1. Nathan Buckley is all class when it comes to the media
The first-year coach was lobbed grenades from Mick Malthouse all season and simply refused to return fire. Four days after Malthouse questioned the Pies' game-plan following their round-three loss to Carlton, Buckley held a press conference at the St Kilda Sea Baths and diffused the situation, saying he "felt" for his former coach and colleague as everything he said about the Magpies would be critically analysed. It was beautifully played, and only a preview of how impressive Buckley would be in front of the media as the Pies rode the rollercoaster that was their 2012.

2. Still, coaching changes are never easy
It was July 2009 when the Pies announced Buckley would take over from Malthouse at the end of 2011, with the latter to move into a director of coaching role. So, while there was plenty of notice changes were coming, it was still surprising when Malthouse decided to leave the club altogether after last year's Grand Final loss to Geelong. The Pies' game-plan under Buckley, which involved tweaks but was never a complete reinvention, often came under scrutiny - especially after losing to Carlton in round three, which saw captain Nick Maxwell defend it and the new coach. It's fair to say there were teething problems, even if most of them were unconfirmed rumours, such as the "rift" between Buckley and certain players.

3. Delaying contract talks doesn't stop speculation
The Pies were keen to silence speculation regarding Travis Cloke's season when in July they officially put talks on hold until season's end. This came almost a month after Cloke's ill-advised appearance on The Footy Show - later panned by game great Leigh Matthews - where he said he wanted to remain a Pie but outlined a deal put forward by Fremantle. Then, once Malthouse was confirmed as Blues' coach, the wasps' nest was kicked again with the former Collingwood front man stating he would "absolutely" target the out-of-contract Cloke. The Pies had good intentions when they said the talks were on hold but it didn't lessen the firestorm that was the Cloke situation.

4. When players got hurt, they didn't muck around
By season's end, the Pies had endured four knee and two shoulder reconstructions, a fractured leg, a long running calf complaint and a pre-season adductor tear that re-occurred on the Queen's Birthday. Andrew Krakouer and Brent Macaffer went down in the pre-season before Luke Ball followed in round three. Ben Johnson hurt his shoulder in round six before Lachlan Keeffe - a revelation in defence until this point - suffered a season-ending knee injury against Adelaide in round nine. Scott Pendlebury missed four with a fractured leg and Dane Swan, Heath Shaw and Dale Thomas were among others who missed games. Alan Didak (adductor, played 11 games) and Chris Tarrant (calf, shoulder and foot, 12 games) were hampered on and off throughout the season.

5. Andrew Krakouer deserves another contract
There were ominous signs regarding the immediate future of Andrew Krakouer early in the year when he was granted personal leave to deal with some issues in his native Western Australia. Then, two weeks later in a VFL practice match in Geelong upon his return, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and underwent a knee reconstruct. Despite the odds stacked against him, Krakouer worked diligently throughout the year to get back and play VFL in the first week of August. Then, he made his AFL return exactly 27 weeks after his injury in round 23 against Essendon. He played all three finals, and shone in week one against Hawthorn with four goals.  

6. Tyson Goldsack is a better player than many thought
The 25-year-old was reborn as a defensive forward under Buckley after flirting with backline and wing roles, and handled himself well as a floating attacking option that complemented Cloke and Chris Dawes and brought additional pressure to the forward line. At season's end, he was one of a few Magpies who remained out of contract but said back in May he expected negotiations to run smoothly after his increased senior opportunities in 2012.

7. The retirements of Leigh Brown and Leon Davis cut the Pies deeper than predicted
They knew the Brown decision was coming after he announced it at the start of last September but the Davis one came much later. After initially telling Buckley he wanted to remain at the club, Davis did an about-face on his decision at the end of October and rejected a new contract in favour of returning home. And, the coaching-handover by-play extended into the Davis situation when he revealed in April this year he believed he would still have been a Collingwood player had Malthouse remained on board. On the field, the two players were sorely missed. Dawes struggled to adapt to the Brown ruck-forward role and the team couldn't replicate All Australian Davis' run from defence, which was further complicated when Johnson got hurt.

8. Darren Jolly needs to be managed and Cameron Wood struggles when he's the No.1 guy
The veteran Jolly, who has one year left to run on his contract, was carefully managed throughout the year with his aches and pains seeing him miss rounds six, seven, 10, 18 and 22. Jolly's most telling absence came in his last missed game when West Coast ruckmen Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui monstered Wood in the hit-outs 59 to 12. Jolly was honest during the year, and while he said he had every intention of finishing his current contract, he knew his body had to be looked after. Wood struggled when called upon to be the main big man, despite earning the belief of the coach in April after making changes to his off-field life. With Jarrod Witts close to playing late in the season and Jon Ceglar also in the wings, the future of Wood appears uncertain, especially after he was overlooked in favour of a wounded Dawes in the prelim.  

9. The Pies' midfielders still get their hands on the ball, even when they lose
Collingwood's onball brigade racked up numbers on a consistent basis, even when the team wasn't performing at its premium. After the Pies' season ended, they had four players in the top 11 disposal getters in the competition - Dayne Beams, Swan, Steele Sidebottom and Pendlebury - with Beams leading the League. In the first final against Hawthorn, all four were around the 30-disposal mark and contributed 30 of the Pies' 39 clearances. It was a similar story against the Swans in the prelim, although Sidebottom - who was the only one who missed out on All Australian honours - dropped off slightly. Pendlebury had 30 possessions and 10 clearances, and Beams (27 and four) and Swan (25 and seven) were in close support. 

10. Despite all said above, the Magpies are still a pretty good team
There were distractions aplenty this season for the Pies. There was the coaching conundrum, the Cloke saga, rumours of player disharmony - which were given weight when Swan was suspended for two weeks for breaking a team pledge not to drink on the eve of finals - injuries (especially to the backline, which robbed it of continuity) and then in the finals, Maxwell's two-match suspension that kept him from the semi and prelim, and above all else, the tragic September death of former teammate John McCarthy. Yet, they still made the preliminary final after showing enormous heart to beat West Coast less than a week after McCarthy's accident. Ben Sinclair played 20 games and won a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination, Jackson Paine debuted, played six games and was close to playing in the finals, and Jamie Elliot, Paul Seedsman, Marley Williams and Caolan Mooney showed signs. Given the age of their core group, there is still plenty of upside when looking ahead.

Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs