Collingwood Football Club
From The UCSC Wikipedia Trust Project
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| Full name | Collingwood Football Club |
| Nickname | The Magpies |
| Strip | Black-and-white vertical striped guernsey black and white hooped sleeves, black shorts, black socks |
| Founded | 1892 |
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| League | Australian Football League |
| First season | 1897 |
| Ground | The MCG |
| Club song | 'Good Old Collingwood' |
| President/Chair | Eddie McGuire |
| Coach | Michael Malthouse |
| Captain | Nathan Buckley |
| 2006 | 7th of 16 |
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies after the black and white striped guernseys worn by the players, is an Australian rules football club, playing in the elite Australian Football League.
The Magpies are known for their passionate supporter base, particularly known as ' The Magpie Army '. The national league may have diluted this feeling somewhat, but rivalries with fellow Victorian clubs Carlton, Essendon and Richmond remain fierce.
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, produced by Adam Kreuzer, based on the film The Wanderers, where the Ducky Boys (The Irish Catholic gang) are all Collingwood Football Club supporters.
Collingwood games have traditionally attracted the largest attendances for a football club of any code in Australia. In 1970, 121,696 spectators watched Carlton defeat Collingwood in the grand final, which is a record attendance for a football game of any code in Australia. Collingwood has the largest membership of the ten Victorian clubs.[1] The average crowd at Collingwood home games in 2006 was 52,883.
The club's motto is "Floreat Pica", translated from Latin as "May the Magpies flourish".
Contents |
History
Background; The Formation
For several years in the late 1880s the idea of a Collingwood Football Club had been raised but nothing had eventuated. Finally a meeting was held in February of 1892 and a large, enthusiastic crowd heralded the formation of the Collingwood Football Club. The club would play at Victoria Park in Abbotsford and the council immediately put in place plans to upgrade the ground to the standard of the VFA. It was decided that the municipality needed a football team to compete against Collingwood's neighbour and rival, Fitzroy. The Victorian Football Association (VFA) was the premier Australian rules football competition in Victoria and Collingwood was accepted into this competition immediately. There were some links to an established junior club, the Britannia Football Club.
The first Collingwood match was played at Victoria Park on May the 7th, 1892 against the Carlton Blues. The new grandstand and players rooms were not yet completed, forcing the players to change at the Yarra Hotel and run up Johnston Street to the ground. A very large crowd of around 16,000 patrons greeted the players. Collingwood lost to Carlton that day but success was not far away as the 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 chose 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 answering
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 (Victoria Football League).
Collingwood is notable for holding the greatest run of successive premierships - four in a row from 1927-1930. But equally renowned has been their tendency to lose grand finals since the 1960s.
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 (as opposed to "collywobbles", an English word meaning an upset stomach).
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 32 point victory.
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 Leigh Matthews ten year stay, opting to find a replacement from inside the club, selecting Tony 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 Tony 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 Tony Shaw 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 Damien 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 little 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 Football Club, 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 Football Club 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|Nathan Buckley] 100th outing, Sav 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.
Or did it?
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 6.15 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, nothing special themselves, 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 reliving 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 seasons end of some likely lads in Josh Fraser, Rhyce Shaw and Ben Johnson. Not to mention supercoach Mick Malthouse. But more on that later.
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 smoldering 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 staffs 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 resigned to the tune of five years, and the club finally made good use of it’s 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 Renault alongside Buckley, 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 road ahead for the Collingwood Football Club before it reached it’s glory days of yore once again.
2000s
Under Malthouse, 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, a turnaround previously unheard of from such no names. 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.
2001
The season of 2001 marked a whole new beginning for the Collingwood Football Club. Whilst, yes, it had new personal in 2000, the club used much of the year to clean out deadwood which was stagnating at the club. As Brown and Crosisca departed, so to did Brad Smith, Ricky Olarenshaw, Shane Watson and a number of others. But the biggest shocks came in the form of the trading of Paul Williams and the delisting of Saverio Rocca. Although the pair had not seen their best form for a year or two, it still came as a surprise to many at the speed the Magpies gave them away. The club, though, received nothing for Rocca’s services, which was quite absurd, considering the fact that the Kangaroos were able to draft him with the 34th selection in the 2000 National Draft.
To add to the new fresh air passing through the club, the team now donned a newlook jumper. For over 100 years, the Magpies had worn a jumper with black stripes on a white background. Now, it was reversed, the players wearing a black back on their jumper with a white number, and the colours of each stripe were reversed.
The year began brightly, with some promising showings in the Ansett Cup morphing into some heartening displays in the real season, with the youth, in the form of Shane O’Bree, Paul Licuria and Tarkyn Lockyer picking up much of the slack from Buckley in the midfield.
The club’s busy trading in the off season of 2000/2001 also paid dividends, with James Clement, Jarrod Molloy, Shane Wakelin Brodie Holland, Carl Steinfort and Chad Rintoul all having the desired impact, using their matured bodies and desire to make the best of a second chance (or in the cases of Molloy and Rintoul, their third) at league level. Molloy’s bullocking work, in particular, won him accolades from all comers, going on to finish runner up to Licuria in the Copeland Trophy.
Even more important to the club’s future was the youth drafted over the course of the past two seasons, with Alan Didak and Ryan Lonie immediately adding spark to the team, while Jason Cloke and Guy Richards were cultivated with Williamstown in the VFL. Lonie’s meteoric rise, in particular, stole hearts of Collingwood fans around the nation with his daring runs, flashy bouncing and long range bombs from outside the fifty winning plaudits from many up the pecking order in the AFL, nominated for the Ansett Rising Star for his troubles following another night out at the MCG against Richmond in round four.
That match also marked the one, and only, match for highly rated recruit Danny Roach. Selected with the seventh choice in the 1999 National Draft, Roach’s career was curtailed by nagging hip injuries which forced him to retire after only two years in the system.
Under Malthouse, the players began showing greater awareness and maturing, and were now standing their own when the temperature rose in the kitchen. After a narrow loss to Hawthorn due to inaccurate kicking, the Pies went on to win their next two matches against Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs, with Buckley leading the way, winning a remarkable, career high 46 disposals against the Dockers, piloting the way to victory, before playing a large role in the side’s huge victory over the Bulldogs on a sandy Colonial Stadium.
Some more close losses ensued against Richmond and Essendon on Anzac Day; the latter a match which could easily have been won had the Magpies made the most of their opportunities. A strong, nail biting triumph over Carlton the following week on Federation Weekend gave the squad the impetus to mount a finals challenge.
The team stumbled badly in round seven against their favourite bullies from the previous decade, the Kangaroos. With the match there for the taking late in the day, Mrs.Rocca simply did not know which way to look. At one end, eldest son Sav put his side in front with minutes remaining, while in the dying seconds, Anthony had the chance to win it for the Pies. He was unable to convert, the side to rue the missed opportunity much later in the season. The irony that Sav, the man cut loose free of charge by the club only months prior, was the man to win the match was too much to bear for many diehards. The match also marked the debut of 2006 Copeland Trophy winner Alan Didak.
Fortunately, the group was able to turn around their misfortune with a victory over Port Adelaide one for the highlight reels. Despite playing in foreign territory in front of a hostile crowd, the Magpies bit hard all night, with Josh Fraser’s intercept of Brett Montgomery’s handball late in the piece and ensuing goal wrapping up a morale boosting nine point triumph.
The club defeated St Kilda in unconvincing fashion on an overcast day a week later before succumbing to the flooding, negative ways of Rodney Eade and his Sydney Swans. The Swans were ultra defensive all day, flooding so much so to the extent that it was thought that Colonial Stadium would be eroded away into the docklands and beyond!
Swamped by such negative tactics, the Magpies were never able to drag themselves out of the mire, the match memorable only for Paul Williams’ return to face his old side, Buckley’s hamstring injury and Molloy’s spectacular launch over Swan fullback Andrew Dunkley. Sadly, for Molloy, the mark was not paid due to an indiscretion by Rocca, robbing Molloy of one of the marks of 2001.
Two thumping victories over Melbourne and the lowly West Coast followed, with the club now well placed for bigger and better things, only to be struck down by their famed slump not long after. With Buckley back in toe, he led the side to a gritty two point triumph over Adelaide at Football Park, winning 38 possessions in a virtuoso performance.
Times quickly changed, with Geelong, Brisbane and then Hawthorn all steamrolling the young, tiring Magpies, dragging them back into the pack. With September not far away, there was little room for error.
The team suffered a fright in their encounter with the winless Dockers in round 17 at Subiaco Oval, before a loss to the Tigers under lights, a night which saw the side score only six goals (three to Nick Davis), all but put the kibosh on the team’s finals aspirations.
A thrashing of the Western Bulldogs, led by Buckley, Fraser and four Leon Davis goals kept their heads above water for the time being, before they were shoved under by Essendon under lights. Despite the loss, the team gave a proper account of themselves, Rocca leading the way with six goals, before the Bombers crept away late. The Pies victory push was stalled when Molloy looked to clean up Bomber wingman Mark Mercuri, but instead decapitated teammate Tarkyn Lockyer, concussion sidelining the likeable West Australian for the remaining two matches.
Carlton decided the hand the club a walloping in round 21, before the team, minus Lonie for the first time that season, a remarkable effort for a debutant, cruised to victory over the Kangaroos at Manuka Oval, Canberra, a win trumpeted as the changing of the guard by many, with the Roos on the slide, and the Magpies on the rise. It proved the final match for Brent Tuckey and Andrew Ukovic, while Heath Scotland saved his career with a 21 possession afternoon.
And so the season was done with, Collingwood finishing 9th and narrowly missing out on finals action for the first time since 1994. It was their highest finish since their most recent September showing. Thankfully, it wouldn’t be long before they again featured in the game’s showpiece.
McGuire, led an on and off field modernisation mission which helped the team to reach the grand final in 2002 and 2003. Ironically, it was Leigh Matthews who coached the Brisbane Lions to victory on both occasions.
2006 was a much better season for the club, bettering their 2005 effort which netted only five wins. The club won 5 of their first 6 games in 2006, prompting media to think that the Pies and Hawthorn had led the race early (the Hawks had won four of their first five games). However a costly loss to Essendon in the ANZAC Day rematch in round 19 cost them a top four spot and had to settle for fifth spot (the Sydney Swans finished fourth after thrashing Carlton by 92 points, one day after Fremantle beat Port Adelaide in Perth and an injury-hit Adelaide thrashed Melbourne at AAMI Stadium. The Bombers' win was only their third of the season and were backing up from a tough contest against Sydney.
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 (Melbourne Cricket Ground), 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 club.
Other information
The noted Australian playwright David Williamson scripted "The Club", a play inspired by the internal politics of Collingwood. A film was made in 1980 and features Collingwood players in speaking and non-speaking roles.
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 |
Records
- Premierships:
- VFA: (1)
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- VFL/AFL:
- Seniors: (14)
- VFL/AFL:
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
1959
1960
1964
1965
1966
- Runners Up: (25)
1901
1905
1911
1915
1918
1920
1922
1925
1926
1937
1938
1939
1952
1955
1960
1964
1966
1970
1977
1979
1980
1981
2002
2003
- Wooden Spoons:(2)
1976
1999
Current playing list
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Rookies:
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Captains
- Bill Strickland 1897