Wakelin Calls It A Day As Pies Look Ahead
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday September 15, 2008
THE generational change that has engulfed Collingwood in the past year continued yesterday with the retirement of defender Shane Wakelin following the Magpies' loss to St Kilda.
Ryan Lonie is also understood to have ended his career after long battles with injury, while captain Scott Burns's future remains unresolved. Burns is keenly sought by a number of clubs as an assistant coach.Brodie Holland is likely to retire, while the future of Ben Johnson, whose fitness was the subject of an attack by president Eddie McGuire about the time of the Heath Shaw-Alan Didak fiasco, remains cloudy.Wakelin's 252-game career ended against St Kilda, the club where the 34-year-old's AFL journey began.Wakelin's retirement is likely to mean Simon Prestigiacomo - who played only one game this season because of serious injury - will play on.Collingwood finished sixth this year after they were fourth last year, when Nathan Buckley, James Clement and Paul Licuria retired, then suffered injuries to Anthony Rocca, Sean Rusling, Ben Reid and Prestigiacomo.Making the finals and winning one yet finishing slightly lower on the ladder than last year was a passable effort given new players John Anthony, Nathan Brown, Chris Dawes, Sharrod Wellingham, John McCarthy and ruckman Cameron Wood were brought into the fold.The most crucial decision the club now confronts is not over retirements but what to do - or not do - with Didak.Collingwood already need to find a class midfielder either through the draft or trades, and losing Didak would mean the club would need to find two."The future is bright," acting captain Josh Fraser said. "We have got another three or four or five guys to come in. The tall forwards have been missing, but we have a fair bit of depth there, and you need an element of luck in any season. We were fighting against it most of the second half of the year."
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
