James Manson – Collingwood Forever

James Manson – Collingwood Forever 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 Collingwood Cult Figures https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/collingwood-cult-figures/ Thu, 23 Mar 2017 06:00:04 +0000 http://cfc-forever-staging.qodo.com.au/?p=11909 something about them that makes them a favourite of those who cheer from the stands each week. It might be their hair, or their physique, or their temperament, or something about the way they play – the reasons are many and varied. And you can’t force it: it has to happen naturally. These are a football club’s cult heroes. And Collingwood has had plenty of them over the years, especially in the decades since TV and media coverage has boomed. Some have been great players, some have been battlers, some have flattered to deceive. But all have enjoyed a special place in the affections of the black-and-white army. COLLINGWOOD CULT FIGURES ]]> Collingwood Cult Figure: James Manson https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/collingwood-cult-figure-james-manson/ Wed, 25 May 2016 08:29:31 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=10478 James Manson – premiership player, hardworking ruckman/forward, inspirational teammate, and Collingwood cult hero of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Part of that came from his laid-back personality off the field which sometimes seemed at odds with his passionate, aggressive attack on the ball on the ground. It may also have come from his capacity to work himself up before games, which sometimes included crashing into the lockers to fire himself up. But undoubtedly much of the love came from Manson’s awkward kicking style that more often than not had those in the crowd wincing, yet cheering doubly hard whenever he managed to slot through a goal. Manson, by his own admission, wasn’t a great kick. That may be one of football’s great understatements. Asked late in his career what was the funniest thing he had seen on the field, he said with a smile: “Well, it usually involves me. I find it funny to hear people laughing when I kick for goal. Usually, people applaud players who score goals, but they always laugh at me because of the way I kick the ball. I actually don’t think my kicking is that bad! “Technique is something you can’t really change. But you can get more effective.”

Punching from behind during his early days. That he kicked 106 goals in his 120 games in black and white showed that maybe his technique looked worse than it was. Famously, in a game against Geelong at Waverley in 1992, Manson grimaced in pain after taking a great mark 20m out near the boundary line. He was attended by two trainers and looked “down for the count” when teammate Ron McKeown was granted the shot instead by the umpire. McKeown’s goal brought about Magpie cheers, but there were jeers from opposition fans as Manson sprang up, offered up a beaming grin and sprinted back to the middle for the next ruck hit-out. After the game, he said: “I’ve had some back trouble, and (the physio) might have thought I’d aggravated it. “I was trying to get my breath back. The umpire asked me if I could take the kick and I asked him to give me a couple of seconds to recover. “But Ronnie grabbed the ball and took kick. I’m spewing about it. I would have loved the chance to kick the goal. I would have backed myself to kick it.” Ever the showman, Manson stuck to his story, even if most people didn’t buy it. But whatever anyone ever said about his kicking, no one could ever question his importance to the Collingwood Football Club at time when the club was desperately chasing that elusive 14th VFL-AFL premiership, nor the pain he went through to achieve the ultimate in football. He became an important part of the jigsaw puzzle the club was piecing together through the mid-to-late 1980s, and he played a role in what unfolded on a memorable October afternoon in 1990.

On the charge along the Victoria Park flank. That seemed fitting as Manson had grown up with a stout Tasmanian football pedigree, while always bleeding Black and White. The son of ‘Gentleman Jim’ Manson, a star footballer with Glenorchy, James loved his footy. But much of his focus was on his favourite club, Collingwood, across Bass Strait. One of Manson’s earliest memories was waking one morning in 1977 and heading to the shops as early as they opened to buy Black and White balloons to decorate the family house. It was Grand Final day, 1977, and the 10-year-old watched on television as Collingwood drew with North Melbourne before losing the replay the following week. As a young footballer, he came under notice of the Magpies, and was recruited to play in the Under 19s and the reserves, where he made an immediate impression due to his willingness to work and his desperation. It was a dream-come-true for the Magpie fan, who once said he would “go and stand in the players’ room for hours and look at the photos and talk to the old players.” Wearing the No.30 jumper that his hero Peter Moore had worn only a few years earlier, Manson graduated to the seniors along with fellow debutants Russell Dickson and Tony Burgess in the round one, 1985 clash with North Melbourne at the MCG. It was a historic match of sorts – the first Friday night game played at the MCG. Brian Taylor kicked seven goals that night; Manson managed one behind and nine possessions. He would kick five goals – 5.0, at that – in only his seventh game on a day in which Collingwood kicked only eight for the game, and Hawthorn scored six. “I was on the bench the next week, for the entire game, and the week after I was dropped,” Manson recalled. Still, he played 18 games in that debut season. But in the following two years he could manage only 10 games, due to chronic groin issues. He had several operations, to the point where Tony Shaw once said “Jimmy has got more lines on his groin than in a Melways.” He re-established himself in the Collingwood team in 1988, and although he stood only 194cm, he became the club’s first choice ruckman for a period, keeping other big men out of the side. One of the biggest compliments came from his coach Leigh Matthews who said Manson “plays the way I like ruckman to play”. He even said Manson reminded him a bit of a young Don Scott. Manson never worried about his size when going up against the huge ruckmen: “I’ve got a pretty good leap. I think I can beat most ruckmen.” He also had a strong mark for someone of his size, and a scan of YouTube today still provides a good example of this. He played 17 games in 1988 and a further 18 the following year. All of this led to Manson’s most productive season, in 1990, which included a strong performance for Tasmania in their win over a Victorian B side. He called that Tassie victory “a dream come true … that probably rates as the biggest game I’ve played in.” Manson had to reassess that statement a few months later as Collingwood charged on towards the 1990 finals series. He didn’t miss a game in that season, kicked 33 goals for the season, and shared the ruck position with a young Damian Monkhorst. He was critical in the drawn Qualifying Final against West Coast, thumping the ball forward on many occasions. For the first part of the finals, he was the No.1 man in that role. But Matthews went with Monkhorst in the first ruck against Simon Madden in the Grand Final, although Manson assisted him ably throughout the game. His captain, Tony Shaw, recalled: “No other bloke his size attacks the ball better. “He has no inhibitions about what he wants to do to the opposition side and the boys get into him about his ‘I want to kill them comment’. He always yells it out. “In the premiership season, he showed a lot of controlled aggression, running at the ball. I say to him every game: ‘If you run hard at the ball, you hurt people’. He’s that bloody boney and strong that he hurts buggers.”

Let’s pretend this never happened… But Shaw also highlighted after 1990 that his injuries might one day cost him: “It will be a year by year thing with him because of what he has gone through.” Manson played 20 matches the following year, including kicking a bag of five goals against Adelaide – five straight again – at Victoria Park. But he struggled in 1992 as Monkhorst clearly bedded down the No.1 ruck slot. Starved of senior opportunities at Victoria Park, Manson was traded to Fitzroy at the end of the 1992 season, and went on to play three seasons and further 47 games with the Lions. But his heart always remained at Collingwood, where he would eventually become a life member. That’s the way Magpie fans prefer to remain the man they affectionately called ‘Charlie’ and whom his teammates used to call “Killer”. Shaw said of Manson: “What can I say about him? I love him.” Collingwood fans will forever say the same.]]> Daicos helps the Pies draw with Roos https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/daicos-helps-the-pies-draw-with-the-roos/ Mon, 04 Aug 2014 09:48:53 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=4662 1977 Grand Final: the absence of Phil Carman due to his suspension from the second semi-final; Collingwood’s remarkable rise from last in 1976 to being the minor premier; the first pre-game entertainment for a Grand Final; the Magpies’ 27-point lead at three quarter-time; North Melbourne’s early inaccuracy and stunning fight back in the last term; all culminating in Ross “Twiggy” Dunne’s famous pack mark and torpedo goal from close range which levelled the scores on 76 each – Collingwood 10.16 (76) to North Melbourne 9.22 (76). The other draw played out between the two teams came 11 years later, and none of the players who been out there for the first draw were out there for the second. The Round 17 clash in 1988 is recalled with less clarity and less colour than the 1977 draw. Contrasting occasions and conditions; the same result, if you like, though there were a few similarities between the two games. In 1977 it was the Magpies who had led by 27 points at three quarter-time before the Kangaroos stormed home with five goals to one in the final term. In 1988, it was North who led by 25 at the last change before Collingwood managed five goals to one in the last quarter. Played out on a wet and windy winter’s afternoon at Victoria Park, the match between Leigh Matthews’ Magpies and John Kennedy’s Kangaroos was witnessed by 16,082 hardy souls -more than 90,000 fewer than those who attended the previous draw between the two sides. And instead of Barry Crocker singing “The Impossible Dream” to a stadium full of people as he did in 1977, the only pre-game entertainment before the Collingwood-North Melbourne clash in 1988 was a bit of old-fashioned reserves watching. There was plenty to see, too, with three ruckmen – David Cloke, who had been dropped a few days earlier, 1986 Copeland Trophy winner Wes Fellowes and a developing kid with plenty of talent called Damian Monkhorst – attracting a fair bit of attention in the “twos”. Matthews had dropped Cloke (as well as Tony Elshaug and Paul Tuddenham) after the club suffered bad losses to Fitzroy and Melbourne in successive weeks – leaving James Manson as the sole ruckman against the Kangaroos. A week earlier, he had dumped full-forward Brian Taylor, only to recall him for the game against North Melbourne. In fairness to Taylor, retired Hawthorn great and newspaper columnist Don Scott wrote at the time: “I’d have hated to be full-forward at Collingwood this season with the time it has taken to deliver the ball and the poor manner in which it has done (so).” But clearly the pressure was on the Pies heading into this Round 17 game. Two weeks earlier Fitzroy had beaten Collingwood by an almost inconceivable 90 points; the previous week it was a 46-point loss to Melbourne. That loss to the second placed Demons brought out plenty of criticism for a team that sat fourth on the ladder, but was looking more than a little susceptible. Former captain Des Tuddenham said after the Melbourne loss that he was “ashamed” by the effort. He added: “The double chance was at stake, but what happened? They wimp it.” Eleven minutes into the first quarter of the game against North Melbourne, Collingwood looked even more vulnerable. The scoreboard at the Yarra Falls end told a sorry tale – crediting the Kangaroos with 4.2 (26) while the operators had so far failed to post a score for the home side. The first three goals came from Peter German after an “inspirational” start for the visitors with a strong breeze. It looked like it wasn’t going to turn out to be much of a 28th birthday for Collingwood’s captain, Tony Shaw, who was playing his 199th game in black and white. As busy as Shaw was on the field, the Magpies were finding it very hard to get on the scoreboard. Only two goals came in the first term to North’s six, but by 17 minutes into the second term, and with some fine work from Taylor in front of goal, the scores were back to level. However, the Kangaroos kept coming and regained the lead soon after, taking the margin to 18 points by the time the two Little League teams came out to play. Taylor had redeemed himself with a brilliant first half, keeping the Magpies in the contest with five goals heading to the main break He had “outbustled” young defender Mick Martyn, who was one of five teenagers on the ground that day. The others were: Collingwood’s Gavin Crosisca and North Melbourne’s John Longmire, Brenton Harris and Dean McRae. The Sun’s chief football reporter Peter Simunovich wrote: “By half-time North Melbourne had re-asserted its superiority with two goals to Longmire (in only his sixth game) and another to the brilliant German.” Simunovich added: “But in the third quarter the wind dropped and with it appeared to come an increased propensity by both sides to increase their already-high number of mistakes.” Still, Collingwood made more than North Melbourne, and two of them – “critical errors” – threatened to cost the Magpies dearly. The first came when Mick McGuane, in his 19th game, “paddled” the ball over the boundary line deep in defence. The umpire deemed it to be deliberate and the resulting free kick to 20-year-old Alastair Clarkson was slotted through on an acute angle. Not long after, Magpie Matthew Ryan grabbed the ball and ran too far as he was trying to extricate himself from the crowded backline. The free kick to Matthew Larkin ended in a goal, and the margin was out to 25 points at three-quarter-time. Seemingly, the game was looking beyond the home side. The only thing in Collingwood’s favour was that it was coming home to the scoring end and that North Melbourne had not taken advantage of all of its opportunities. The Roos had 24 scoring shots to the Magpies’ 14, leaving the door slightly ajar as the parochial home crowd tried to urge their heroes on to stage a revival. The Collingwood comeback started in the middle of the ground – with Manson starting to assert his authority, “rucking his heart out in the last quarter.” Jamie Turner was playing his best game to date, Darren Millane was strong on the wing, Taylor was dangerous in attack and Doug Barwick finished up with two goals, including one in the last term that came about after a 50m penalty that must have infuriated Kennedy in the opposition coaches’ box on the outer side of the ground. Unusually, Peter Daicos had been reasonably held through, but when the difference was back to a point in the visitors’ favour late in the game, he stepped forward for one of the most important moments of the match. Speaking about it this week, Daicos’ memories of the game are two-fold. “It was just one of those really wet and muddy days at Vic Park, that’s the thing that I recall about that game,” he said. “I remember we were a point down and we were kicking to the Yarra (Falls) end. I got the ball deep on the boundary line on a tight angle and I just got my boot to ball. I think I went with a torpedo and just tried to drill it home. I kicked it really hard.” For a moment, Daicos’ kick looked like conjuring one of the miracles that he had become renown for. The crowd looked on in nervous anticipation as the Sherrin spun towards goal, almost as if it was played out in slow-motion. At the last moment, it diverted towards the nearest goalpost, and slammed into the woodwork. It was a behind; the point that would level the scores. “I thought it was home for a few seconds, but it ended up hitting the post,” Daicos said. Daicos’ behind squared the scores – Collingwood 14.8 (92) to North Melbourne 13.14 (92). Not all that many minutes later, and with no addition to the score, the timekeepers reached over and pushed the final siren. It was over. In the confusion, leading ABC commentator Graham ‘Smokey’ Dawson told listeners not long after the end of the game: “And now we’ll go down to St Kilda for details of the closest match of the day.” It wasn’t. Collingwood and North Melbourne had staged a draw. At Moorabbin, Sydney had beaten St Kilda by seven points. As darkness descended over the ground, up in the social club, Brian Taylor was being presented with an award for Collingwood’s best player after kicking seven goals. Taylor said: “In terms of goals, it was my best match for awhile, but I think I’ve been doing a lot of other work which people don’t notice.” His teammates toasted their captain, Tony Shaw, on his birthday and looked ahead to his 200th game the following week. And as disappointed as Magpie fans were as they lingered around for a chat, before streaming out of the ground and heading out across the footbridge, with many of them heading to the Victoria Park train platform, they knew that Collingwood had fought exceptionally hard to come back. They also knew that a draw, as tough as it was to deal with, was better than a loss. And this time there was no need for a replay.]]> Stoning the Crows https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/stoning-the-crows/ Sun, 03 Aug 2014 03:17:46 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=4171