The omission of Dan McStay from Collingwood’s qualifying final against Adelaide on Thursday has sparked an outpouring of support for the luckless Magpies forward.
As predicted by 7NEWS Melbourne’s Xander McGuire on Tuesday, Collingwood coach Craig McRae dropped McStay the next day for Mason Cox, who has not played since Round 19.
Cox, who famously dragged the Pies over the line in a preliminary final against Richmond in 2018, has largely fallen out of favour in McRae’s side this year, playing just eight games.
“Mason Cox is shaping to make a sensational return to finals football — looking to come in for a sore Dan McStay,” McGuire said before the selection decision was confirmed.
“McStay trained, but it’s believed he’s carrying some shoulder soreness. Match committee today will make the final call.”
It’s a devastating blow for McStay, whose past four years have been punctuated by a string of heartbreaks.
In his final year at Brisbane in 2022, he played in the Lions’ heavy preliminary final defeat to eventual premiers Geelong.
The following year, the big left-footer injured his knee in Collingwood’s one-point preliminary final win over GWS, denying him a chance to play in the grand final against his old side, which the Magpies went on to win.
Months later, McStay tore his ACL in his first session of the 2024 pre-season and played just five games for the year.
In 2025, the 30-year-old has played 18 games and has largely been able to stay fit.
But with his sore shoulder and a lean run of form, the Magpies have turned to Cox for the crunch final instead, despite McStay having played the past 11 games in a row.
“Feel bad for McStay, nice start to the year but been very average for the last two months or so. But would hate for him to miss out on a potential flag again, sucks he didn’t get one in ‘23,” one Pies fan said.
“Dan McStay dropped from this side is actually INSANE. Not enough being made of it,” another added.
McStay appears to have recently made the decision to delete his Instagram account, which Pies fans were quick to notice.
It is understood McStay made this decision well before his non-selection for the first week of the finals.
“Every club has fans that are absolute arseholes, but damn Pies have our fair share,” one fan said.
“Dan McStay had to delete his social media because of the abuse he was getting. From our own fans. If you abused him personally you’re a disgrace to this club.”
Another fan said: “Dan McStay’s story is BRUTAL → Lost 2022 prelim final at Brisbane → Moves to Collingwood & does MCL in 2023 prelim, misses GF win. → Tore his ACL in first pre-season session 2024. → Dropped for 1st final in 2025 ….. We love you so much Dan.”
