The Ultimate 2011 Collingwood Preview | Thebigtip

After such a successful 2010 season for the Magpies, many questions are being asked about how they will they cope in 2011. Will they be able to go back to back, something which hasn't been done since Brisbane's three-peat from 2001-2003 (two of those against the Magpies)? The Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats have both been teams to attempt going back to back, the Swans in 2005/2006 and the Cats who won the 2007 and 2009 premierships while losing in 2008 to the Hawks. Some have said that the squad Collingwood have right now is one that could see them achieve things like the Lions did in the early 2000's, but will anything get in the way for the 'Pies? Will some recent injuries add more pressure on the side or will they be able to handle it with ease?

The 'Pies have plenty of reasons to look forward to the 2011 season and hope to go back to back. We could dance around all of these reasons for a long time and talk about many believe that this is Collingwood's "window" as it has been called, and why they will use it well. The best thing to do though, is look at a few key strengths and weaknesses for the up-coming season.

Let's first have a view at some strengths.

Depth - the Magpies have depth all over the field, but especially in the midfield. Looking at some of the Collingwood stars in the midfield, you see Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury, Dale Thomas, Steele Sidebottom, Sharrod Wellingham, Luke Ball, Dayne Beams along with youngsters like John McCarthy, Luke Rounds, Josh Thomas, Jye Bolton and plenty of others. The Magpies also have players like Alan Didak and Andrew Krakouer who can play in the midfield, while playing other positions.

X-factors - how many sides will be able to cover all of the Magpies depth players along with their X-factors? Think of players like Brad Dick, Leon Davis, Alan Didak, Dale Thomas and Heath Shaw to name a few. Other sides will also find themselves struggling with are players who may slip under the radar like Tyson Goldsack, Alan Toovey, Ben Reid, Jaryd Blair, Brent Macaffer.

Pre-season form - Collingwood will be facing the Bombers in the NAB Cup Grand Final this weekend in what is a 1990 Grand Final replay. The 'Pies haven't looked great all through the pre-season, but when they have played their best, they have looked better than they did at times in 2010. The Magpies started the pre-season with a solid win against Richmond and a close win against Carlton. The following week they defeated the Swans in a game where Sydney matched it with the Magpies, but were not good enough in the end. To make it into the Grand Final, the Magpies traveled to Perth to face the Eagles. It was an off start for the Pies, but a Sharrod Wellingham nine-pointer near the end of the first quarter was what the Pies needed to jump into gear and eventually ran away with a 24 point victory in the end.

Now we should have a look at some of the weaknesses for the Magpies.

Goal kicking - the biggest problem the Magpies have had over the last few years is goal kicking, with many missed opportunities through bad kicking. Travis Cloke is the main culprit who has been the problem over the years. When Cloke is at his best, he is taking freakish marks and beating close to anyone in a one-on-one marking contest, but he gives himself a bad name with his kicking, which almost always lets him down. Collingwood fans cringe whenever the ball is in Cloke's hands 15-30m out from goal, yet when he is 50m out on an angle they will be confident that the result will be a goal. The goal kicking of Cloke and the rest of the 'Pies squad needs to improve for them to stay up the top in 2011.

Injuries in the pre-season - it all started with Premiership fullback Nathan Brown who shut down Nick Riewoldt twice going down with a season ending knee injury after opting for surgery and not to go with the LARS treatment which has worked for many others in the past. This is a big blow for the Magpies, but they may be able to cover for him with Chris Tarrant returning back from Fremantle. A few other players have gone down for Collingwood, including captain Nick Maxwell, which isn't as serious but could dint the Magpies' season.

Can Collingwood win the 2011 Premiership and be the first club since the Lions to go back-to-back, or will they crack under pressure? Will we see any further injuries looking to punish the Pies and hurt their premiership push? There are a lot of things we have to wait on before we can talk about who will win the Premiership. First off, we will watch and see if the 'Pies can take out the pre-season title. If they can, all Collingwood fans and anyone involved with the club will be looking forward to and expecting a good 2011 season.