Collingwood Football Club
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| Collingwood Football Club logo | |
| Full name | Collingwood Football Club |
|---|---|
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| Founded | 1892 |
| League | Australian Football League |
| Home ground | The MCG |
| Anthem | Good Old Collingwood Forever |
| President | Eddie McGuire |
| Head coach | Michael Malthouse |
| 2007 | 6th after home and away season ( 4th finals series) |
| Strip | |
| Black and White | |
Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies , is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League. The players wear black and white striped guernseys, similar to the colours of a magpie.
Collingwood has won 14 VFL/AFL premierships, second to Essendon and Carlton who are on 16. The club traditionally represented the working class inner Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, Victoria, however it has since moved its base to the Lexus Centre in Melbourne and its traditional suburban home ground Victoria Park to the much larger Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Magpies are known for their passionate supporter base, particularly known as "The Magpie Army". Traditional Melbourne suburban rivalries Essendon[1] and Richmond[2] remain fierce, although the national league may have diluted this feeling somewhat[3]. The long held rivalry with Carlton, for example, has waned in recent years[4]. However, it was reignited at the end of the 2007 season when Carlton won a battle between itself and Collingwood for the services of Chris Judd, one of the best players in the game. Collingwood has gained interstate rivals however and has retained the reputation in the national competition as the "team everybody loves to hate" (except, that is, for the massive number of Collingwood supporters)[5]
The club was traditionally known in Melbourne as the "Catholic" club, possibly due to support in the 1920s from the wealthy businessman John Wren, and also due to the support of Irish descendants living in the Collingwood slums in the early years of the 20th century. This was even shown in an Australian version of a play by Adam Kreuzer, based on the film The Wanderers, where the Ducky Boys (The Irish Catholic gang) are all Collingwood Football Club supporters.
Historically Collingwood games attracted large attendances, which in recent times has become a source of pride for supporters who have been starved of true on-field success. In 1970, 121,696 spectators watched Carlton defeat Collingwood in the grand final, the record attendance for a football game of any code in Australia. Collingwood has the largest membership of the ten Victorian clubs.[6] The average crowd at Collingwood home games in 2006 was 52,883.
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Background; the formation
Magpies defeated Williamstown at Gellibrand Oval 4 goals to 3. (Points were not counted in those days)
The team improved quickly and Collingwood won its first and only VFA premiership in 1896, defeating South Melbourne. At the end of the 1896 season Collingwood and South Melbourne finished exactly equal at the top of the ladder and it was decided that a Grand Final was required to decide the premiership. Collingwood won the first ever VFA Grand Final on October 3 at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, beating South by 6 goals to 5.
Collingwood was not the only professional Australian football club nicknamed the Magpies. In 1997, the SANFL's Port Adelaide Football Club entered the AFL. The Port Adelaide Magpies had to change their name to the "Power" and they also abandoned their previous black and white colour scheme. However, the Power continues to sponsor a SANFL team, under the traditional name of the Port Adelaide Magpies.
VFL calling, Pies wanting to answer
In 1897, Collingwood with fellow VFA clubs Fitzroy, Melbourne, St Kilda, Carlton, Essendon, South Melbourne and Geelong split from the VFA and formed the VFL (Victorian Football League).
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Collingwood is notable for holding the greatest run of successive premierships - four in a row from 1927–1930 and having the longest serving coach in the history on the VFL/AFL, Jock McHale who coached Collingwood from 1912 until 1949 after playing for the magpies from 1902 until 1921. But equally renowned has been their tendency to lose grand finals since the 1960s (after couragesly getting themselves into them).
1950 - 1990
Their 1958 premiership was to be their last for 32 years. The victory in 1958 was an underdog victory, with Collingwood motivated to prevent their opponent Melbourne winning its fourth successive Grand Final. In 1959 and 1960 Melbourne won again, so Collingwood's 1958 victory was essential to protect the club's greatest claim to fame. During this drought, fans remarkably had to endure no less than nine fruitless grand finals (1960, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1977 (drawn, then lost in a replay the following week to North Melbourne), 1979, 1980, 1981), inspiring the term "Colliwobbles" to signify a choking phenomenon.
The 1990s
The 1990 Premiership, coached by Leigh Matthews and skippered by Tony Shaw provided relief via a one-sided affair against Essendon, the Magpies going on to record a 41 point victory. Ending a 32 year premiership drought which included 8 Grand Final losses and 1 draw.
| 1990 AFL Grand Final | G | B | Total |
| File:2006 AFL Collingwood.jpg Collingwood | 13 | 11 | 89 |
| File:2006 AFL Essendon.jpg Essendon | 5 | 11 | 41 |
| Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground | Crowd: 198,944 | ||
Unfortunately, however, the club relapsed into a state of decline, their status as a potential powerhouse at the beginning of the decade was reduced with each passing season, the club contesting the finals only twice after 1990 (in 1992 and 1994, losses to St Kilda and West Coast respectively).
With an air of stagnation and staleness sweeping the stands at Victoria Park, the club opted to call time on Matthews’ ten year stay, opting to find a replacement from inside the club, selecting Shaw as the new coach. In hindsight, although he tried his best, Shaw was probably the wrong choice for the club at the time, new blood from another culture at another club the order of the day.
Under Shaw the team developed the habit of beginning their seasons like a house on fire, before tapering off as the year wore on. To make matters worse, the state of the list was in disrepair due to poor blend of veterans past their use by date, poor drafting and bungled trades.
In Shaw's first year as coach, 1996, the team was more attacking than it had been under Matthews, but injuries to skipper Gavin Brown and key players in Graham Wright and Damian Monkhorst derailed the year. The team crept very close to the edge midway through the year, very nearly becoming the first Collingwood team to lose eight games on the trot; a rousing ten goal victory over North Melbourne in round 15, propelled by stunning performances from Nathan Buckley and Saverio Rocca proving the tonic to hold the record at bay. For the time being.
With the recruitment of Anthony Rocca, Saverio Rocca's younger brother, 1997 took on a sense of optimism, and the team appeared a chance of living up to the hype when they reached the top of the league ladder after only eight rounds, losing only two matches to that point in time.
But after leading by 37 points at quarter time on a boggy MCG over the previous years runners up, Sydney, the rot set in for good, the team capitulating to go down in demoralising fashion, only Jason Wild and Richard Osborne looking handy in attack with the Rocca brothers failing to fire a shot.
The loss has been relegated to the history books as just another match, however, when you delve deeper into the annals of Collingwood’s history, it proved much more than just a game.
The Magpies lost to Hawthorn at Waverley Park the following week on a typically wet and miserable day, failing to score a goal in the opening term as the Hawks blitzed all comers. The wheels were again set in motion for another winless June, the team finally snapping out of its slump at the ground it knew like no other, Victoria Park in round 15 against Fremantle. The match took on much relevance, a 100 point victory celebrated in Buckley’s 100th outing, Saverio Rocca scoring nine goals.
The season petered out, the team lacking the polish to crack it for September action, the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the side on show in the final two weeks, with a narrow defeat at the hands of Adelaide snuffing out any finals hopes before ending the year on a high note, a strong win over perennial powerhouse North Melbourne. At least the club had something to work with in the future.
Sadly, 1998 proved much of the same for Shaw, but without the rousing finish. Instead, another bright start paved the way for some heavy losses midseason, successive victories in rounds 15 and 16 over Geelong and Hawthorn in the wet the club’s final opportunity to belt out its favourite tune until round eight of 1999.
One loss followed another, as the team plummeted to an all new low, losing the final six matches of the year.
The true bottoming out of the football club occurred after what was dubbed an insipid performance against oldest and most hated rival Carlton in round 21 at the MCG. Scoring a dismal 8.15 for the match, it is remembered by many as the very day the Collingwood Football Club’s nose dive from premiers in 1990 to easybeats was completed. Players struggled for direction as their opponents blew them out of the water.
But as they say, the darkest hour is before dawn, and so it proved for Collingwood. The match paved the way for Eddie McGuire, then a media mogul with Channel 9 and Triple M, to open his doors to the idea of presidency, a position he was elected to after the season concluded, and one in which he remains in today, presiding over the reformation of the Collingwood Football Club.
In one of the only bright moments of the year, Buckley finished second in the Brownlow Medal to Saint Robert Harvey on 24 votes, winning his third Copeland Trophy and relieving Brown of the captaincy.
Although the side may have finished 16th and collected only its second wooden spoon in season 1999, things were changing around Victoria Park, including the ground itself. It now hosted its final two home and away matches (losses to West Coast in round three and Brisbane in round 22), whilst seeing the end of Shaw as coach, Brown as captain and the introduction at season's end of some likely lads in Josh Fraser, Rhyce Shaw and Ben Johnson, as well as current coach Mick Malthouse.
First, the club’s 13-match losing streak (rounds 17, 1998 to 7, 1999) came to an end, Buckley returning from a broken jaw suffered in round two on Easter Monday’s loss to Carlton to pilot the side to a well celebrated win in the mud and slush of the MCG. Buckley’s return to action was heralded with four goals of his own and three Brownlow Votes, and the team overcame fellow cellar dweller Fremantle.
If it wasn’t for his untimely jaw injury, suffered when his head collided with Blue wingman Justin Murphy’s knee, Buckley may well have won his first Brownlow Medal, finishing equal third with Blues ruckman Matthew Allan on 20 votes, eight behind overall winner Shane Crawford.
The team, under the guidance of Shaw for the final time, produced some bright sparks in amongst the smouldering ashes of the 1990s, sparks which morphed over time into phoenixes providing hope of a bright future, in Chris Tarrant, Paul Licuria, Tarkyn Lockyer, Anthony Rocca, Nick Davis, Heath Scotland, Damien Adkins and Rupert Betheras. The eight formed the nucleus along with incoming draftees who joined the club over the next three years as part of the 2001-2003 surge back up the ladder.
As the game farewelled Victoria Park as a league ground in the final match of the year, a damp squib of a match despite the off field staff's best efforts, the day tarred by poor weather and a Brisbane side destined for greater things.
It also signified the end of Shaw after four years and little success, and experienced stalwarts of the decade, Monkhorst, Alex McDonald and Scott Crow, also waved into the sunset (or, in Monkhorst’s case, Moorabbin at St Kilda).
The summer of 1999 also signified a new beginning at Victoria Park, the dawn of a bold, bright and hopefully new era for Collingwood. Mick Malthouse, master coach in the West and successful footballer in his heyday, was lured to the club by McGuire, Buckley re-signed to the tune of five years, and the club finally made good use of its good draft picks after years of frittering away opportunities, snaring ruck protégé Josh Fraser with the first selection in the 1999 National Draft, lightning fast wingman Rhyce Shaw, the son of former club captain Ray and nephew of Tony, his mate from the northern suburbs, the gritty, pacy and daring Ben Johnson and Perth’s indigenous livewire Leon Davis. Interestingly, three of the trio formed part of the club’s leadership group in 2007, with Davis also noted for his growing confidence in a leadership capacity.
With Malthouse unveiled in a bentley with 24" chromes alongside Buckley with 3 shot guns and a semi automatic going off, things were looking up. But he soon realised that there was work to be done, and plenty of it.
The club agreed to play old foe Carlton, rebounding from a Grand Final loss to the Kangaroos only months earlier, on the final night of the millennium on an MCG recovering from the Test cricket played only days earlier.
In hindsight, it may have been dubbed the ‘match of the century’, but it could easily have been known as the ‘mismatch of the century, such was the difference between the two sides. Hardly anything at all could have been read from the night, except that Blues youngster Brendan Fevola (12 goals) had a future, and that there was a long, hard, stiff road ahead for the Collingwood Football Club before it reached its morning glory days of yore once again.
2000s
Under Malthouse coachin from the bentley and with a semi automatic, the club displayed glimpses of what was on offer in the coming years with the young brigade leading the way to a 5-0 start to season 2000. Buckley was everywhere in the opening half of the year, the Rocca brothers returned to their best form, and the kids, Adkins, Fraser, Johnson and Davis, enjoyed debuts to remember in the round one drubbing of Hawthorn on a sweltering MCG under hot Melbourne skies.
It all came to a grinding halt in round six when reigning premiers brought the kids back to earth with a shudder, giving them an old fashioned football lesson. The rot set in again, albeit somewhat more accepted by the Collingwood faithful than it would previously have been, for they knew Malthouse’s plan, and how pain would be endured before they were rewarded with the promised pleasure.
Minus a breezy win over eventual spooners St Kilda, there was not much to like about the Magpies until the closing stages of the season, when Nick Davis led the side to a rousing victory over the Kangaroos at Colonial Stadium. In the final round of the season, the club bid adieu to two of its finest products in Gavin Brown and Gavin Crosisca against a premiership bound Essendon at the MCG in round 22.
Brown and Crosisca were at the forefront of the club’s quasi-glory days of the late 80s and early, early 90s and were bastions of hope in the dark days of the later decade. They received a stunning goodbye from the crowd and a sentimental and terrifically sporting gesture from Essendon and their coach Kevin Sheedy, who stood nearby and clapped the two Gavins from the ground for one last time on the shoulders of their teammates. Brown would remain to this very day at the club in the capacity of an assistant coach, while Crosisca traveled the state in the same guise, albeit with stints at Hawthorn, North Ballarat, the Kangaroos and now Carlton.
With the final line of Brown and Crosisca’s songs sung, not a player remained on the list from the 1990 premiership side. The era of days gone by had gone, but it wouldn’t be forgotten, however the new blood was coming through, thick and fast. September action was just around the corner.
Off field
Collingwood was one of the last clubs to abandon its traditional stadium, the famous inner-city Victoria Park. Collingwood is now based at the MCG, with some "home" games played at the Telstra Dome. It now also has its headquarters situated in the former Glasshouse Entertainment Centre which is now called "The Lexus Centre". This building is also shared with the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS).
Collingwood continues to be financially viable through the loyal support of its huge following and numerous sponsors. After finishing 2nd in 2002 and 2003 the team fell to 13th and 15th (out of 16) in 2004 and 2005 respectively. This trend has plagued the club since the glory days of pre-World War II VFL football. Since 1958, the club has won only a single VFL/AFL Premiership (the inaugural AFL Premiership in 1990) making them one of the least successful clubs in the modern era. Despite this, the club still has won more individual games, more finals and made more grand-final appearances than any other Victorian club prior to the AFL.
On 9 March 2007, former Collingwood and Fitzroy defender Gary Pert was appointed the Magpies' CEO, seven weeks after Greg Swann departed for Carlton. In accepting the key Magpie post, Pert quit as a club director and as managing director of Channel 9 in Melbourne. In a press conference, it was stated that Collingwood has budgeted to turnover about $50 million this year. McGuire hopes the new administration will soon double that figure. "A finance administration review has come up with how we are going to turn Collingwood in to its next phase of its life", McGuire said. "What do we do to make ourselves go from a $45 million a year turnover business to a $100 million turnover business? "They sound like big figures but in 1999 we turned over $13 million, so that is where we are heading as a football club."
Other information
The noted Australian playwright David Williamson scripted The Club, a play inspired by the internal politics of Collingwood, although "the club" is never actually specified in the play or film. A film version was made in 1980 and features Collingwood players in speaking and non-speaking roles.[7][8]
The Magpies have been known as "The team people love to hate" and are less respected than other AFL teams, with many people outwardly and unitedly expressing their enjoyment at Collingwood's misfortune. As a result of this disrespect, Collingwood remain unseen underdogs throughout most games they play. When Collingwood experiences success, due credit is only given if the nature of the success is of massive historical importance, an example of this is Collingwood's 4 premierships in a row being respected by many rival supporters. The Magpies were once known as "The Flatties" because the suburb of Collingwood is flat.
The Jock McHale Medal is an award given to the coach of the winning premiership team in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of coaching games record-holder, Collingwood player/coach Jock McHale, and has been awarded since 2001 and retrospectively awarded back to 1950.
Membership
| Year | Members | Finishing position |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 16,313 | 3rd |
| 1985 | 16,857 | 7th |
| 1986 | 13,971 | 6th |
| 1987 | 9,500 | 12th |
| 1988 | 11,985 | 4th |
| 1989 | 13,620 | 5th |
| 1990 | 14,806 | 1st |
| 1991 | 18,469 | 7th |
| 1992 | 18,921 | 5th |
| 1993 | 21,882 | 8th |
| 1994 | 20,843 | 8th |
| 1995 | 22,543 | 10th |
| 1996 | 20,752 | 11th |
| 1997 | 22,761 | 10th |
| 1998 | 27,099 | 14th |
| 1999 | 32,358 | 16th |
| 2000 | 28,932 | 15th |
| 2001 | 31,455 | 9th |
| 2002 | 32,549 | 2nd |
| 2003 | 40,445 | 2nd |
| 2004 | 41,128 | 13th |
| 2005 | 38,612 | 15th |
| 2006 | 38,038 | 7th |
| 2007 | 38,587 | 4th |
Records
Premierships:
VFA: (1)
1896
VFL/AFL:
- Seniors: (14)
1902 1903 1910 1917 1919 1927 1928 1929 1930 1935 1936 1953 1958 1990
- Reserves: (7)
1919 1920 1922 1925 1940 1965 1976
- Under 19s: (4)
1960 1965 1974 1986
- Pre-Season/Night Series Premierships: (1)
1979
- Runners Up: (25)
1901 1905 1911 1915 1918 1920 1922 1925 1926 1937 1938 1939 1952 1955 1956 1960 1964 1966 1970 1977 1979 1980 1981 2002 2003
- Wooden Spoons:(2)
Current playing list
Squad Changes for 2008
Ins
Jaxson Barham (father and son) Cameron Wood (trade)
Rookie
Kevin Dyas (international)
Outs
James Clement (retired) Nathan Buckley (retired) Paul Licuria (retired)
Individual awards
Best and Fairest
Brownlow Medal winners
- Syd Coventry (1927)
- Albert Collier (1929)
- Harry Collier (1930 tied)
- Marcus Whelan (1939)
- Des Fothergill (1940 tied)
- Len Thompson (1972)
- Peter Moore (1979)
- Nathan Buckley (2003 tied)
Leigh Matthews Trophy winners
Coleman Medal winners
- Ian Brewer (1958)
- Peter McKenna (1972, 1973)
- Brian Taylor (1986)
Norm Smith Medal winners
- Tony Shaw (1990)
- Nathan Buckley (2002)
Mark of the Year winners
- Billy Picken (1976)
- Chris Tarrant (2003)
Goal of the Year winners
- Mick McGuane (1994)
Notable records
- Greatest winning margin: 178 points R4, 1979 (VP) - Collingwood 31.21 (207) v St Kilda 3.11 (29)
Records set by players
- Most matches: Tony Shaw - 313 (1977-1994)
- Most consecutive matches: Jock McHale - 191 (1906-1917) - VFL record until 1943
- Most goals kicked in a match: Gordon Coventry - 17 goals 4 behinds (R12, 1930, VP)
- Most Best & Fairests: Nathan Buckley - 6 (1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003)
- Most matches as coach: Jock McHale - 714 (1912-1949)¹
- Most matches as captain/acting captain: Nathan Buckley - 162 (1999-2006)
- Most goals in a season: Peter McKenna - 143 (1970)
- Most goals by a single person: Gordon Coventry - 1299 (1920-1937) - VFL/AFL record until 1997
Team of the Century
Collingwood announced its team of the century on June 14 1997, celebrating 100 years since the beginning of the VFL. Gavin Brown was added as the 4th interchange player in 2002. [2]
| B: | Harold Rumney | Jack Regan | Syd Coventry (Captain) |
| HB: | Billy Picken | Albert Collier | Nathan Buckley |
| C: | Thorold Merrett | Bob Rose | Darren Millane |
| HF: | Des Fothergill | Murray Weideman | Dick Lee |
| F: | Phonse Kyne | Gordon Coventry | Peter Daicos |
| Foll: | Len Thompson | Des Tuddenham | Harry Collier |
| Int: | Tony Shaw | Wayne Richardson | Marcus Whelan |
| Gavin Brown | |||
| Coach: | James "Jock" Mchale | ||
Club jumpers
Home
|
Clash
|
- These are the current 2007 jumper designs. The club has worn variations on this black-and-white-stripe design in every league game it has played over its 114-year history - the leagues in question being the Victorian Football Association and Victorian Football League (later Australian Football League).
- The clash jumper is described as the reverse of the current jumper, being a white background with black stripes, black collar and black number. The difference is the traditional jumper is white with three black stripes, while the current jumper is black with 3 white stripes on front and back.
- The club has reverted to the traditional black on white jumper for the AFL's Heritage Round since 2003, and from 2007 will wear it as their clash strip.
Club song
"Good Old Collingwood Forever" is the official anthem of the Collingwood Football Club. It is sung to the tune of "Goodbye, Dolly Gray".
The famed song is generally sung, in accordance to common AFL tradition, after a victory. It is also played before every match.
It is said to be the first club song in VFL/AFL history. The words were written and introduced in 1906 by Tom Nelson who was a young Collingwood player at the time.
See also
References
- ^ Another classic Sheedy moment
- ^ Richmond - Sleeping Giants of the AFL
- ^ AFL arch rivals - a thing of the past?
- ^ Rival without a cause
- ^ Hall trains and is ready for Pies
- ^ [1]
- ^ The Illustrated Collingwood Encyclopedia, Glenn McFarlane and Michael Roberts, 2004
- ^ Collingwood Forever, Gavin Brown, 1997
- ^ The AFL Record Guide to Season 2006