goals – 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 Goals Records https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/goals-records/ Tue, 21 Mar 2017 05:02:11 +0000 http://cfc-forever-staging.qodo.com.au/?p=11674 Archie Smith, who played in the club’s first game, was a star of the early years, notching seven club titles and twice winning the VFL’s goalkicking award. But that was just the start. Dick Lee was the game’s first goalscoring superstar, and he was followed seamlessly by Gordon Coventry, who held the League’s goalscoring record for more than 60 years. And he, in turn, was followed by Ron Todd, who might have been the best of them all had he not gone to the VFA. Then in later years, Peter McKenna, Peter Daicos, Brian Taylor and Sav Rocca all made their mark as prolific forwards. It’s a rich heritage, and one we as a club are only too happy to celebrate with the following collection of records. Click here for a list of Collingwood’s leading goalkickers, year-by-year
Most Career Goals
1299 Gordon Coventry
838 Peter McKenna
707 Dick Lee
549 Peter Daicos
514 Saverio Rocca
453 Alby Pannam
441 Travis Cloke
423 Lou Richards
404 Anthony Rocca
371 Brian Taylor
 
Most  Goals in a Season
143 Peter McKenna 1970
134 Peter McKenna 1971
130 Peter McKenna 1972
124 Gordon Coventry 1929
121 Ron Todd 1938
121 Ron Todd 1939
118 Gordon Coventry 1930
108 Gordon Coventry 1933
105 Gordon Coventry 1934
100 Brian Taylor 1986
 
Most  Goals in a Game
17 Gordon Coventry, v Fitzroy R12 1930, at Victoria Park
16 Gordon Coventry, v Hawthorn R13 1929, at Victoria Park
16 Peter McKenna, v Sth Melbourne R19 1969, at Victoria Park
15 Gordon Coventry, v Essendon R11 1933, at Victoria Park
14 Gordon Coventry, v Hawthorn R14 1934, at Victoria Park
13 Peter McKenna, v Essendon R11 1972, at Victoria Park
13 Peter Daicos, v Brisbane R20 1991, at Carrara
12 Peter McKenna, v Essendon R14 1971, at Victoria Park
12 Peter McKenna, v Geelong R9 1972, at Victoria Park
12 Peter McKenna, v Essendon R20 1970, at Victoria Park
12 Peter McKenna, v Hawthorn R1 1966, at Victoria Park
12 Brian Taylor, v Sydney R16 1985, at the SCG
 
Most  Goals in a Final
11 Ron Todd, v Geelong 1938 preliminary final
11 Ron Todd, v St Kilda 1939 preliminary final
9 Gordon Coventry, v Richmond 1928 Grand Final
9 Peter McKenna, v Carlton 1970 second semi-final
8 Bill Twomey Jnr, v Footscray 1948 first semi-final
8 Ken Smale, v Footscray 1956 preliminary final
7 Gordon Coventry, v Geelong 1927 semi-final
7 Gordon Coventry, v Geelong 1930 Grand Final
7 Gordon Coventry, v Melbourne 1937 preliminary final
7 Des Tuddenham, v St Kilda 1966 second semi-final
7 Peter McKenna, v Footscray 1974 elimination final
7 Peter Daicos, v Carlton 1984 first semi-final
 
Most  Goals at Victoria Park
679 Gordon Coventry
399 Peter McKenna
334 Dick Lee
210 Lou Richards
200 Alby Pannam
 
Most  Goals at the MCG
329 Saverio Rocca
302 Travis Cloke
236 Anthony Rocca
156 Gordon Coventry
145 Brian Taylor
 
Most  Goals in VFA Years (1892-96)
86 Archie Smith
42 George Anderson
19 Harry Dowdall
19 Dick Hall
17 Frank Hailwood
 
VFL/AFL Leading Goalkicker
1898 Archie Smith 31
1900 Archie Smith (tied) 21
1903 Ted Lockwood 35
1905 Charlie H. Pannam 38
1907 Dick Lee 47
1908 Dick Lee 54
1909 Dick Lee 58
1914 Dick Lee 57
1916 Dick Lee 48
1917 Dick Lee 54
1919 Dick Lee 56
1926 Gordon Coventry 83
1927 Gordon Coventry 97
1928 Gordon Coventry 89
1929 Gordon Coventry 124
1930 Gordon Coventry 118
1933 Gordon Coventry 108
1938 Ron Todd 120
1939 Ron Todd 121
1946 Des Fothergill 63
1958 Ian Brewer 73
1972 Peter McKenna 130
1973 Peter McKenna 86
1986 Brian Taylor 100
  • Please note: Ted Rowell (1902), Dick Lee (1910, 1913 and 1915) and Gordon Coventry (1937) each topped the table after the finals in the years noted but not after the home-and-away rounds (which is when the League’s Leading Goalkicker is determined).
 ]]> Nuts’ lasting record https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/nuts-still-rules-the-roost/ Wed, 07 Sep 2016 01:06:15 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=10664 By: Glenn McFarlane of the Herald Sun Sydney sharpshooter Lance Franklin has kicked more finals goals than any other current AFL footballer. Franklin will look to add to his 58 finals goals as he takes some of his hottest form into Saturday’s qualifying final against Greater Western Sydney. And if the 29-year-old sticks to his finals average of 3.41 per game, and the Swans can play at least three finals, he could even rocket up to fifth on the all-time table of leading goalkickers in finals football. Even then, Franklin’s chances of catching the man who had held the No.1 mantle in VFL-AFL history in terms of finals goals for more than 70 years – Collingwood champion Gordon Coventry – remains remote (albeit still possible), even if the Swan forward sees out the end of his very long contract. That fact alone shows the enormity of what Coventry achieved, from his third game (which was his first final) to his 306th match (his 31st and last final). In between, he kicked an extraordinary 111 goals in finals matches. 160907_forever600c How close could Buddy get by the time his career is out? And while Coventry held the overall league goalkicking record of 1299 goals until another Swan, Tony Lockett, broke through the 1300-goal barrier in 1999, his record in finals could remain his forever. Even now, almost 50 years after his 1968 death, he remains 33 clear of his nearest rival Jason Dunstall (Hawthorn), 37 ahead of Jack Titus (Richmond) and 39 ahead of Leigh Matthews (Hawthorn). Franklin is 15th overall, but has the capacity to make significant inroads up the AFL finals goals ladder in the coming years. Coventry and Franklin couldn’t have been any more different in their on-field demeanour. Franklin is flamboyant, an extraordinary athlete and a raking left-footer; Coventry was a clinical goalkicking machine, efficient and effective, but as unassuming and unaffected as any champion could possibly be. 160907_forever600a The great Gordon ‘Nuts’ Coventry is pictured with his family. But off the field their goalkicking gluttony would put Coventry and Franklin at the forefront of the public’s imagination. Franklin has been feted for most of his AFL career, and while the impact of footy heroes during the 1920s and ’30s was very different to what it is in the 21st century, Coventry was one of the most identifiable footballers of his era. In 1930, a cartoon of Coventry drawn by the Herald‘s Wells imagined him striding over to “the Australian record-breakers’ seat” occupied by cricket superstar Don Bradman and billiards whiz Walter Lindrum. In it, the Magpie said: “Move over cobbers, I’m in this.” Coventry would never have said that. He was far too modest, but it was an indication of how he was seen by the general community. Here are 10 important Gordon Coventry finals moments that helped him to a record that could last forever.

1. HAPPY 19TH NUTS

Coventry was a teenager from Diamond Creek with unusually large hands and a quiet disposition when he made his debut for Collingwood in Round 15, 1920. He kicked a goal in that first game and was subsequently dropped, saying years later: “I saw hundreds of young lads having their first League games thereafter, but none was as inglorious as mine.” His third game would come in a semi-final, in which he would kick a goal. But his breakout game came in his fourth match – in the preliminary final against Carlton. It came on the day of his 19th birthday, and he finished it with five goals from the Magpies’ tally of 12 in the win over the Blues. The Herald acknowledged what everyone in the crowd knew, that “Coventry … is coming much into notice as a sharpshooter.” He kicked three of Collingwood’s five goals a week later in the Grand Final loss to Richmond.

2. HANDING OVER THE BATON

Dick Lee, Collingwood’s great forward of the first two decades of the 20th Century, played his 230th and last game in the 1922 Grand Final loss to Fitzroy. He kicked two goals that day, one fewer than the young forward who was about to take over his mantle, Gordon Coventry. Coventry’s three goals were not enough to get the Magpies over the line against the Maroons, but it was a further sign that he was on his way to being an elite forward. That season, 1922, he would kick a total of 42 goals and win his first club goalkicker award. It was the first of 16 straight titles for his club.

3. TWO GOOD

After successive Grand Finals losses in 1925-26, there was extraordinary pressure on Collingwood to go one step further in 1927. In the lead-up to the Grand Final against Richmond, the game was almost called off due to a deluge of rain that flooded the MCG. The VFL allowed the game to go ahead, but a series of “miniature lakes” impacted on the game. Incredibly, only three goals were kicked for the entire match, and Coventry kicked two of them, one more than Richmond managed. As the rain bucketed down in the second term, Collingwood’s full-forward booted both goals during that quarter, and it effectively won the game for his team. It didn’t matter that the rain left him stranded on 97 for the season. He would break the century – the first time for a VFL player – two years later.

4. A MASSIVE RETURN TO FORM

Football writers were wondering what was up with Gordon Coventry ahead of the 1928 Grand Final. He had kicked only four goals in his previous four games, and had been held goalless in the semi-final replay against Melbourne. Coventry never told anyone at the time – and would only open up to his brother Syd a decade later – but he had copped whack on the back of his ear in a state match a few weeks earlier. “He would have dropped me out of the side, if I’d told him,” Gordon explained a decade later why he hadn’t told his issue to Syd. “A man at Collingwood in those days had to be really crook before he reported a crack.” Jock McHale forged a plan to give Gordon some space leading into the Grand Final, and used Percy Rowe to protect extra protection. It worked a treat. Coventry ended up kicking nine goals, a record for a Grand Final, as the Magpies secured back to back flags. It would stand as a record for another 61 years until a bloke named Gary Ablett equalled it – in a losing side – in the 1989 Grand Final.

5. THE DECOY

Jock McHale tried something different leading into the 1929 premiership decider against Richmond. After the Magpies had lost to the Tigers in an earlier final – their only loss of an extraordinary year, the coach took a risk and decided to use his most prolific goalkicker, Gordon Coventry, as a decoy for another young forward from Diamond Creek. His name was ‘Tubby’ Edmonds, and he would boot a match-winning five goals. Edmonds was used deep near the boundary line in attack, while the opposition put much of its focus on Coventry, who still managed to kick two goals, but was content to play his “decoy” role as his team won a hat-trick of premierships.

6. SEVEN, AND FOUR IN A ROW

It was somehow fitting that the Coventry brothers – dominant figures in the Machine side – proved so important in the climax to Collingwood’s record fourth straight premiership in 1930. Syd was dominant from start to finish, and was effectively a captain and coach on this day, in the absence of the sick McHale. But Gordon’s performance was just as critical. He kicked seven goals for the Magpies as the club overcame a big half-time deficit to streak away from the Cats as they created history. His seven goals made a total of 13 for his three finals.

7. KEEPING NUTS GOAL-LESS

Collingwood’s quest for a fifth consecutive flag ended in a massive 88-point defeat at the hands of Carlton in the 1930 first-semi-final, and it came with Coventry failing to kick a goal. It was the third and last time in his 31 finals that he would fail to kick a major. After kicking 23 goals in the previous three games (seven against Carlton, 11 against St Kilda and five against Melbourne), there was at least an excuse for his semi-final failure. He suffered a back injury and was lame, one of the many Magpies to be wounded on that forgettable day.

8. SIX IN A BIG LOSS

Carlton handed Collingwood another finals flogging – this time 75 points – in the 1932 preliminary final. But instead of being held goal-less, Coventry booted six goals. The loss wasn’t his fault. His tally was more than half the Magpies’ final total.

9. NO PRATT, AND SIX TO NUTS

On the Thursday night before the 1935 Grand Final, one of football’s biggest sensations took place. South Melbourne’s star forward Bob Pratt was hit by a truck after stepping off a tram. It would cost him his place in the game, and his team any chance of beating the Magpies. Pratt’s counterpart, Coventry kicked four of Collingwood’s 11 goals as he secured a fifth premiership medal, with the Magpies winning by 20 points.

10. 36 AND OUT

Coventry missed the 1936 finals – and a sixth premiership – after he was suspended following an incident involving Richmond’s Joe Murdoch, the only time he was reported in his career. But after briefly thinking about retiring, he made a comeback in 1937, and ended up kicking 72 goals for the year, and 16 goals for the finals series. He booted six against Richmond in a semi-final, seven against Melbourne in a preliminary final and three more in the Grand Final loss to Geelong. It wasn’t the way it was meant to end for Coventry, who turned 36 on the day of his final match. But after 1299 goals, and 111 in finals, it was the end of the road for the champ.

NUTS’ FINALS RECORD

1920: 1 SF, 5 PF, 3 GF 1921: 1 SF 1922: 1 SF, 3 GF 1923: no finals 1924: no finals 1925: 5 SF, 5 PF, 0 GF 1926: 3 SF, 2 GF 1927: 7 SF, 2 GF 1928: 2 SF, 0 SF (replay), 9 GF 1929: 4 SF, 2 GF 1930: 3 SF, 3 PF, 7 GF 1931: 0 SF 1932: 5 SF, 6 PF 1933: no finals 1934: 5 SF 1935: 3 SF, 4 PF, 4 GF 1936: no finals due to suspension 1937: 6 SF, 7 PF, 3 GF 31 finals, 111 goals

THE TOP 15 FINALS GOALKICKERS

111 goals, 31 finals Gordon Coventry (Collingwood) 78, 21, Jason Dunstall (Hawthorn) 74, 24, Jack Titus (Richmond) 72, 29, Leigh Matthews (Hawthorn) 65, 18, Stephen Kernahan (Carlton) 65, 20, Alastair Lynch (Brisbane) 64, 16, Gary Ablett Sr. (Geelong) 64, 18, Doug Wade (Geelong/North Melbourne0 62, 27, Kevin Bartlett (Richmond) 62, 22, Dick Lee (Collingwood) 62, 18, Jack Mueller (Melbourne) 62, 19, Peter Sumich (West Coast) 60, 17, Bill Brownless (Geelong) 60, 23, Wayne Carey (North Melbourne) 58, 17 Lance Franklin (Sydney) 160907_forever600b Lance Franklin: Chasing history.]]> Collingwood Cult Figures: Phil Manassa https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/collingwood-cult-figures-phil-manassa/ Tue, 19 Jul 2016 23:23:45 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=10594 By: Michael Roberts, Collingwood Historian. Thirteen and a half seconds. That is all Phil Manassa took to transform his standing in the hearts of Collingwood supporters from one of honest battler to one of cult hero. Halfway through the final quarter of the 1977 Grand Final Replay Collingwood was heading for defeat and Phil Manassa seemed destined never to be regarded as anything more than a gutsy, determined, aggressive utility player. Then Wayne Gordon tapped the ball across to the running Manassa on the half-back flank. He tucked the ball under one arm and charged up field like a rampaging bull. He bounced the ball once, twice, three times, faked a handball to elude a North Melbourne opponent, bounced once more then slotted home an angled shot from more than 50 metres. It was one of the greatest individual goals ever seen, and it so exhausted Manassa that he could barely make it back to his position in defence. In the short time it took him to charge from half-back to half-forward Phil Manassa secured himself a permanent place in Collingwood’s history. Manassa was already something of a fan favourite, largely the result of his ‘full-speed ahead’ approach to footy. But his grand final run – even though, like Ray Gabelich‘s run in 1964, it was ultimately in a losing cause – took that popularity to a new level. Ironically though, it took some time for the significance of Manassa’s achievement to dawn on the man himself. “I was just buggered,” he said later. “All I could think was that we had a chance to win and that I had to get back on (Malcolm) Blighty. After the game everyone was walking past and patting me on the back, saying it was fantastic, but I couldn’t comprehend it — I just didn’t think it was anything special. It’s like taking a big ‘specky’ mark — you never know how good it is until you see it yourself.” Still, that’s exactly the kind of mark many people thought Phil Manassa would leave on League football, for he was an incredibly successful junior footballer. Born and raised in Ivanhoe, he had been a junior star since he first pulled on the boots as a nine-year old. As a centreman with an eye for goals, he racked up numerous club and competition best and fairest awards — one season picking up 149 votes out of a possible 162! He represented Victoria at under-16 level for two years, the second as the vice-captain. At each of those junior carnivals he won Victoria’s best player award, ran second in the competition voting and was chosen in the All-Australian team. He also excelled in other sports, representing his school in everything from volleyball, baseball and soccer to hockey, basketball and cricket. 160720_forever600 Phil Manassa returns to Victoria Park for an AFL Media photoshoot in 1998. When Manassa started attending Heidelberg High School, he found that two of his teachers were Collingwood players Lee Adamson and Ted Potter. They would soon be teammates. Indeed Manassa had a way of making many of his teammates feel a little old; both Wayne Richardson and Barry Price had conducted primary school football clinics a few years earlier in which Phil took part. He never missed a chance to remind them of the fact. Manassa made it to the supplementary list in 1972, kicking 37 goals in 14 games with the under-19s, including one haul of six, and also playing a few games with the reserves. Early in 1973, aged only 17, he made it into the senior team as a reserve against Geelong, and a couple of weeks later earned himself a place in the starting 18. In all he played 13 games that year, but started on the bench in nine of them. By 1974 Phil was an established part of the starting line-up and took part in all 24 games, one of only three players to do so. He played most of those in the back pocket, but through his career he proved extremely versatile, playing everywhere but in the ruck (he once even kicked 1.8 from full-forward against Hawthorn). The word ‘utility’ was rarely more apt than when applied to Manassa, and Collingwood knew it would get good value from him wherever he was placed. Ironically for one who always fancied himself as a goalkicker, and who admits he was never really “turned on” by playing in defence, Manassa spent much of his career in the defensive half of the field. His dashing, straight-ahead style of play was perhaps at its most effective when running off the back line. But no matter where he lined up you could be sure Manassa would approach his football the same way — at full throttle. He was not a graceful footballer by any means, but he was effective. Burly of build but possessed of fair pace, Manassa was a hard man to stop when he built up a head of steam. He approached the ball aggressively and did not shirk physical confrontations, believing if the ball was there to be won then nothing else mattered. He had a fanatical will-to-win and a desperation in his play that was twice rewarded with the club’s “most determined player” award. A booming kick and a safe mark, he was always creating options for his teammates. Even in defence his was an aggressive, attacking approach, and he was never content with merely playing safe. Although he became a Collingwood regular, Manassa never quite took the game by the scruff of the neck in the way that his junior career had led some to expect. Nonetheless, by the end of 1978 he had strung together more than 100 games and was one of the most experienced players in the team. But 1979 turned out to be a poor year for him. He played only 10 games, spent time in the reserves and generally seemed to fall from favour. There are some who believe that Manassa’s love of a drink and a smoke (he did like to enjoy life), did not go down well with the dedicated Tom Hafey. Whatever the reasons, the club did not stand in his way when a business opportunity tempted him to Tasmania at the end of 1979. Incredibly, he was only 23 when he played his last League game. Collingwood leased him to Devonport for two years, and he then spent four years coaching and playing in Sydney, then three more in New Guinea after he was transferred there by his employers, Rothmans. In 1989 he returned to Sydney, and in 1990 came home to play with St Leo’s in a church comp — still of an age less than some playing VFL football. Wherever he went through that nomadic phase of his life, people always wanted to talk about “The Run”. When Collingwood left Victoria Park in 1999, it was one of the highlights recreated one final time. Even today, the winner of the AFL’s Goal of the Year is awarded the Phil Manassa Medal. In a game renowned for its spectacular individual moments, Phil Manassa’s 1977 run-and-goal will always stand as one of the most memorable of them all. This is an edited version of the biography that appeared in the club’s centenary book, A Century of the Best.]]>