Collingwood will head into next season with 10 players on their list over 30 – two more than any other team, and with Scott Pendlebury leading the age bracket at 37.

When the Pies won the flag in 2023, the team contained eight players over 30; the 2024 premiership Lions had six players aged above 30 and Geelong defied the critics to win the flag in 2022 with seven players aged above 30.

But three of this year’s preliminary finalists – Geelong, the Lions and Sydney – are the only other teams to have more than six players aged above 30 on their list.

Premiership midfielder Jack Crisp, one of the 10 over-30s in Collingwood’s team, says age is just a number.

At 31, the dual best and fairest winner is the ninth-oldest player on the Magpies list as the club goes all in with their veterans to win next year’s flag after injury and form derailed this year’s campaign.

Though he’s over 30, Crisp is hardly a concern. He has not missed a game in 10 seasons at the Magpies to draw his consecutive games tally to 237. He is now just seven games shy of the league record, held by Melbourne legend Jim Stynes who played 244 consecutive games from 1987-1998. He finished fourth in the club best and fairest in 2024 and could break Stynes’ record against Geelong in round eight.

The midfielder was speaking at Kingston Heath, where he played on Sunday ahead of the Australian Open that starts on Thursday.

“Times have changed now. Blokes are really professional and look after their body and if they can keep playing at the high level, why do they have to retire?” Crisp said.

It’s the question the Magpies have had to ponder as they chased Port Adelaide’s All-Australian defender Dan Houston in the trade period, giving up a first-round pick from this year and the next year in the process.