Collingwood Football Club will unveil three AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft selections when it meets Footscray in VFL Round 10 at Mission Whitten Oval, with Mitch Podhajski, Harrison Coe and Liam Puncher all named for the Magpies. The three newcomers are part of seven changes, and Harvey Harrison is back in the AFL team after missing time with an ACL injury.

The timing gives Collingwood a fresh look on a day when teams across the competition are making significant moves, but the Magpies’ changes are the ones that will draw the most attention from their supporters. Tim Membrey and Wil Parker also return, and Harrison will play his first AFL game since 2024, a comeback that lands as the club introduces three recruits in the same round.

For Podhajski, Coe and Puncher, the match is their first chance to show what the Mid-Season Rookie Draft can add to Collingwood’s depth. The club has brought them in for a fixture that will test them straight away against Footscray, the reigning premier who arrive at the round trying to end a four-game losing streak and steady a season that has slipped since last year’s flag.

That mix matters because the game is not being played against an easy opponent. Footscray have also turned to their own new and returning faces, including Mid-Season Rookie Draft recruit Caleb May and AFL-listed trio Sam Davidson, Luke Kennedy and Zac Walker, which means both sides are using the same round to refresh their lists. The difference is that Collingwood’s three draft picks will be under the spotlight together for the first time.

Harrison’s return sharpens the picture. After an ACL injury pushed him out of AFL action for more than a year, he is back at the level while Collingwood turns to youth in the VFL, a combination that says as much about the club’s present as its planning. If the newcomers settle quickly, the Magpies walk out of Mission Whitten Oval with more than just a changed team sheet; they gain a better read on whether this draft haul can help them now, not later.

The next check comes at the ground itself, where Collingwood’s three Mid-Season Rookie Draft selections will have their first live test in black and white against a Footscray side desperate to halt its slide.