Collingwood’s VFL side will make five changes when it faces Sydney in Round 8 at Tramway Oval on Friday 15 May at 2pm AEST, with the match streamed live and free on and shown on Fox Footy and KAYO Sports. The Magpies are chasing a third win of the season in their first interstate game of the year.

Matt Lokan has brought in Brady Grey, Max Mahoney, Xavier Laverty, Harry Kennedy and Noah McMenamin, while Wil Parker, Charlie West and Ed Allan have been recalled for AFL duties. Grey returns after being managed against Geelong, Mahoney is back for his third game of the season, Laverty is in for his second outing after making his VFL debut against Carlton earlier this season, and Kennedy also returns to the side. McMenamin will make his first Collingwood VFL appearance.

McMenamin, 19, is a 193cm defender who has averaged 15 disposals and 5.6 marks for the Western Jets in the Talent League this season, giving Collingwood another fresh option as it looks to steady its VFL campaign. Bobby Hill will miss the match as he and his partner prepare for the birth of their third child, while Marks, Luke Quaynor, Hamish Collins, Robert Varcoe and Rod Ali have been named as emergencies.

The match also carries extra meaning for Collingwood, which will wear its 2026 Indigenous jumper in honour of Sir Doug Nicholls Round. The jumper was designed by 11-year-old Noongar Yamatji artist Jed Bennell and was inspired by Hill’s story, adding a layer of significance to a game that already matters on the ladder.

For Collingwood, the test against Sydney is about more than travel or selection reshuffles. It is a chance to build a season that has not yet settled and to do it away from home, in a jumper carrying a story that links the club’s present to its future.