CHIEF executive Gary Pert has re-iterated his view that Collingwood can win a premiership in the current three-year window and blames the loss of Nick Maxwell for its poor finish to 2014.
Pert raised eyebrows in March this year when he declared his club would "not only be playing finals for the next three years, but … I would expect us to be top four and winning a premiership during that time period".
The Pies then seemed to back up his words by making a strong start this season, winning eight of their first 11 games to sit well inside the eight, before the wheels fell off.
They have a 2-7 record since and have dropped to 10th position with two rounds remaining.
Pert remains bullish about Collingwood's prospects, but believes the loss of former skipper Maxwell – forced to retire after round 17 due to a serious ankle injury – has been the catalyst for its slump.
"Oh, I have no doubt of that," Pert told a function in Sydney on Friday when asked if the Pies could still win a flag within three years.
"But the problem with that is you've got a competition now where it's so close.
"It's not only about how many games you win and lose, it's quite often about how many goals you kick during the year. It's so close.
"And one element is what players you actually have out on the field.
"If our list had stayed together, and these are delicately balanced lists for every club, we're probably safely in the eight now and looking forward to a finals series.
"It hasn't worked out like that. We've lost an element that hasn't been talked about and is underestimated outside the club.
"Nick Maxwell, the influence he has on our young group on and off the field … we've deliberately gone younger and are in the process of creating the next premiership team.
"But it relied on leadership and Nick Maxwell, as soon as we lost him, that's coincided with a drop in performance."
Pert was speaking at a lunch hosted by Greater Western Sydney, Collingwood's opponents at Spotless Stadium on Saturday.
He was also asked about the potential of the Giants' list.
"We would say Hawthorn and Sydney at the moment are the best lists," Pert said.
"If you want us to talk about who is the list that worries us into the future, as the Hawthorns and the Sydneys drop off … we're worried about GWS.
"We see the talent here, we see the potential, we see what's coming through.
"We see this scarily amazing growth and development and talent.
"I can tell you now, talks we have specifically as we build our young list, we're sort of in a race with certain clubs, GWS being one, to go 'when can we get our list and our young players to a point where we win a premiership'.
"Keeping in mind that GWS and the Gold Coast and these other clubs are coming fast.
"These are things we track on a long-term basis.
"The national strategies (for the competition) we have in place we feel are going to be very successful – and scarily so."
