Collingwood Football Club

Collingwood Football Club

Names
Full name	Collingwood Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Magpies, Pies, Maggies, The Woods, Carringbush
Motto	Floreat Pica
Season 2009
Leading Goalkicker	Jack Anthony (50)
Best & Fairest	Dane Swan
Club Details
Founded	1892
Colours	Black and      White
Coach	Mick Malthouse
Captain(s)	Nick Maxwell[1]
Premierships	14 (1902, 1903, 1910, 1917, 1919, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1935, 1936, 1953, 1958, 1990)
Ground(s)	Melbourne Cricket Ground Yarra Park Melbourne (Capacity: 100,018 capacity1)
	Docklands Stadium Melbourne (Capacity: 55,000 capacity)
Other information
Official website	www.collingwoodfc.com.au
Guernsey:

Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). Formed in 1892, the club traditionally represented the working class of the inner-Melbourne suburb of Collingwood; however it has now moved its training and administration base to Gosch's Paddock and the Westpac Centre (formerly Lexus Centre), at Olympic Park in Melbourne. In 2000, Collingwood moved its home games from its traditional suburban home ground, Victoria Park, to the much larger Melbourne Cricket Ground.

It is one of the most-supported clubs in the league. The club has consistently attracted much higher than average crowds to their games than other Victorian clubs in the league. In 1970, 121,696 spectators watched Collingwood and Carlton contest the Grand Final, the record attendance for a football game of any code in Australia. Collingwood currently boasts 57,617 members^[2] and the largest membership base of all the AFL clubs. As a result, several of the league's annual blockbuster matches, including the Anzac Day clash and the Queen's Birthday Clash feature Collingwood. Due to the club's crowd pulling power, on several occasions the AFL has been accused of favouring Collingwood when scheduling the fixture to maximise the league's attendance figures.^[3][4][5]

Collingwood's guernseys sport a black and white striped design, similar to the colours of a magpie, emblazoned with the magpie emblem and the motto "Floreat Pica" ("Flourish Magpies", or "May the Magpies prosper!").^[6]

Throughout its history, the club has developed a number of rivalries with cross-town and interstate clubs. Traditional Melbourne suburban rivalries with Essendon,^[7] Richmond and Carlton^[8] remain fierce. Collingwood has gained interstate rivals, particularly in Port Adelaide and Brisbane, but has retained the reputation in the national competition as the "team everybody loves to hate".^[9]

Collingwood have played in a record 40 Grand Finals, winning 14, drawing 1 and losing 25. In season 2010, Collingwood beat their previous membership record of 46,430, reaching 57,617.

History

Formation and early years

The Collingwood Football Club was born on the cusp of one of the world's worst depressions in February 1892.^[10] Collingwood played its first game in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), the premier football competition at the time, against Carlton Football Club on 7 May 1892.^[11] The club won the VFA Premiership in 1896.

In 1897, Collingwood, along 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). Despite being the youngest club it did not take long for the Magpies to establish themselves on the new football landscape.

During the 1920s and 1930s Collingwood was the most successful club and, by 1936, it had won 11 premierships in the first 40 years of the VFL competition. The club achieved many things including winning a record four premierships in a row from 1927 to 1930, an undefeated season in 1929, a Brownlow medalist and the longest ever serving coach, Jock McHale, who played for Collingwood from 1902 to 1921 and coached from 1912 to 1949.

Recent history

The 1990 Premiership team, coached by Leigh Matthews and captained by Tony Shaw, had a one-sided grand final win against Essendon, the Magpies recording a 48 point victory and ending a 32 year premiership drought which included eight grand final losses and one draw.

After this, 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 and the club ultimately earned a second wooden spoon in 1999. Within a few years, with a change of coach, playing list and club president, Collingwood reached consecutive grand finals in 2002 and 2003 losing both to the Brisbane Lions.

Collingwood's Home and Clash Jumpers, 2002–2008

Collingwood's Home Jumper with club logo included, used from 2009

Collingwood's Clash Jumper with club logo included, used from 2009

Membership

Off field

Collingwood captains: (l to r) S. Coventry, C. Tyson, A. Kyne and M. Weidemann.

Collingwood was one of the last clubs to abandon its traditional stadium, the famous inner-city Victoria Park. Collingwood now plays home games at the MCG. It now also has its headquarters situated in the former Glasshouse Entertainment Centre which is now called "The Westpac Centre" This was renamed from the "Lexus Centre" after they changed sponsors late March.. 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."

Rivalries

Collingwood is arguably a fierce rival of each of the other 15 teams in the competition—due to its name, supporters and history. Carlton is the club's most bitter arch-rival, with Essendon close behind. Rivalries with Richmond and Melbourne have faded slightly off late because teams have not enjoyed on-field success at the same time; however, the feeling of resentment still lingers. Collingwood's two opponents in the themed Rivalry Rounds staged to date have been Carlton (2005–2006, 2009) and Richmond (2007–2008). In recent times, rivalries have been sparked with the new interstate clubs, including Port Adelaide, and Brisbane (some of the Brisbane rivalry possibly originating from Brisbane’s Fitzroy history).

The Collingwood/Carlton rivalry is said to be the fiercest of all sporting rivalries in Australia. For full details see Carlton–Collingwood AFL rivalry

The rivalry between Collingwood and Melbourne was at its peak between 1955 and 1964, when the two played off in the grand final on five occasions. This included the 1958 Grand Final where Collingwood’s victory prevented Melbourne from equalling Collingwood’s record of four premierships in succession (1927—1930).

Collingwood's rivalry with Essendon has become increasingly fierce and significant since 1995, when the first ANZAC Day clash took place. The ANZAC Day clash is now widely considered the second most important match of the season, behind only the grand final, particularly by supporters of Collingwood and Essendon. The clash is often closely fought regardless of the teams’ ladder positions. Collingwood have won the clash 8 times, Essendon 7 times with one match being drawn.

The rivalry with Port Adelaide stems from the Power being known as the Magpies in their local SANFL competition before switching to the Power when entering the League in 1997. Feelings were heightened when Port midfielder Kane Cornes 'flipped the bird' at Nick Davis following the Power's five point victory over the Magpies at AAMI Stadium in Round 9, 2002, only moments after Anthony Rocca had missed the opportunity to tie the scores. Jarrod Molloy and Brodie Holland remonstrated with Cornes after the match, with a feeling of hostility lingering after the two sides had left the field. Collingwood unexpectedly beat the Power in the Qualifying Final that season, also at AAMI stadium. Collingwood again defeated Port Adelaide in the 2003 Preliminary Final at the MCG. This added to the ‘choking’ phenomenon directed at the Power. The off-field battle over Port's desire to wear black and white stripes which was a major talking point between 2002 and 2007, added to the rivalry. A resolution was reached in favour of Collingwood.

The first signs of a Collingwood/Brisbane rivalry originated in 1999, when Brisbane comprehensively beat the Magpies in the last ever AFL match at Victoria Park. In Round 8 2002 Collingwood beat Brisbane by three points in a tense match in front of 46,279 people at Colonial Stadium (. This victory over the reigning premier took the Magpies to equal top of the league table (2nd on percentage) with Brisbane. The rivalry grew with the 2002 Grand Final when Brisbane beat Collingwood by nine points. The rivalry grew again in 2003 when the two clubs clashed on four occasions. The Lions defeated the Magpies at the The Gabba in Round 4 before thrashing them in Heritage Round—Round 19 at the MCG. Collingwood then defeated Brisbane in the Qualifying Final with Alan Didak ensuring victory late in the final quarter, with two goals, each with high difficulty, from the boundary line. The rivalry peaked in the 2003 Grand Final with Brisbane easily defeating Collingwood to win the premiership. In 2004's Grand Final, Brisbane, playing against Port Adelaide, had the chance to equal Collingwood's record of four premierships in a row. This caused many Collingwood fans to temporarily ignore the Port Adelaide rivalry and hope for a Power victory.

Games between Collingwood and Geelong have become highly anticipated since 2007. In Round 15 Geelong beat Collingwood by 16 points in a high-quality match. In the Preliminary final Collingwood surprised many when they came within 5 points of the eventual premiers. In 2008 Collingwood thrashed Geelong by 86 points—20.14 (134)- 7.6 (48) causing Geelong’s only loss of the year. In 2009, the sides again met in the preliminary final, but despite high hopes the Cats, who would again win the premiership, won by 73 points in front of another massive crowd of 87,258.^[13]:92 In 2010, the two sides emerged as the favourites for the flag and twice met in front of blockbuster crowds at the MCG when they were placed 1st and 2nd on the ladder—with the results evenly split.

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

• Lightning Premierships: (2)

1941 1951

• McClelland Trophy:(6)

1959 1960 1964 1965 1966 2010

• Runners Up: (25) Record

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

• Undefeated In the Home and Away Season

1929 *18 Rounds

• Wooden Spoons:(2)

1976 1999

Current playing list

Squad changes for 2010

Ins)

• Luke Ball (picked up from draft for draft pick 30)
• Simon Buckley (picked up from draft for draft pick 85)
• Josh Thomas(picked up from draft for draft pick 75)
• Ben Sinclair (picked up from draft for draft pick 62)

Rookie Ins

• Tom Hunter (picked up from rookie draft at selection 18)
• Jack Carter (picked up from rookie draft at selection 34)
• Seamus McNamara (picked up from rookie draft at selection 47)

Outs

• Chris Bryan (delisted)
• Danny Stanley (delisted)
• Marty Clarke (retired)
• Kevin Dyas (retired)
• Johnny Benell (delisted)
• Toby Thoolen (delisted)
• Anthony Rocca (retired)
• Shannon Cox (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)

Champions of the colony

• Bill Strickland (1896)
• Dick Condon (1898)
• Fred Leach (1900)
• Ted Rowell (1902)
• Dick Lee (1910, 1915)
• Syd Coventry (1927, 1929)
• Gordon Coventry (1933)
• Harry Collier (1936)
• Jack Regan (1938)

Leigh Matthews Trophy winners

• Darren Millane (1990)

Coleman Medal winners

• Ian Brewer (1958)
• Peter McKenna (1972, 1973)
• Brian Taylor (1986)

Norm Smith Medal winners

• Tony Shaw (1990)
• Nathan Buckley (2002)

E.J Whitten Medalists

• Gavin Brown (1989,1997)

Mark of the Year winners

• Billy Picken (1976)
• Peter Daicos (1980)
• Chris Tarrant (2003)

Goal of the Year winners

• Peter Daicos (1990)
• Mick McGuane (1994)
• Leon Davis (2008)

Anzac Day Medal winners

• Chris Tarrant (2001)
• Mark McGough (2002)
• Ben Johnson (2006)
• Heath Shaw (2007)
• Paul Medhurst (2008)
• Scott Pendlebury (2010)

Jason McCartney Medal winners

• Anthony Rocca 2003
• Ben Johnson 2004
• Chris Tarrant (2006)
• James Clement (2007)
• Tarkyn Lockyer (2009)

Bob Rose—Charlie Sutton Medal winners

• Ben Johnson (2008)
• Dane Swan (2009)

All Australians

• Gavin Brown (1991, 1994)
• Nathan Buckley (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003)
• James Clement (2004, 2005)
• Leon Davis (2009)
• Alan Didak (2006)
• Tony Francis (1991)
• Des Healey (1953)
• Nick Maxwell (2009)
• Mick McGuane (1992)
• Peter McKenna (1972)
• Paul Medhurst (2008)
• Peter Moore (1979)
• Geoff Raines (1985)
• Michael Richardson (1983)
• Bob Rose (1953)
• Chris Tarrant (2003)
• Dane Swan (2009)
• Len Thompson (1972)
• Terry Waters (1969)
• Ricky Watt (1969)

Australian International Rules Representatives

• Gavin Brown (1990)
• Nathan Buckley (1998), (1999 – captain)
• James Clement (2002)
• Alan Didak (2004)
• Scott Pendlebury (2008)
• Dale Thomas (2008)

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 goals kicked in a match: Gordon Coventry

• 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 1999

Team of the Century

Collingwood announced its team of the century on 14 June 1997, celebrating 100 years since the beginning of the VFL. Gavin Brown was added as the 4th interchange player in 2002, as when the team was named in 1997, only three interchange players were permitted on a team.^[14]

Captains

• This list comprises every captain of the club. This list doesn't include deputy captains filling in due to an injury to the named captain, but does include captains named after a player retires or steps down during the season.

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", a popular Boer War and First World War song. The song can be heard being sung in the background of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in the saloon scene, 18 minutes into the movie.

The current version of the song played at the ground was recorded in 1972 by the Fable Singers.^[15]

LYRICS: "Good old Collingwood forever
They know how to play the game (Two, three, four)
Side by side they stick together
To uphold the Magpies name (Cor blimey!)

See the barrackers are shouting
As all barrackers should
Oh, the premiership's a cake walk
For the good old Collingwood!"

Collingwood in the VFA/VFL

From 2000 to 2007 Collingwood was associated with the Williamstown Football Club. However, the desire by Collingwood to re-establish a VFL Collingwood side in 2007 saw the end of that association. As of 2008 Collingwood did just that and is the first AFL team to return fully to VFA/VFL competition. Home matches are played at Princes Park, with three to be played at Victoria Park in 2009.

The Collingwood Football club recently announced that they had reached an agreement with the Yarra City Council for the clubs VFL side to play all the home games at Victoria Park during their 2010 season.

Collingwood in popular culture

• David Williamson's 1977 stage play, The Club, was inspired by the backroom dealings and antics of the Collingwood Football Club; although Collingwood is never mentioned by name. The 1980 film version of the play — directed by Bruce Beresford and starring John Howard, Jack Thompson, Graham Kennedy and Frank Wilson ^[16] — is set at Collingwood, and featured Collingwood players in speaking and non-speaking roles. The film was almost entirely shot on location at Victoria Park, both inside and on the actual oval.^[17]

• Judd Apatow's 2009 film, Funny People, starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen featured a scene with Australian actor Eric Bana trying to explain the rules of Australian rules football.^[18] During this scene Bana's character, a St. Kilda supporter, voices his dislike for Collingwood while watching a televised game.

See also

• List of Collingwood players
• List of Collingwood Football Club coaches
• History of the Collingwood Football Club

Footnotes

Notes

1.^ Including standing room.

References

External links

• Official website of the Collingwood Football Club