ANOTHER son of a gun is on the way for Collingwood.
Tom McGuane, the son of Magpies premiership player Mick, has impressed at junior level this year and looks on track for a career at the top level when he becomes eligible for the draft at the end of 2025.
A lightly built left-footer, McGuane has been a standout for Western Jets in the Coates Talent League, including 32 disposals and two goals against Tasmania last month.
Still just 16 years old, AFL.com.au's trade and draft expert Cal Twomey says McGuane is a player Pies fans can get excited about for the 2026 season and beyond.
"He's a lighter bodied, smaller player ... a very smart and nifty player," Twomey said on Gettable this week.
"He kicked two goals and had 32 touches against Tasmania a couple of weeks ago. He looks to be an exciting talent who reads the game really well.
"They will get first access to him under father-son rules so that's something they'll have to plan ahead for."
The Pies have benefited from the father-son rule in recent years, with skipper Darcy Moore (the son of Peter) and the Daicos brothers (sons of Peter) key pillars in their premiership win last season.
Mick McGuane played 152 games for the Pies, including the club's 1990 flag, and played three times for Carlton before retiring at the end of the 1997 season.
Should Tom McGuane be picked by the Magpies next year, he would be the seventh son of a 1990 premiership player to be drafted to the Pies under father-son rules.
Josh and Nick Daicos (sons of Peter), Callum and Tyler Brown (sons of Gavin), Will Kelly (son of Craig) and Brayden Shaw (son of Tony) all joined the club their fathers played for.
While McGuane junior appears to be on track to join the Pies, how much the club would have to give up to get him remains to be seen.
The AFL's competitive balance review is in its final stages, with the AFL Commission meeting this week to discuss possible changes to draft and trade rules.
One of the proposed changes is to the Draft Value Index (DVI), the formula that determines what a club has to give up in order to acquire father-son and Academy players. Twomey expects the changes to affect the Pies' plans with McGuane next year.
