Collingwood, cooked? Please – the Pies are still clearly the team to beat in 2023

Collingwood is still the overwhelmingly likely premiership team in 2023 and a couple of matches won’t change that fact.

Maybe it’s because it’s the start of August, that time of the season where everyone is searching for an answer, or at least a sign.

The Magpies lost to Carlton in Round 20 and Hawthorn in Round 21. These two games weren’t necessarily a Collingwood problem and to overreact to them is a mistake. They were outplayed by better teams on the day, as every team tends to be in the competition, at some point in the season.

Could tactical changes have been made? Sure,…