Collingwood make delisting call on Oleg Markov and Ash Johnson

Collingwood have made the surprise call to delist 2023 premiership hero Oleg Markov and forward Ash Johnson.

But 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary has revealed that the club has made a commitment to re-sign both players as rookies for the 2025 AFL season.

After stints at Richmond (he was drafted in 2015 with Pick 50) and Gold Coast, the Magpies originally signed Markov as a rookie for the 2023 season.

He then forced himself into the team to eventually run out on grand final day and etch his name into the Collingwood history books.

The speedy winger managed just 12 games this year after his strong season in 2023 where he played 23 games.

He is 28 years old and has played 86 AFL games, with 35 of those being for the Pies.

The new father recently attended Collingwood’s best-and-fairest awards with his partner Becky Kay.

Johnson, 27, made his debut in 2022 and also had a strong season in 2023, playing 15 games and kicking 21 goals.

However, he missed out on the playing in the grand final, and struggled to cement himself in the team this year, managing just three senior games.

While Collingwood say they will relist the pair, it is also possible another club could pounce during the delisted free agency period (from November 1 to November 8) — as was the case with Hugh Greenwood in 2021 when he was delisted by Gold Coast only to be snapped up by North Melbourne.

Collingwood strategy and list manager Justin Leppitsch said the decision on Markov and Johnson was “difficult”.

“But we are committed to re-listing them as rookies in the upcoming draft in November,” Leppitsch said.

Collingwood have also signed Charlie Dean, Ned Long, Reef McInnes, and Lachie Sullivan all on one-year deals (until the end of 2025).

After winning the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell medal in 2021 (most promising young VFL player), Dean was picked up by the Pies in the rookie draft.

But he had to recover from two serious foot injuries before making his debut at the start of the 2024 season.

“We are pleased to retain Charlie, Ned, Reef and Lachie for another season,” Leppitsch said.

“Charlie and Reef have had their own injury struggles, but their ongoing resilience has enabled them to easily slot back into our system.

“Since joining us, Ned and Lachie have shown great determination to learn our game plan and have seamlessly integrated into the team.

“All four players have added value to both our AFL and VFL programs and we look forward to seeing each of them take their football to another level next year.”

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