https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au The complete history of Australia's greatest sporting club Tue, 30 Jan 2024 23:13:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.21 https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/five-of-the-best-from-2010/ Sun, 04 Nov 2018 23:46:50 +0000 https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=13066

MAXY’S DESPERATE DIVE, 2010 GRAND FINAL DRAW, LAST QUARTER

It’s hard to believe there were some (not Magpie supporters, mind you) who doubted Collingwood’s 2010 captain Nick Maxwell. The comeback to them should always be ‘Go back and have a look at the last quarter of the Grand Final draw’. Do that, and you will find a footballer who did everything in his power to try and save, and then try and win his team a Grand Final! Maxwell’s last quarter heroics were extraordinary. Time and again, his desperation was critical to Collingwood’s fortunes that day, as it had been throughout his career. One of the biggest moments of the 2010 Grand Final came about 18 minutes into the last quarter. The Magpies were clinging to a one-point lead, there was seven minutes of game time on the clock and St Kilda appeared to have the momentum. A stoppage inside the Saints’ forward 50m ended with Maxwell’s counterpart Nick Riewoldt getting hold of the ball and slamming it onto his boot in the general direction of goal. It evaded a horde of players around the contest and bounced towards goal as the Magpie army held its collective breath. The only man between the ball and the goal line was Maxwell, who chased desperately as the ball bobbled up and down. It looked like a certain goal. Then, Maxwell launched himself at full stretch, and somehow extended his hands to touch the ball just before it crosses the line. It was stirring, inspirational stuff. As Denis Cometti said: “Maxwell tracking it back, touching it right on the line … watch it again, for a moment it looks gone … he does brilliantly.” “Captain’s kick; captain’s spoil,” Bruce McAvaney said. The slow-motion replay and aerial shows the full extent of Maxwell’s effort to get to the ball to touch it. Contrast that with the image of the anguish on the faces of the St Kilda supporters who had, for the briefest of moments, thought it was a goal, and that the flag was headed back to Moorabbin. As Scott Pendlebury said on The Final Draw, “That’s why he was the captain.”

2. MAXY’S MARK, DAWESY’S HANDBALL, TRAV’S GOAL, 2010 GRAND FINAL DRAW, LAST QUARTER

Not content with his first act, Nick Maxwell played just as important a role in what would be Collingwood’s last goal of the 2010 Grand Final draw. The Saints led by five points, with less than four minutes remaining, when a clearing kick from Sam Fisher looked for a target in Sam Gilbert on the wing on the AFL members’ side. Stationary, Gilbert looked set to take a steadying mark. But Maxwell, a player in full motion, had other ideas. He came in from the side and launched himself at the contest, edging his opponent out of the way, taking a stirring mark. Better still, sensing the time ticking away, he immediately turned around and played on. He took a bounce and his little chip kick found Alan Didak, who followed the club’s game plan by pushing out deeper towards the boundary line where he found Steele Sidebottom, who then chipped to a loose Brent Macaffer. Macaffer ran to almost the 50m line and fired the ball deep in towards the square. Chris Dawes was edged off the ball and fell to the ground as Heath Shaw almost dragged down a mark. Almost inexplicably, the ball fell to Dawes, still on the turf, and he had the good sense and accuracy to handball to Travis Cloke who was beside him. Cloke stepped into the goal square and slammed it though the goal that put Collingwood in front again – by a point. As Tom Harley said: “It was a typical Collingwood build-up, it went down the line …” Yes, there was plenty to play out in the next 205 seconds of game time – that Lenny Hayes point, the bounce of the ball that evaded Stephen Milne and the desperation of the Collingwood defence – but without that Maxy mark, there might not have been a draw.

3. MICK’S MESSAGE, 2010 GRAND FINAL DRAW NIGHT, AT THE FUNCTION CENTRE

Chaos ensured after the Grand Final draw, but a handful of select people from Collingwood helped to provide some certainty to what was an uncertain time. Eddie McGuire was one of those who made sure the lessons of history would be understood. Remembering the stories of what had happened in 1977, after another drawn Grand Final, the president made sure the Pies players still attended the Grand Final dinner; St Kilda’s players did not. There, at the function that night, coach Mick Malthouse set the scene for the week ahead. In a stirring speech, directed at the players, but which also gave some strength those around the club and those barracking for it, Malthouse declared that the drawn game had simply meant it was “half time”, with four more quarters to play. It provided a message of hope, not lost opportunity; of confidence rather than of dented pride. He gave his players great praise for the way they had fought back when the game looked to have slipped their grasp, and for holding on when they had to. “We are in the same place as we were eight days ago,” he said, leaning defiantly into the microphone. He expressed his faith in the club’s conditioning staff to ensure the players would be ready for another shot at the flag, and said the players’ experiences in the preseason camp to Arizona had steeled them for what was to come next. Then he finished with the message that summed up the club’s week ahead, which have now gone into folklore. “If you treat this as a loss, it will be,” he said. “If you treat this as an opportunity, it will be. If we treat this the way we have rebounded all year, then we will go in with the utmost confidence.”

4. SMOTHER OF THE CENTURY, 2010 GRAND FINAL REPLAY, FIRST QUARTER

Collingwood was desperate to make a fast start to the Grand Final replay and had much of the play in the first 20 minutes. For all that, two goals (to Tyson Goldsack and Ben Johnson) were the only rewards. So when Nick Riewoldt was lurking deep in attack – seemingly all on his own – and the ball was sailing to him at the 20-minute-mark, the hearts of Collingwood fans every sank. It seemed certain the Saints were about to get their first goal. Enter Heath Shaw. Almost from nowhere, the Collingwood defender emerged to produce one of the most inspiration single passages of play in Grand Final history. “The Smother of the Century”, as Shaw would later call it with a smile”, was precisely that. He snuck up on Riewoldt “like a librarian”, as Dennis Cometti so perfectly put it, and knocked the ball from the Saints’ skipper hands, through for a behind. Shaw recounted: “I thought, ‘You don’t die wondering … I might as well have a crack at it’.” That one desperate lunge would be the defining moment of the game, a sign of what the Collingwood players were prepared to do to win the flag. It was an extraordinary team-lifting moment, one that his teammates couldn’t help but be inspired by, and one that will be remembered forever. What is less frequently recalled is the following passage of play that saw the ball move from one end of the MCG to the other. From the kick in, the ball wound its way down to the other end, resulting in Brent Macaffer kicking a goal to put the Magpies in front by 19 points. The Magpies never looked back from that moment.

5. DIDS TO THE FORE, 2010 GRAND FINAL REPLAY, THIRD QUARTER

Alan Didak almost didn’t play in the 2010 finals series. He had torn a pectoral muscle leading into September, but was determined that it wouldn’t stop him from chasing that premiership dream. The fact that he produced one of the best moments of this Grand Final – at the 15-minute-mark of the third term – was a remarkable achievement, one forever etched in the memories of Magpie fans. The Magpies were 40 points clear at that time, but fans were still a little twitchy, worried about a possible comeback. Jason Blake was looking to clear the ball out of the defensive zone when Didak sensed an opportunity. He smothered the kick then re-gathered the ball before launching a right-foot kick around his body to kick the goal. It went through the middle. Then he let out a trademark shimmy, knowing the goal had quelled any hope of a Saints’ revival, signalling to the Pies fans. It was an act of pure genius. For a footballer who loved the clutch moments, he loved having the ball in his hands when his team needed it. Sure, in hindsight, the Magpies looked to be safe even before this Didak goal, but his sensational goal put a full stop on any fears this game was in danger. It was vintage Didak, and all the more memorable because he was doing it under sufferance. Collingwood would go on to win the game by 56 points, the biggest margin of any Magpie Grand Final win.]]> https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/collingwoods-rising-stars/ Sun, 02 Sep 2018 07:41:14 +0000 https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=12926 1. Saverio Rocca, Round 13, 1993 One of Collingwood’s best forwards of the 1990s, Sav Rocca‘s four goals in a losing game against West Coast prompted his nomination after his 22nd game. But his career went into overdrive the week after.  In that game – his 23rd overall – Rocca kicked a bag of 10 goals against Richmond and a fortnight after that he booted another 10 against Footscray on his way to 73 goals for the year. He never got a look in for the overall award though, with the likes of Nathan Buckley, James Hird, Shane Crawford, Glenn Archer, Scott West, Matthew Richardson, Dustin Fletcher and Mark Mercuri making it one of the strongest years on record. 2. Kent Butcher, Round 8, 1994 Twenty disposals in Collingwood’s big win over St Kilda in Kent Butcher‘s 10th game were enough to win the weekly gong. He arguably had a better game the following week, with 26 touches against North Melbourne, but the running backman would manage only another 12 games in black and white before transferring to Sydney, where he did not play a game. 3. Jon Hassall, Round 22, 1994 One of five Magpies to be forever frozen on 50 games with the club, Hassall played 23 games in his debut season with the club in 1994, leaving his Rising Star nomination until round 22. He had 18 touches in the club’s heavy loss to North Melbourne. It was his 20th AFL match and the run-with defender would win the club’s best first year player that season. He would end up playing a further 44 games with Hawthorn from 1997-99. 4. Andrew Schauble, Round 7, 1996 A consistent player in his early years at Collingwood, Andrew Schauble came under notice in his 10th game when nominated for a 14-disposal, one-goal performance in a loss to St Kilda in 1995. It would be the best statistical year of his five seasons – and 79 games – with the Magpies. After a trade to Sydney, he won the Swans’ best-and-fairest award in 2000. 5. Mal Michael, Round 18, 1997 Mal Michael was a three-time premiership player, but sadly not with Collingwood. He won his gong in only his ninth game, after a great defensive game against St Kilda in late 1997, in his debut year. He would manage only 61 games in four seasons in Black and White before his successful move to Brisbane, where he won his flags. Two of them came against Collingwood, which hurt those who fondly remembered him in the No.48 jumper. 6. Nick Davis, Round 5, 1999 Essendon staved off a fast-finishing Collingwood in the 1999 ANZAC Day clash, and while Mark Mercuri would eventually be adjudged the ANZAC Day Medal winner, Nick Davis got his own tick for a strong performance in only his fifth AFL game. Nineteen-year-old Davis had 18 touches and five inside 50s in the eight-point loss and such was his efforts that he was nominated a few days later as the Rising Star of the week. He, too, would be off to a new club after four seasons, heading to Sydney, where he would play in the 2005 flag side. 7. Paul Licuria, Round 18, 1999 After 10 games across two seasons with Sydney, Paul Licuria craved a return to Melbourne and to the club he barracked for as a kid. He got that in 1999, and after only his ninth game with his new club – and 19th overall – he received a Rising Star nomination with a 28-touch effort against West Coast – wearing the unfamiliar No.32 before switching to No.18 the following year. 8. Damien Adkins, Round 3, 2000 Magpie fans wondered if they were witnessing the birth of a new star in Damien Adkins‘ first few games in Mick Malthouse’s first season as coach. He kicked two goals on debut against Hawthorn and a further two and had 19 touches in round three against Carlton, for which the 19-year-old copped his Rising Star nomination. Injuries and inconsistent form cruelled his career and he was gone within three seasons, before being traded to West Coast for Andrew Williams. He played in the Eagles’ 2004 Elimination Final side, but missed selection in the 2005 Grand Final. 9. Josh Fraser, Round 6, 2000 Collingwood’s only No.1 draft selection, 18-year-old Josh Fraser made an instant impact, winning the Rising Star nomination for his Round 6 effort against North Melbourne. He had 17 disposals in the game, kicked a goal and played forward and shared the ruck duties with Steven McKee. 10. Ryan Lonie, Round 4, 2001 Ryan Lonie had a fine debut year for Collingwood, winning a Rising Star nomination in only his fourth game, against Richmond in 2001. He not only ended up playing 21 games in that debut season, his hard-running and long kicking even saw him poll 11 votes in the final tally won by St Kilda’s Justin Koschitzke. 11. Jason Cloke, Round 6, 2002 Collingwood’s massive 83-point win over St Kilda was good enough for Magpie fans, but it got even better on the Monday afternoon when the AFL announced Jason Cloke as the Rising Star nomination for the week after only his fifth game. The defender had 17 touches and five tackles, in a debut season which finished with a heartbreaking suspension in the preliminary final. 12. Mark McGough, Round 10, 2002 You would probably assume that Mark McGough‘s Rising Star nomination would have come from his Anzac Day dominance in only his second game. It didn’t. The 17-year-old school boy had to wait until his seventh game to get the AFL honour, after he had 16 touches against Sydney in round 10. McGough would be a comet flashing before Collingwood supporters’ eyes in only three seasons before moving briefly to St Kilda. 13. Alan Didak, Round 16, 2002 Alan Didak gave a few hints of his brilliance in his five games in 2001, but that just kept escalating in the years to come. In his second season, and in his 16th game, the skilful forward had 13 touches and kicked two goals as a sure sign this kid was going to be a star. And that performance won him a Rising Star nomination. 14. Richard Cole, Round 17, 2003 In his second season at the club, and in a one-sided game against the old enemy Carlton, Richard Cole put his name forward for a Rising Star mention when he had 17 touches and kicked a goal. Frustratingly, his four seasons at Collingwood, and his two at Essendon, did not yield what anyone would have wanted, despite the fact that he polled well in the 2004 Copeland. 15. Matthew Lokan, Round 22, 2003 An unlikely success story for Collingwood in his debut season of 2003, Matty Lokan played every game (including the Grand Final), playing across half-back, won the club’s best first year player and received the final Rising Star nomination that year. Struggled to make an impact after that, but made the most of his AFL career. 16. Guy Richards, Round 9, 2004 The ruckman enjoyed a solid 2004 season, playing 12 games, winning the club’s best first year player, and receiving a Rising Star nomination after having 15 touches, kicking a goal and having 13 hit outs against Adelaide. 17. Travis Cloke, Round 10, 2005 Six games into his AFL career, Travis Cloke won the Rising Star nod for his 15-disposal, six-mark and one-goal performance in the club’s win over Hawthorn. 18. Dale Thomas, Round 2, 2006 His first game produced a screamer and two goals; his second yielded 20 disposals and no goals but won him the Rising Star weekly prize. 19. Heath Shaw, Round 5, 2006 Heath Shaw polled 32 votes – and was third – in the overall count of 2006. He won his nomination in round five, in his 10th game, when he had 23 touches and nine rebound 50s in the clash with Port Adelaide. 20. Scott Pendlebury, Round 4, 2007 Surprisingly, Pendles didn’t get the Rising Star nomination out of nine games in his first year (2006), but he wasted little time in getting the recognition in his second. In round four – his 13th game – the star midfielder had 20 touches and kicked two goals against the Power. Pendlebury polled 37 votes, only seven votes behind the eventual winner Joel Selwood. 21. Marty Clarke, Round 13, 2007 A week after his stunning debut against Sydney, Marty Clarke won the Rising Star weekly tick in only his second game, with a three-goal 19-disposal effort against Hawthorn that had plenty of people talking about the Irishman. 22. Tyson Goldsack, Round 21, 2007 Tyson Goldsack‘s Rising Star nomination in only his 13th game for the club also produced what is still his best disposal count. He had 25 touches against the Swans, and it’s still his personal best for a game. 23. Nathan Brown, Round 10, 2008 Consistency in defence in his first 10 games proved the key to Nathan Brown‘s Rising Star nomination in a 100-point win over West Coast in his first season. 24. Jaxson Barham, Round 4, 2009 Jaxson Barham had the dream start to what would ultimately be a brief AFL career. Wearing his father Ricky’s old No.43, he had 28 touches on debut against Brisbane in round four, 2009, and won the Rising Star nomination from his first game. But not much else followed. He holds the record with St Kilda’s Brodie Atkinson for the least amount of career games for a Rising Star nominee – seven. 25. Brad Dick, Round 11, 2009 Who could ever forget Brad Dick‘s five-goal haul against Melbourne on Queen’s Birthday, 2009, in only his 11th game? But for a few other flashy moments, he never reached those same heights, held back by injuries. He would end up playing 27 games for the club before heading to West Coast where he failed to play a game. 26. Dayne Beams, Round 17, 2009 Two goals and 21 disposals in a big win over Carlton showed Collingwood fans just how good Dayne Beams would become. 27. Ben Reid, Round 12, 2010 He made steady progress during his first three years, but Ben Reid had a memorable 2010 season for many reasons, predominantly the premiership. But he also won a Rising Star nomination after his 17th game. 28. Alex Fasolo, Round 22, 2011 Nineteen disposals, two goals and a Rising Star gong – that all came for Alex Fasolo in round 22, 2011. He had kicked five goals three week earlier but it was not deemed to be his moment. The judges were never going to let that happen this time around, and he capped off a strong debut season by playing in a losing Grand Final side. 29. Ben Sinclair, Round 11, 2012 Playing his 15th AFL game, Ben Sinclair received his nomination for his three-goal effort against Melbourne in Round 11, 2012. It was a perfect Queen’s Birthday for the blond haired man in the No. 28 jumper. 30. Marley Williams, Round 18, 2013 Just five days after his 20th birthday, Marley Williams got a belated present – a weekly nomination for the Rising Star. It was after his good form in round 18, 2013, when he had 16 touches against GWS. 31. Brodie Grundy, Round 22, 2013 Brodie Grundy not only ousted Darren Jolly out of the ruck role in late 2013, he won a Rising Star shout-out for his performance in Round 22, against West Coast. But he only got one vote in the tally at the end of the season, which was won by Jaeger O’Meara (44). 32. Tom Langdon, Round 7, 2014 Tom Langdon won his Rising Star recognition in his seventh game in 2014, when he had 23 touches in Collingwood’s win over Carlton. 33. Tim Broomhead, Round 11, 2015 Twenty five disposals and a goal was enough to lift Tim Broomhead to the Rising Star nomination in round 11 this year. 34. Jordan De Goey, Round 20, 2015 Jordan De Goey got his nomination for his gutsy performance against Sydney at the SCG, when he had 18 touches and kicked a vital goal. 35. Darcy Moore, Round 19, 2016 Darcy Moore played just 34 per cent of the match against West Coast at the MCG. But it was enough for him to kick three goals and two behinds from six marks before injury ended his day. 36. Tom Phillips, Round 9, 2017 The 21-year-old collected 24 disposals, four rebounds and laid three tackles during Collingwood’s thrilling comeback win over Hawthorn. 37. Sam Murray, Round 3, 2018 Months after being traded from Sydney, Murray made his league debut against Hawthorn in round one, and by round three, courtesy of his 21 disposals, seven marks and four tackles against the Blues, found himself on the receiving end of a Rising Star nomination. 38. Jaidyn Stephenson, Round 4, 2018 At just 19 years of age, Stephenson, playing his fourth game, kicked five goals to spearhead Collingwood to its first win in South Australia since 2012. At the end of the season he would go on to become the first Collingwood player ever to win the Rising Star award, with a record count of 52 votes.]]>