History of the Collingwood Football Club
Encyclopedia
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
club involved, and playing in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
.
Like many Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
n AFL clubs, Collingwood has an extensive and detailed history extending back 117 years, it initially represented the inner Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
suburb of Collingwood, Victoria
Collingwood, Victoria
Collingwood is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
, however its supporter base, while rooted in the city of Melbourne, extends throughout Australia. It has won 15 VFL/AFL premierships, second to Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
and Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
with 16. They hold the record for most premierships in a row with 4 (1927–1930) and remain the only club to have gone through a full home and away season undefeated (1929).
This article explores the history of the club from its formation over 110 years ago, in the early 1890s, to the current season.
Formation
The Collingwood Football Club was born on the cusp of one of the world's worst depressions in February 1892. Collingwood played its first game in the Victorian Football Association, the premier football competition at the time, against Carlton Football Club on the 7th of May 1892.1896 premiership and Entry to VFL
Being the VFA's newest team, Collingwood improved quickly and won its first and only VFA premiership in 1896.At the end of the 1896 season, Collingwood and South Melbourne finished exactly equal in all respects at the top of the VFA's premiership ladder. This was the first time this had occurred in VFA history. The VFA determined that an elimination match should take place to decide the season's premiership on October 3, 1896 at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground
East Melbourne Cricket Ground
The East Melbourne Cricket Ground was a sports venue located at the corner of Wellington Parade and Jolimont Parade, in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
. Collingwood won the match
six goals to five, in front of an estimated crowd of 12,000.
Even though this victory brought Collingwood a premiership, it is uncertain whether the match itself was promoted as a "Premiership Match" or as a "Grand Final" at the time.
In 1897, Collingwood, along with fellow VFA clubs Fitzroy
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
, Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
, St Kilda, Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
, Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
and Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
split from the VFA and formed the VFL (Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
). Despite being the youngest club, it did not take long for the Magpies to establish themselves on the new footballing landscape.
Early 1900s
The decade of 1900-1909, was the decade where the foundations were laid, for a long and successful future. In the first decade of the 20th century, Collingwood racked up 119 wins from 172 games, and two Grand Final victories from four attempts. The Pies built a huge reputation for being a fearsome side, despite playing in a depression stricken town. During this period of time, the club had eight skippers, with Lardie TullochLardie Tulloch
Lawrence Gideon "Lardie" Tulloch was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the early years of the Victorian Football League ....
the longest standing captain of the decade, spending three years at the helm. Collingwood also employed their first ever coach in 1904, in club legend Bill Strickland
Bill Strickland (footballer)
William 'Bill' Strickland was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the inaugural VFL season.Strickland was a centreman and started his career with Brunswick before joining VFA side Carlton in 1885...
. In 1906, Collingwood’s first true icon emerged, Dick Lee. In career at the club, he played 230 games, and after his retirement in 1922, had totaled with 707 goals. The Magpies played off in the Grand Finals of 1901, 1902, 1903 and 1905 – coming out on top in ’02 and ’03. In 1902, Collingwood defeated Essendon by 33 points in front of a crowd of 35,202 at the MCG.
The following year saw Collingwood win complete the set of back-to-back flags, against rivals Fitzroy by only two points. For the rest of the decade, Collingwood could only manage one more Grand Final, against Fitzroy again, at the MCG. This time however, Fitzroy atoned for their loss two years prior with a 13 point victory.
Collingwood only played in four finals in the next four seasons, without winning any of them. They ended the decade with seven finals losses on the trot, with perhaps Dick Condon the player of the decade. Condon, the man accredited with the invention of the stab kick, was one of the most talented players of the early years. Club legend Jock McHale labelled Condon the greatest footballer he had seen.
1920s-1940s: McHale Era
Collingwood became a powerhouse club during the 1920s & 30s, an era that included the greatest run of successive premierships, four in a row from 1927–1930, the only VFL/AFL undefeated season (1929), and the longest serving coach in the history of the VFL/AFL, Jock McHaleJock McHale
James Francis "Jock" McHale, was an Australian rules football player and coach for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League in a marathon career that extended from 1903 to 1949....
who coached Collingwood for 37 years from 1912-1949 after playing for the Magpies from 1902-1921. The record of four flags in succession has never once been matched nor topped, with the Melbourne of 1955-1957 and the Brisbane Lions of 2001-2003 both reaching the following season's Grand Final, only to be thwarted by Collingwood and Port Adelaide respectively. This period produced a total of six premierships, and some of the club's greatest ever servants. Names such as Syd Coventry
Syd Coventry
-St Kilda:Originally from Diamond Creek, Victoria, Coventry journeyed across the Bass Strait after the First World War to work in the mines at Queenstown, Tasmania, taking with him a reputation as a fine footballer...
, brother Gordon Coventry
Gordon Coventry
Gordon "Nuts" Coventry was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League . With 1,299 goals over 18 seasons, Coventry remains one of the greatest full forwards the game has ever seen...
, Harry Collier
Harry Collier
Harry Collier was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.-Playing career:Originally from Ivanhoe, Victoria, Collier played for the Collingwood Football Club, debuting in 1926...
and Albert Collier
Albert Collier
Albert "Leeter" Collier was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.-Playing career:...
were among the preeminent players of their time, helping establish the Magpies as a club based upon a strong family history.
Gordon Coventry led the goal kicking in every season between 1922–1927, whilst brother Syd captained the club for eight seasons, his record of 153 matches as skipper was overtaken by Nathan Buckley
Nathan Buckley
Nathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football player, commentator and coach, best known for his time as captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
in late 2006. Albert Collier
Albert Collier
Albert "Leeter" Collier was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.-Playing career:...
won the Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
in 1929, paving the way for brother Harry
Harry Collier
Harry Collier was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.-Playing career:Originally from Ivanhoe, Victoria, Collier played for the Collingwood Football Club, debuting in 1926...
to win it in the following year. The Collingwood side of the late 1920s has been described as one of the greatest football 'dynasties' amongst others including; Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
of the 1950s, Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
of the 1980s and arguably, Brisbane
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
of the early 2000s.
Post McHale
Jock McHaleJock McHale
James Francis "Jock" McHale, was an Australian rules football player and coach for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League in a marathon career that extended from 1903 to 1949....
retired from coaching at the end of 1949, Phonse Kyne
Phonse Kyne
Alphonsius E. "Phonse" Kyne was an Australian rules footballer who played for and coached Collingwood in the Victorian Football League. He is an inductee of the Australian Football Hall of Fame and a member of the official Collingwood Team of the Century...
former ruckman would coach for the next 14 years. After losing the 1952 Grand final to Geelong , Collingwood finally tasted premiership success in 1953
1953 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1953.-Premiership season:In 1953, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man...
with a two goal victory over reigning premier Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
, led by Lou Richards
Lou Richards
Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards is a retired Australian rules footballer, who played 250 games with the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1941 and 1955...
. This premiership team was a unique one as it consisted of three sets of brothers - Ron & Lou Richards, Bob & William Rose and Bill, Pat & Mick Twomey. Coincidentally it was the first and last time Collingwood legend Bob Rose
Bob Rose (footballer)
Robert "Bob" Rose was an Australian rules footballer and coach in the VFL. He is widely regarded as the greatest player ever to play for Collingwood.-Playing career:...
was to taste premiership success as a player or coach.
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.
1959-1989 The Colliwobbles
In 1959 Melbourne won again, and Collingwood poor performance against Melbourne in the 1960 Grand Final the Colliwobbles were born. Bob RoseBob Rose (footballer)
Robert "Bob" Rose was an Australian rules footballer and coach in the VFL. He is widely regarded as the greatest player ever to play for Collingwood.-Playing career:...
took over as coach in 1962 and he was unlucky to coach three losing Grand Final sides, losing by 4 , 1 and 10 points in 1964, 1966 and 1970.
The 60s and 70s produced some of Collingwood's greatest ever players, the likes of Len Thompson
Len Thompson
Len Thompson was an Australian rules footballer, who played for most of his career at Collingwood.-Collingwood:...
, Des Tuddenham
Des Tuddenham
Desmond Vincent Tuddenham is a former Australian rules footballer who played during the 1960s and 1970s. He was a half forward flanker....
, Peter McKenna
Peter McKenna
Peter McKenna is a former Australian rules footballer, who played 180 games and kicked 838 goals with the Collingwood Football Club between 1965 and 1975, where he spent the majority of his career...
, Wayne Richardson
Wayne Richardson
Wayne Richardson is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.Collingwood Football Club snared Wayne Richardson from South Fremantle Football Club in 1965 before he had made his senior debut and, not surprisingly, the West Australian side was extremely reluctant to...
, Barry Price
Barry Price
Barry Price was an Australian Rules Footballer, who played 158 games and scored 60 goals with Collingwood Football Club between 1969 and 1977....
, Ross Dunne
Ross Dunne
Ross 'Twiggy' Dunne is a former Australian rules footballer who appeared regularly for the Collingwood Magpies in the VFL from 1967 to 1978....
, Phil Carman
Phil Carman
Phil Carman is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League .Carman had a difficult time in the VFL, with clearances and submissions being delayed causing controversy. Collingwood had shown plenty of interest in him, but Carman didn't like the football lifestyle...
, John Greening
John Greening
John Greening is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the VFL.Tasmanian born, Greening moved to Victoria in 1967 aged 16, and attended Northcote High School, after being recruited by Collingwood Football Club...
, Billy Picken
Billy Picken
Billy Picken is a former Australian Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Sydney Swans. Picken arrived at Collingwood in 1974 from Macarthur as a forward but developed into one of the games finest centre-half backs...
, Ron Wearmouth, Peter Moore and Max Richardson
Max Richardson
Max Richardson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club during the 1970s before finishing his career at Fitzroy Football Club....
yet none of them achieved the ultimate goal of a Premiership.
The 1976
1976 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1976.-Premiership season:In 1976, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man...
season saw the club win its first ever wooden spoon
Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
, which subsequently led to the dismissal of senior coach Murray Weideman
Murray Weideman
Murray Weideman is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .-Playing career:Weideman is probably best remembered today as Collingwood's 'enforcer' of the late 1950s and early 1960s, loved by the club's supporters, and loathed by those of the opposition.He made his VFL...
. This was partly due to Weideman at one point refusing to work at the club whilst Ern Clarke was president, leading to a turbulent season for the Magpies. But then Collingwood broke with long held tradition the following year when the club appointed a non Collingwood person as coach for the first time in its history - high profiled former Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
Premiership coach Tom Hafey
Tom Hafey
Thomas Stanley Raymond Hafey is a former Australian rules football Victorian Football League player and coach. Hafey played for Richmond between 1953 and 1958, and coached four clubs—Richmond, Collingwood, Geelong and Sydney—between 1966 and 1988, leading teams to a total of four premierships...
. He lifted the Magpies from last position the previous year to the Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
.
The Hafey-led Magpies played in grand finals in 1977 (drawn, then lost in a replay
1977 VFL Grand Final
The 1977 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1977...
the following week to North Melbourne
Kangaroos Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
), 1979, 1980, 1981), inspiring the term "Colliwobbles" to signify a choking phenomenon.
Hafey was sensationally sacked during the 1982 season after guiding the club to 5 Grand Finals. He was replaced by Mick Erwin
Mick Erwin
Michael 'Mick' Erwin is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL between 1962 and 1964 for the Collingwood Football Club and from 1965 to 1968 for the Richmond Football Club....
,then John Cahill & Bob Rose
Bob Rose (footballer)
Robert "Bob" Rose was an Australian rules footballer and coach in the VFL. He is widely regarded as the greatest player ever to play for Collingwood.-Playing career:...
between 1982 & 1986. Leigh Matthews took over after Bob Rose
Bob Rose (footballer)
Robert "Bob" Rose was an Australian rules footballer and coach in the VFL. He is widely regarded as the greatest player ever to play for Collingwood.-Playing career:...
stepped aside and developed a team that would lead to the drought-breaking premiership of 1990
1990 AFL Grand Final
The 1990 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and the Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 6 October 1990. It was the 94th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...
. Ironically he would later coach against the Magpies in two more Grand Finals.
1990s
The 1990s saw Collingwood win their first premiership after a long drought, only to fall from success to earn their second ever wooden spoon by 1999.1990-1995
The 1990 Premiership, coached by Leigh MatthewsLeigh Matthews
Leigh Raymond "Lethal Leigh" Matthews AM is a former player and coach of Australian rules football. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League from 1969 to 1985, coached Collingwood from 1986–1995, and coached the Brisbane Lions from 1999 to 2008...
and skippered by Tony Shaw
Tony Shaw
Anthony 'Tony' Shaw is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality.-Playing career:Shaw was recruited to Collingwood from Reservoir-Lakeside to make his debut in 1977 alongside brother Ray...
provided relief via a one-sided affair against Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, the Magpies going on to record a 48 point victory. Ending a 32 year premiership drought which included eight Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
losses and one draw.
Unfortunately, however, the club lapsed 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
St. Kilda Football Club
The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed The Saints, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club plays in the Australian Football League, the sport's premier league....
and West Coast
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
respectively).
The club opted to call time on Matthews’ ten year stay, Matthews himself said that after being rolled by the Board after chasing and almost signing Tony Lockett
Tony Lockett
Anthony Howard "Tony" Lockett is a former Australian rules football player. Lockett is the highest goal scorer in the history of the VFL/AFL with 1,360 goals in a career of 281 games, that commenced in 1983 with the St Kilda Football Club, and finished in 2002 with the Sydney Swans...
he knew his time was up.
1996-1998
Opting to find a replacement from inside the club selected Tony ShawTony Shaw
Anthony 'Tony' Shaw is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality.-Playing career:Shaw was recruited to Collingwood from Reservoir-Lakeside to make his debut in 1977 alongside brother Ray...
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
Graham Wright (footballer)
Graham Wright is a former Australian rules footballer, in the Australian Football League.Wright was selected by Collingwood in the 1987 National Draft with their first round pick as a quick wingman, having shown great courage for Tasmanian side East Devonport...
and Damian Monkhorst
Damian Monkhorst
Damian Monkhorst is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the VFL/AFL.'Monkey' came to Collingwood from Woori Yallock and made his debut in 1988. The 202cm, 116kg big man was classed as a no.1 ruckman as soon as he got to Victoria Park, and his early career headed him to become a...
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
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
in round 15, propelled by stunning performances from Nathan Buckley
Nathan Buckley
Nathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football player, commentator and coach, best known for his time as captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
and Saverio Rocca
Saverio Rocca
Saverio "Sav" Giovanni Rocca is a punter for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League and former Australian rules footballer for both and in the Australian Football League. He has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles.He is one of a few players who have converted from...
proving the tonic to hold the record at bay. For the time being.
With the recruitment of Anthony Rocca
Anthony Rocca
Anthony Rocca is a former Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the Australian Football League...
, 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
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
, the rot set in for good, the team capitulating to go down in demoralising fashion, only Jason Wild and Richard Osborne
Richard Osborne
Richard Osborne is a former Australian rules footballer who enjoyed a lengthy career in the VFL/AFL. He played a total of 283 games in 17 seasons, and played with four different clubs, as well as representing Victoria 7 times in interstate competition.Originally from Bulleen/Templestowe, he...
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
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
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
Victoria Park, Melbourne
Victoria Park is a sports venue in Abbotsford a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Built for the purpose of both Australian rules football and cricket, the stadium is oval shaped....
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.
1999: A Low Point
One loss followed another, as the team plummeted to an all new low, losing the final six matches of the year.
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 personality 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
Rupert Betheras
Rupert James Betheras is an Australian rules footballer formerly playing in the Australian Football League.-Early career:...
. 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
Scott Crow (footballer)
Scott Crow is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn and Collingwood in the Australian Football League .An on-baller from Port Fairy, Crow was the 44th pick of the 1990 AFL Draft...
, also waved into the sunset (or, in Monkhorst’s case, Moorabbin at St Kilda).
2000s
The 2000s saw the rebuilding of the club with a new president, new coach and new list of players. Within 2 years Collingwood had made it to a grand final ultimately making two appearances in 2002 and 2003, defeated both times by Brisbane who would ultimately win three in a row. The club's performance waned in the 2004-2005 seasons only to return to form again making the finals in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.2000
The beginning of 2000 also signified a new beginning at Victoria Park, the dawn of a bold, bright and hopefully new era for Collingwood. Mick Malthouse, premiership coach for West CoastWest Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
and previously a successful footballer, 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.
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 departure of Brown and Crosisca, 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 WatsonShane Watson (footballer)
Shane Watson is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Australian Football League ....
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
Andrew Ukovic
Andrew Ukovic is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon and Collingwood in the Australian Football League ....
, 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.
2002
In 2002, Collingwood rose from its seven year hiatus from September action, reaching the finals for the first time since it bowed out by two points at the hands of West Coast in 1994, and the Grand Final for the first time since 1990. The club won 13 matches in the home and away rounds, although its late-season trough, which saw it win only one of its last four matches saw most pundits write off the team's prospects in the month that matters. Despite this, the fourth placed Magpies shook the competition to its foundations with a boilover victory against the top of the table Port AdelaidePort Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
at AAMI Stadium
AAMI Stadium
Football Park is an Australian rules football stadium located in West Lakes, a western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia...
in the Qualifying Final. Victory here bought the team a weeks rest, and booked a ticket with Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in the Preliminary Final at the MCG. They won in emphatic fashion highlighted by a six goal third term, Anthony Rocca
Anthony Rocca
Anthony Rocca is a former Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the Australian Football League...
's 75m pearler the stand out, while Betheras and Freeborn
Freeborn
"Freeborn" is a term associated with political agitator John Lilburne , a member of the Levellers, a 17th-century English political party. As a word, "freeborn" means to be born free, rather than to be born in slavery or bondage or vassalage...
's majors were rewarded with roars louder than any other witnessed by the famous stadium. The win took them to the Grand Final, where the young Magpies acquitted themselves brilliantly, only to lose by nine points to the powerful Brisbane.
2003
The 2003 season was seen as a form of redemption, and began well, with three wins from the first three encounters, as well as an appearance in the Wizard Cup Grand Final, only to lose to Adelaide. With the club the talk of the town, the Pies bubble burst, and reached the halfway mark of the season with six wins and six losses. A playing list that resilient rarely stays down for too long, and so it proved, with Nathan BuckleyNathan Buckley
Nathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football player, commentator and coach, best known for his time as captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
playing some career best football, igniting the side en route to finishing second on the ladder, winning 10 of its last 11 matches. A gritty win over bogy side Brisbane in the Qualifying Final was followed a fortnight later by a breezy 44 point triumph over Port Adelaide, securing the club's appearance in a grand final for the second year running, again to be played against Brisbane.
Here, however, is where things started to change, the club first relishing in its VFL affiliate Williamstown's Grand Final victory on the Sunday, in a fitting send off to retiring warriors Mark Richardson
Mark Richardson (footballer)
Mark Richardson is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Australian Football League .Recruited from Macleod, Richardson came from a strong footballing family...
, Jarrod Molloy
Jarrod Molloy
Jarrod Molloy was an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.A key position player, Molloy was trialled in both attack and defence as his career wore on, with most success enjoyed near the goalmouth....
and Glenn Freeborn
Glenn Freeborn
Glenn Freeborn was an Australian rules football player for both North Melbourne and Collingwood in the Australian Football League. Originally drafted by Melbourne, Freeborn was delisted without playing a game. A durable utility, Freeborn is best known for his three goals in the Kangaroos 1996...
. On the Monday night, Buckley was crowned the Brownlow Medallist, in a three-way tie with Mark Ricciuto
Mark Ricciuto
Mark Anthony Ricciuto is a former Australian rules football player, who played for the Adelaide Crows in the Australian Football League...
and Adam Goodes
Adam Goodes
Adam Goodes is a professional Australian rules football player with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League ....
after years of near misses. The rot set in when key forward, and the club's most important player, Anthony Rocca
Anthony Rocca
Anthony Rocca is a former Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the Australian Football League...
was suspended for two weeks for striking Port Adelaide's Brendon Lade
Brendon Lade
Brendon Lade is a former Australian rules footballer who spent his entire AFL career with the Port Adelaide Football Club.- Early Career :...
in the Preliminary Final. For the second year in succession, the Pies were to be robbed of a vital cog in its well oiled engine.
Although going in to the Grand Final as favourites, Collingwood was beaten by a Brisbane side written off by many as too old and too slow. The Lions peppered the goals in the opening term, before taking advantage of the shellshocked Magpies with a six goal to one second term. Only late plastic surgery to the scoreboard was able to save Collingwood any face, the Lions victorious for the third year on the trot by a whopping 50 points. The club was subjected to a summer-long period of ridicule, the ramifications of the loss stirring the mindset of the team for the next two years.
2004-2006
In 2004 and 2005, Collingwood finished 13th and 15th respectively, and by the end of the latter season, it appeared the team moulded since 2000 was broken. In spite of the predictions of the game's experts, Malthouse regenerated the side through the recruitment of a number of likely young products including Dale ThomasDale Thomas (footballer)
Dale Robert Jordan Thomas is a professional Australian rules football player currently with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early life:...
and Scott Pendlebury
Scott Pendlebury
Scott Pendlebury is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Early life :...
, while Travis Cloke
Travis Cloke
Travis Cloke is a professional Australian rules footballer playing in the Australian Football League. Cloke was drafted under the father-son rule by Collingwood in the 3rd round of the 2004 AFL Draft...
had arrived a year earlier.
Collingwood made a blistering start to its 2006 campaign before a sudden loss of form following a torrid evening against Brisbane in round 10 derailed the season. Despite this, three late season victories took the side to fifth rung on the ladder, only to be uncerominiously swiped from the finals series by a Footscray outfit obsessed with outrunning their opposition. The loss left many questioning whether the era was over, but the coming season was to prove Collingwood would continue to remain a successful side.
2007
For more information see: 2007 AFL season2007 AFL season
The 2007 AFL Season was the 111th season of the Australian Football League, the highest-level professional Australian rules football league in Australia...
Malthouse coached brilliantly throughout 2007, blooding 10 debutants while champions Buckley, James Clement
James Clement
James Clement is a former professional Australian rules footballer for Collingwood and Fremantle in the Australian Football League...
and Paul Licuria
Paul Licuria
Paul Licuria is an Australian rules footballer, formerly in the Australian Football League. His father is Italian and his mother is Spanish.-Sydney Football Club:...
were sidelined through injury. Such was the side's ability to tough out any onfield situation it faced, they achieved the rare success of never losing more than one match at a time. Despite finishing outside of the top four, the Magpies made it through to the Grand Final qualifier following stirring victories over the past two champions in Sydney and West Coast, but went down to Geelong by five points before a crowd of 98,002 attracting a higher attendance than the actual Grand Final, in a game that was ultimately referred to as the 'real' 2007 Grand Final.
Skipper Buckley
Nathan Buckley
Nathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football player, commentator and coach, best known for his time as captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
retired in the ensuing weeks, as did Clement
James Clement
James Clement is a former professional Australian rules footballer for Collingwood and Fremantle in the Australian Football League...
and Licuria
Paul Licuria
Paul Licuria is an Australian rules footballer, formerly in the Australian Football League. His father is Italian and his mother is Spanish.-Sydney Football Club:...
, a changing of the guard apparent, as the young Magpies, such as Dale Thomas
Dale Thomas (footballer)
Dale Robert Jordan Thomas is a professional Australian rules football player currently with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early life:...
, Scott Pendlebury
Scott Pendlebury
Scott Pendlebury is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Early life :...
, Martin Clarke
Martin Clarke
Martin 'Marty' Clarke is a Gaelic footballer from Cranfield Point, County Down, Northern Ireland. He is also an Australian rules footballer for Collingwood in the Australian Football League.- Underage :...
and Nick Maxwell
Nick Maxwell
Nick Maxwell is an Australian rules football player and current captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Early life :...
proved themselves capable of not only keeping the club near the top end of the ladder, but perhaps within reach of premiership success in the years to come.
2008
For more information see: 2008 AFL season2008 AFL season
-Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5:-Round 6 :-Round 7:-AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match:-Round 8:...
Collingwood loses to St. Kilda in the 1st Semi-Final.
2009
For more information see 2009 AFL season2009 AFL season
-Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Round 6:-Round 7:-Round 8:-Round 9 :-Round 10:...
Collingwood loses to Geelong in the preliminary final.