As the Australian Football League’s (AFL) first-ever wildcard weekend approaches, Collingwood Football Club has pushed back against league warnings over potential roster manipulation, arguing that forcing the club to field a full-strength side without resting aging veteran players is simply unrealistic. The standoff comes after AFL executive general manager Greg Swann circulated a formal memo to all 18 competition clubs at the conclusion of Round 21, outlining heightened scrutiny for team selection decisions in the lead-up to the September finals series. The memo acknowledged that legitimate resting of fatigued or injured players is permitted, but made clear that the league would closely examine any selection choices perceived as manipulating standings or gaining an unfair competitive edge ahead of the post-season. Collingwood is all but guaranteed a spot in the inaugural wildcard round, a structure that means the club will skip the pre-finals bye granted to teams that qualify directly for the opening week of the traditional finals bracket. With a roster heavily skewed toward older, veteran players, the club has long followed a strategy of resting players during the stretch run of the regular season to keep key personnel fresh for post-season play. Speaking to reporters on behalf of senior head coach Craig McRae – who was isolating at home with a mild illness and opted not to join club training to avoid spreading the virus to the playing group ahead of this weekend’s road trip – assistant coach Hayden Skipworth doubled down on the club’s position. McRae’s condition is not serious, Skipworth confirmed, noting the decision to keep him away was simply a precaution before the team flies to Perth on Friday to face West Coast on Sunday. “It’s unrealistic for those guys to play every week,” Skipworth said of the club’s veteran core. “We’ve managed our list for the last few years based on the age of the guys. We’ll continue to do that back-end of the year as well. We do make those decisions at the back end of the week, and we’ll handle our selection exactly as we always do.” Beyond the selection dispute, Skipworth also opened up about his own long-term coaching ambitions, confirming he hopes to eventually step into a senior head coaching role at an AFL club, but stressed any move would need to align well with both his own professional goals and the needs of the hiring club. “Definitely (want to be a senior coach), that’s an aspiration,” he said. “It’s got to be a good fit for me and the club. Everything I’ve done so far is to go down that path.” He added that he is currently very happy in his role at Collingwood. The dispute highlights a growing tension between league officials and clubs competing in the new wildcard structure, where clubs already facing an extra game ahead of the main finals draw face greater physical strain than their higher-ranked opponents.