood are also dealing with having their eight most experienced players out of contract at the end of the season as well as high performing ruckman Darcy Cameron – who still has a year on his contract remaining – the target of other clubs who are aware he is being underpaid relative to performance.

Competition sources close to several players out of contract said, although the situation was not ideal, the players’ professionalism and pride in their performance meant it was not influencing what was happening on field.

There is no doubting their urgency on Thursday night however as a loss would put them under pressure to stay in the top four as they face ladder leader, the Crows in round 23 before finishing the home and away season against Melbourne.

Ward retires a giant among Giants

Jon Pierik

Greater Western Sydney champion Callan Ward says he retires with no regrets, and had only a fleeting thought about playing again this year after he seriously hurt his knee in round 12.

Ward, 35, suffered a season-ending injury in the match against Richmond at Engie Stadium, which ended up being his 327th and final game, of which a record 267 were with the Giants.

End of an era: Callan Ward.

The robust midfielder played on in 2025 – his 18th season – hoping to celebrate an elusive flag, but it wasn’t to be. So focused was Ward that he opted for another year despite his young family moving back to Melbourne.

Surrounded by his family on Monday, Ward officially announced his retirement.

“It [premiership] wasn’t meant to be for me and that’s fine. I’ve got no regrets. I can’t regret doing my knee, I wish I could, but that’s out of my control,” Ward said.

“I feel like I’ve done everything I can to try and get that premiership, and that’s always been my dream, but it hasn’t happened. At the same time, I want nothing more than for us to play in a premiership and if we play a bit better than we did last weekend hopefully we can challenge this year.

“I won’t get there now obviously, but I’d love nothing more than for this group to get there.”

After he was hurt this year, Ward said he thought for a moment about trying to return this season.

“At the time I knew I wanted to retire straight away. I did think about it, but I did know at the time. This was my extra year that we (his family) agreed upon, and it was hard to come back from this,” he said.

“I knew I’d done my ACL in the moment and, in my head, I was counting down the weeks to the grand final thinking: ‘Can I get back’ and I knew I couldn’t’.

“The more time has gone on, the more I realised I would be retiring.”

As he lay on the trainer’s table when taken from the field, long-time teammate Lachie Whitfield gave him an emotional hug, one of the more salient moments of the season.

Ward, who spent four years with the Western Bulldogs before heading north to join the new club ahead of its 2012 launch, was praised by Giants chief executive Dave Matthews for the legacy he leaves at the expansion club.

“Callan Ward has been the heart and soul of this football club since day one. It was a courageous decision to join the Giants, to join a start-up and confront the many challenges of building an AFL club from scratch. He didn’t just help build the Giants, he helped define who we are,” Matthews said.

“From the moment he arrived, Callan brought leadership, toughness, and professionalism that shaped our culture and set the standard for every player who’s walked through our doors.

“It is hard to overstate the impact Callan has had — not just on the field, but off it. He has been a role model, a mentor, and a cornerstone of our club’s identity for 14 seasons.

“To see his career end the way it did is heartbreaking, but it’s also fitting that even in that moment, his focus was on lifting his teammates. That is who Callan Ward is.

“Callan Ward retires as a Giants legend, an AFL great, and someone who leaves an enduring legacy for decades to come.”

Ward missed the Giants’ only grand final appearance, in 2019, because of an earlier tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. The Giants lost to the Tigers.

He was taken by the Bulldogs with pick No.19 in the 2007 national draft, but felt four years later it was time to mature.

“I’m so glad I made the leap at the time, I didn’t want to do it to be honest,” Ward said of heading into western Sydney’s NRL heartland.

“One of the main reasons I did was I wanted to grow up and start fresh and challenge myself and I think I did that, especially those first eight years when I was co-captain and had to jump out of my comfort zone.”

He will continue to mentor teammates and have a match-day bench role this season, and revealed he still hopes to become a qualified firefighter.