Longmire empathises with wayward Papley

Instead, he finished with 2.5, including a horror miss running into an open goal from the top of the square during the first quarter.

But coach John Longmire won't be hanging his premier small forward out to dry.

"He's disappointed, but you're talking to a guy who's kicked 2.8 in a game before," Longmire said.

That haul came in the final round of 1990, when a 19-year-old Longmire was closing in on a century of goals in just his third AFL season with North Melbourne.

He finished with 98 and no doubt felt a lot worse in the Waverley Park change room after the loss to Collingwood than Papley did on Sunday.

"I understand that these things sometimes happen and his effort and energy was fantastic, and that's half the battle," Longmire said.

"He's disappointed that he missed them because he was on fire and it would've been great to get that buffer (on Geelong).

"But if you haven't got the ball in your hands it's very hard to get those seven scoring shots, and he was getting them."

Papley has committed to staying with Sydney - where he is contracted until 2023 - after requesting a trade to Carlton last year.

The small forward was a surprise Coleman Medal contender in the first half of 2020 and finished the season with 26.27 for the year, 16 goals behind winner Tom Hawkins.

Australian Associated Press