Premierships – Collingwood Forever

The Miracle of ’58

Michael Roberts — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 02:32:30 +0000

Collingwood’s 1958 premiership is arguably the greatest in the club’s history. For a magical, against-the-odds, fairytale triumph, nothing compares with it. The Magpies of ’58 were not the best side in the competition that year. They lost more matches than any other Collingwood premiership team, and struggled with a late-season form slump that saw them lose four games out of six. Plus they were opposed to one of the all-time great VFL/AFL teams. So the win was highly improbable. But what makes 1958 reallyspecial, however, is not just that the team somehow found a way to win in all those circumstances; it’s that, by doing so, they allowed the club to hold on to one of its most cherished records, the four-in-a-row of The Machine. That’s what gives the 1958 flag its added romance, its sense of destiny, and elevates it above so many others. Even beyond Collingwood, this is one of the most famous, and fabled, premierships in VFL/AFL history. To understand the significance of what the Collingwood players achieved that year, you first have to understand the force they confronted. The Melbourne teams of the mid-to-late 1950s were some of the most formidable football has ever known. The Demons played in seven successive grand finals, winning five, and finished on top in six of those seasons. They were led by one of the game’s greatest coaches, Norm Smith, and included one of the game’s greatest players, Ron Barassi, in his prime. The Magpies seemed to have no answers to them: by the time of the ’58 grand final they hadn’t won in their previous 10 encounters, including the 1955 and 1956 grand finals, and had not beaten Melbourne in a final for 20 years. In the second semi-final we had been smashed by 45 points, and even that margin flattered us. The Pies made all sorts of changes to their team after the semi-final – the line-up included five teenagers and two others with barely a handful of games – and looked a vastly improved outfit in getting over North in the preliminary final. But when it came to the grand final, the Demons were unbackable favourites. The Agedescribed the Magpies as ‘the greatest outsiders in a finals game for many years’. Barrie Bretland, in The Sun, said Collingwood simply didn’t have the class to beat Melbourne and it would take a miracle to even get close. Even Lou Richards described Melbourne as the ‘hottest favourites since Phar Lap’ and admitted they looked ‘certainties’ to win the flag. The only things Collingwood had in its favour were the glorious uncertainty of football, and the emotional pull of protecting the club’s four-in-a-row premiership record. The day didn’t get off to the most promising start when the club’s reserves side went down in its grand final by four points. But there was better news on the weather front, with the cold, wet conditions expected to favour the Pies. Despite an emotionally-charged pre-match address from coach Phonse Kyne that had all the Magpie players fired-up, Melbourne produced a five-goal first quarter and charged out to a 17-point lead at quarter-time. It looked like the game was going to expectations. As the players returned to their positions after the break, acting captain Murray Weideman and Barry ‘Hooker’ Harrison decided to ramp things up a notch. Upon the restart, Weed almost immediately crashed into several Demons, and Harrison flattened Melbourne’s most important player, Ron Barassi. Bill Serong decked Ian Ridley. There were spot fires everywhere. And this is where the game turned. The Demons began hunting for retribution, while the Magpies quickly returned their attention to the ball. Having sucked Melbourne in, they focused more on the footy while their Demon opponents ran around trying to belt Magpie players left, right and centre. Dick Fenton-Smith gave away a free to Thorold Merrett and crashed the ball onto his head in disgust. Laurie Mithen ran 20 yards to flatten John Henderson after he’d marked, then a few minutes later swung a wild left hook at another Magpie, sparking a melee that involved trainers as well as players. There were skirmishes everywhere, but in the midst of it all, Kenny Bennett, the youngest and smallest player on the field, twice tore through packs for two goals. Then Mick Twomey goaled with a long bomb from a free kick. By half-time the Magpies were – remarkably – two points to the good. The Collingwood players weren’t used to being in front of Melbourne at half-time of any game, let alone a grand final. And they drew great confidence from what had happened in the second quarter. In the Melbourne rooms, Norm Smith was imploring his own players to stay away from the fights and return their attention to the ball. Any resolve Smith had instilled in his players quickly evaporated, and the argy-bargy began again within minutes of the restart. Much of the rough stuff was coming from Melbourne players, clearly unhappy and frustrated at being behind. ‘It was a pity to see the Demons’ attitude to the game,’ wrote The Sporting Globe. The play was fierce, and some Melbourne players seemed to become hesitant about putting their head over the ball in the packs. Collingwood players, on the other hand, were more than willing to take part in the physical exchanges, but also seemed more capable of playing footy in between the fights. And in the third quarter they played some great footy, their magnificent defence keeping Melbourne goalless for the term while the forwards piled on five goals. Collingwood went into the last huddle for the year with a stunning 33-point lead. The team spent the last quarter focused almost entirely on defence, forcing ball-ups, kicking to the boundary at every opportunity, wasting time wherever they could. Reeves, Sullivan and Gabelich fought superbly in defence and closed down every Demon surge. Melbourne grabbed a couple of goals, while Collingwood could manage only a single behind, but it didn’t matter. The siren sounded with those mighty, magnificent Magpies 18 points in front – and the four-in-a-row record safe, hopefully forever. Phonse Kyne and the rest of the officials on the bench leapt high into the air in jubilation. Players were carried from the field on the shoulders of teammates and support staff, and there was complete chaos in and around the rooms, as thousands of fans crammed the walkways underneath the MCG. About 1000 attended the celebration dinner that night, where Kyne and his wife led the dancing with a fox trot to ‘Alexander’s Rag Time Band’. ‘I still can’t realise we’ve won it,” he told the happy crowd. Another 750 crammed into the clubrooms on Sunday morning and there was a further dinner on Monday night. On Tuesday, players and officials left by train for a two-week holiday in West Australia, and the celebrations resumed almost as soon as they returned, with half a dozen more functions, including a massive dinner at the Collingwood Town Hall. Those celebrations honoured an extraordinary team performance. While Weideman and Harrison played their ‘tough guy’ roles superbly, it’s often forgotten that we played by far the better footballthat day. Ken Turner and Thorold Merrett were magnificent in the wet, as was the diminutive Kenny Bennett. Graeme Fellowes and Ray Gabelich were outstanding in the ruck, and Gabbo, Harry Sullivan, Mike Delanty and Ron Reeves impassable in defence. Bill Serong added muscle to speed. Young players like Beers, Henderson and Rose, as well as Reeves and Bennett, all stood up when needed. Every single player did his bit to ensure that Collingwood held onto its most cherished record. It was a staggering result, and still remains the greatest grand final upset in VFL/AFL history. Critics were unstinting in their praise. Alf Brown in The Heralddescribed Collingwood’s performance as ‘courageous and amazing’. St Kilda coach Alan Killigrew said the premiership was ‘a triumph of courage and spirit – the will to win’. Percy Beames in The Agewrote: “The deciding weapon in [Collingwood’s] win was something Melbourne simply could not match on the day – the fierce desire of Collingwood’s players to win Saturday’s honour for their club. Those Collingwood players had something more than courage and determination behind them. They were defending the League record of four successive premierships … and they played throughout the grand final as though their very lives depended on keeping that record.” But perhaps the final word should be left to the great Syd Coventry, the man who piloted the team to those four successive flags, and who was president of the club in 1958. ‘This was the greatest performance in the history of the Collingwood Football Club,’ he said.

One of our most famous relics

Michael Roberts — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 02:55:14 +0000

The 2017 season was not only Collingwood’s 125^th anniversary, but also the 100^th anniversary of one of the most important artefacts in the club’s extensive memorabilia collection – the ‘good luck’ horseshoe sent to the club by Malcolm ‘Doc’ Seddon from France during the First World War. That horseshoe was made under fire by a shoeing smith in Doc’s company, who took a German howitzer shell and parts of a downed German aeroplane and turned them into a good luck talisman. The shoe itself was made from the driving band of a German shell that Seddon had found at Bapaume, with the nails being made from a German plane the Australians had brought down at the Somme. Seddon had two made, sending one to his former teammates and a second to his mother. The Collingwood version arrived at Victoria Park late in September, just before the Grand Final against Fitzroy, and it was nailed to the dressing room wall on Grand Final day. It carried the inscription, ‘Good Luck. To C.F.C, from Doc. France 1917.’ “I hope,” wrote Seddon in an accompanying letter, “that this shoe will bring the boys to the top of the tree this year.” The Pies duly saluted against the Roys and came away with the 1917 Premiership. Seddon himself returned to footy after the War ended and was a part of Collingwood’s 1919 triumph.

Doc Seddon (left) in uniform with an unidentified comrade

Seddon’s horseshoe was Initially famous simply for the story behind it, and the fact that it was a lucky omen in the ultimately successful pursuit of the 1917 Premiership. But in recent times it has come to carry far greater significance. President Eddie McGuire takes the horseshoe into the rooms before each Anzac Day game and hands it around to the players, asking them to recognise the values of mateship, support and togetherness – ‘side by side’ – that it represents. As such, it has become one of the most meaningful and highly treasured relics in the club’s collection.

One Hit Wonders: Percy Rowe

Michael Roberts — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 05:16:32 +0000

by Michael Roberts Players don’t always get to choose how, or when, the leave the game. But if they could, just about everyone would want to end their time at the top by going out the way Percy Rowe did – with a career-defining performance that helps your team win a Grand Final. Rowe was at the end of his second stint at Collingwood – he’d spent several years in the country in between – when he turned on the greatest display of what was already an impressive career. That career included 96 games, 37 goals, interstate representation and even a short stint as captain. But nothing ever outshone his heroics in the 1928 Grand Final – a performance so influential that the game eventually became known as “Rowe’s Premiership”. Rowe was a big, strong follower with massive forearms and shoulders who loved nothing better than throwing his weight around. A product of Rutherglen, he didn’t make his VFL debut until the relatively old age of 24, but within a few years had won such respect from his teammates that he was elected captain (an honour he rejected after just three games, saying it was affecting his form). He was regarded as one of the best – and certainly one of the most feared – big men in the competition, but left to pursue some lucrative country coaching opportunities after the 1923 season. He returned to Victoria Park in 1927 and played a key role in that year’s flag, the first of the famed four-in-a-row. He was good again in 1928. But even so, nobody could have predicted the impact he would have on that year’s Grand Final against Richmond. Collingwood struggled late in the 1928 season, and Gordon Coventry was finding the going especially tough. The Pies had drawn their semi-final with Melbourne and won the replay by just four points. Coventry had been hit with flu and, in his weakened state, found himself being swept off his feet in the crushes. With Coventry below par, the Tigers were flag favourites. But Percy Rowe had other ideas. He asked to be placed alongside his good friend “Nuts” in the forward pocket, and promised that nobody would lay a finger on him all day. As they strode to their positions at the start of the game, Rowe turned to Coventry and said: “Nuts, if you don’t break the record for goals kicked in a final today, I won’t speak to you again.” When Coventry replied that the Richmond defenders might have a say in the matter, Rowe just growled: “By the time I’ve finished with them they’ll be wondering what fell on them”. As the game progressed, Coventry realised he was taking a lot of his marks virtually uncontested. What was happening behind him was that Rowe was blocking, bumping and harassing any Richmond defender who looked like getting near the Collingwood spearhead. And he did it with an approach so aggressive that even some of his own players could see how increasingly uncomfortable the Tiger defenders were becoming.

Percy Rowe (left) and Gordon Coventry go for the ball in the 1928 Grand Final.

Rowe virtually ignored the ball and concentrated only on clearing a path for Coventry. Richmond’s backmen became more and more frustrated, and devoted most of their attention to Rowe, but his indomitable courage and determination did not give; the giant man just grinned and took it all. At day’s end Rowe was black and blue but Collingwood had won the flag — and Gordon Coventry had kicked a record nine goals. Coventry said later that Rowe’s performance was a revelation. “No one thought it possible for one man to shoulder such a burden, but Rowe thought lightly of it,” he wrote in The Sporting Globe. “Rowe gave the finest match-winning effort ever seen. The final scores were 13.18 to 9.9, but they could have been reversed only for Percy Rowe. He won the pennant for Collingwood lone-handed.” Richmond knew it too. Years later, when Rowe’s son Des was in the early stages of his great career at Tigerland, he asked for a clearance. A Tiger official bluntly refused, telling Des that his old man had cost Richmond a Premiership, and they were not going to give his son a chance to do the same! For Percy Rowe, it was his last hurrah in a Collingwood jumper. The man who was as quiet and unassuming off the field as he was terrifying on it, quietly headed to Northcote to coach in the VFA. He turned out to be a good coach too, regarded as “a born leader of men”, and after Northcote had stints in charge at Fitzroy, Carlton and Coburg. But nothing he did ever surpassed that 1928 Grand Final. It was a truly memorable way in which to end a splendid League career.

Reserves Premierships

admin — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 20:51:50 +0000

Collingwood blitzed the VFL reserves competition when it was first formed, winning a Premiership in the competition’s inaugural season, 1919, and four in the first seven years. All four of these flags were annexed in the name of Collingwood Districts, the club that acted as Collingwood’s reserves team until 1938.

Success was a little harder to come by in the ensuing years, but further flags followed in 1940 (in a team featuring Lou Richards), 1965 and 1976.

It’s also worth noting that Williamstown won a flag in the VFL in 2003, during the period it was allied with Collingwood’s reserves team.

1919

Grand Final (October 11)

University A 1.2 2.4 3.6 4.8.32

Collingwood 2.3 3.6 4.6 6.11.47

Goals: Dillon 3, Utting 1, Holt 1, H. Chesswas 1

Best: Thomson, Youren, Joseph, H. Chesswas, Webb, Dillon

Premiership team*

Backs: Charlie Mutch (C) Wally Chesswas Arthur Dillon

HB: Sam Mackechnie George Youren Bob Foran

C: Hugh Thomas Vernon Carkeek Leo Wescott

HF: Joe Keary (VC) Les Husband Harry Chesswas

For: Valentine Daicy Ern Utting “Brownie” Holt

Foll: Arthur Joseph Archie Thomson Reynolds Webb

Coach: Charlie Mutch (TBC)

* Please note that we have not been able to find a published final team for this game, so it has been pieced together from different newspaper reports. As such, doubt surrounds a small number of the above-named players and whether they actually played in the game.

The Collingwood Districts side that won the first VFL reserves Premiership

1920

Grand Final (September 25)

Collingwood 2.3 3.8 4.10 7.14.56

University 1.1 5.1 7.1 7.2.44

Goals: Harding 2, Dillon 2, Ross 2, Monohan 1

Best: Ross, Wescott, Thomson, Buck, Mutch, T. Chesswas, H. Chesswas. Oram

Premiership team

We so far have been unable to find a full team for this game. Players confirmed to have played include: Bill Buck, Leo Wescott, Hector Ross, Artie Dillon, Les Oram, Charlie Mutch, Jack Monohan Jnr, Tom Chesswas, Harry Chesswas, Archie Thomson & T. Harding. George Tory, Wally Wildsmith, Wally Chesswas, Arthur Joseph & Herbie Taylor are all considered highly likely, having played in the previous final. The final two spots are most likely to have been filled by Joe Keary, George Beasley or Roy Allen.

1922

Grand Final (October 14)

Essendon 1.2 1.4 1.7 1.9.15

Collingwood 4.1 6.2 6.7 8.10.58

Goals: Clayden 3, Taylor 2, Oram 1, Wraith 1, Rudd 1

Best: Lee, Utting, Harrison, Oram, Green, Mutch, Clayden, J. Monohan, Allen, Taylor, Rudd

Premiership team

Backs: Charlie Mutch (C) Jack Harrison Archie Thomson

HB: Roy Allen Charlie Lee Ern Utting

C: A. Smith Max Hardie Fred Mutch

HF: Tom Wraith George Clayden Cliff Monohan

For: Jack Green Herbie Taylor “Brownie” Holt

Foll: Les Oram Jack Monohan Jnr Bert Rudd

Coach: Hugh Thomas

The Collingwood Districts 1922 side.

1925

Grand Final (October 10)

Fitzroy 0.1 5.1 7.2 11.4.70

Collingwood 3.6 4.10 10.11 13.16.94

Goals: Beveridge 4, Stevens 3, A. Collier 3, Todd 1, H. Collier 1, Boyle 1

Best: Clayden, Henry, Stevens, Boyle, Todd, Allen, A. Collier, Beveridge

Premiership team

Backs: Mick Laffey Vin Batchelor Charlie Mutch (C)

HB: Roy Allen George Clayden A. Dunstan

C: Alf Sparks Jack Jobson Norm MacLeod

HF: Jack Monohan Jnr Bill Henry Tommy Bird

For: Jack Beveridge Albert Collier Harry Collier

Foll: Reg Boyle P. Todd Hector Stevens

Coach: Hugh Thomas

The 1925 Collingwood Districts team. Albert Collier is second from the right in the second row, Harry Collier is second from right in the front row and George Clayden is fifth from the right in the back row.

1940

Grand Final (September 28)

Collingwood 2.3 2.7 5.12 6.16.52

Carlton 1.1 2.8 3.9 3.12.30

Goals: Mears 2, Hustler 2, Pimm 1, Tyrrell 1

Best: Mears, Hill, Newman, Noonan, Smith, Hustler, Knott

Premiership team

Backs: Ron Smith Norm Crewther Phil Busbridge

HB: Charlie Newman Bill Noonan Bill Johnstone

C: Les A Hill Kevin Barrett Dan Knott

HF: Clarrie Shields Colin Rose Ron Carruthers Snr

For: Len Hustler Jack Pimm Lou Richards

Foll: John McHale (C) Leo Tyrrell Harry Mears

19th: E.H. Hancock

Coach: Horrie Edmonds

The 1940 Reserves Premiership-winning squad

1965

Grand Final (September 25)

Collingwood 4.3 9.4 13.7 16.9.105

Geelong 2.4 5.7 7.13 10.20.80

Goals: Ballantyne 4, Bremner 4, Searl 4, Hutchesson 1, Chapman 1, Dalton 1, Evans 1

Best: Ellis (BOG), Mahon, Thompson, Pitt, Searl, Gray

Premiership team

Backs: Kevin Huppatz Reg Sanders Vaughan Ellis

HB: Len Clark John Mahon Lee Adamson

C: Albert Chapman Max Pitt Barry Anderson

HF: Brian Gray Doug Searl Max Ballantyne

For: Denis Dalton Ian Bremner John Murton

Foll: Len Thompson Len Evans Errol Hutchesson (C)

Res: Noel Vincent John Thatcher

Coach: Neil Mann

The 1965 Reserves Premiership squad. Back row: S Blanch (bootstudder), J Dicker (Committee), G Carrison (Committee), J Thatcher, B Gray, A Chapman, D Dalton, W Skewes (Committee), T Smith (Door steward), K Tate (trainer). Third row: L Bromley (Committee), K Huppatz, D Wright, L Clark, N Vincent, E Burgess, A Pond(Committee), T Pew (Committee). Second row: R Smith (Trainer), L Lees (Head trainer), J Smith (secretary), M Ballantyne, R Sanders, L Adamson, G Jenkin, L Evans, M Pitt, I Bremner, Fr Bruce (Committee), B Lewis (Trainer), G Hudd (Committee). Front row: R Patterson (Property steward), J Burton, P Wadham, L Thompson, J Smith (Chairman), E Hutchesson (Captain), N Mann (Coach), J Mahon, V Ellis, D Searl, J Morrison (Messenger).

1976

Grand Final (September 25)

Collingwood 6.4 9.11 15.14 23.17.155

North Melbourne 5.3 12.7 17.10 19.15.129

Goals: Williams 6, Kink 4, Gonsalves 4, McCormack 3, Perry 2, Foley 2, Oborne 1, Clifford 1

Best: Kink, Williams, Foley, Dellamarta, Greening, Wise, Bond

Premiership team

Backs: Russell Jessop Graeme Moyle Chris Perry

HB: Terry Wight John Greening Kerry Foley

C: Andrew Ireland Stephen Clifford Jimmy Board

HF: Rod Oborne John Williams (C) John Dellamarta

For: Shane Bond Peter McCormack Bruce Gonsalves

Foll: Murrie Batt Rene Kink John Wise

19/20: John King Alan Holmes

Emg: Derek Shaw, Craig Considine, Geoff Walsh, Lou Dilorio

Coach: Ron Richards

The 1976 Reserves Premiership squad (missing premiership players Jimmy Board, Shane Bond, Kerry Foley, Bruce Gonsalves, John Greening, Allan Holmes). Back row: Mick Warren, Peter McCormack, John Dellamarta, Murrie Batt, Stephen Clifford, Rene Kink, Rod Oborne. Third row: Russell Jessop, Ross Johnson, Graeme Moyle, Andrew Ireland, Terry Wight, Lachie McDonald, John King, Chris Perry. 2nd row: John Williams (Capt). Front Row: Lou Dilorio, Guy Pickering, John Wise, Kelvin Shaw.

The Premierships

admin — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 03:13:55 +0000

In a history dating back to 1892, Collingwood has collected a huge haul of premierships across all levels of the club.

The club won its only VFA premiership in its fifth and final year in the competition before switching to the newly formed VFL for the 1897 season.

It has since won a record 16 senior VFL/AFL premierships, a mark shared with both Carlton and Essendon. The Magpies have played in more Grand Finals (45) than any other team, appearing in the decider on an average of once every two and a half years.

The club has also won seven reserves flags, four in the under-19s and a VFLW Premiership in 2019. Plus it has won two Pre-Season/ Night Series Grand Finals, in 1979 and 2011, and two official VFL Lightning Premiership competitions in 1941 and 1951.

VFL/AFL Premierships

1902: Revolution
Collingwood 1.2 3.2 5.5 9.6 (60)
Essendon 1.3 2.7 3.7 3.9 (27)

1903: Back to Back
Collingwood 2.3 3.4 3.6 4.7 (31)
Fitzroy 2.2 2.5 2.8 3.11 (29)

1910: Floreat Pica
Collingwood 4.3 5.3 8.5 9.7 (61)
Carlton 1.2 2.6 4.9 6.11 (47)

1917: Sacrifice and Success
Collingwood 2.6 3.8 6.14 9.20 (74)
Fitzroy 1.0 2.2 3.4 5.9 (39)

1919: Order Restored
Collingwood 1.5 5.5 8.8 11.12 (78)
Richmond 1.2 4.7 10.7 7.11 (53)

1927: The First of Four
Collingwood 0.1 2.6 2.9 2.13 (25)
Richmond 0.4 0.4 0.7 1.7 (13)

1928: Band of Brothers
Collingwood 2.4 7.8 9.11 13.18 (96)
Richmond 0.3 4.5 7.7 9.9 (63)

1929: The Machine
Collingwood 6.3 7.6 9.6 11.13 (79)
Richmond 2.0 3.3 5.5 7.8 (50)

1930: Mission Accomplished
Collingwood 3.2 3.7 11.13 14.16 (100)
Geelong 2.5 6.10 6.11 9.16 (70)

1935: Rebuilding the Machine
Collingwood 1.3 6.6 8.10 11.12 (78)
South Melbourne 3.6 4.8 6.10 7.16 (58)

1936: Validation
Collingwood 3.6 7.16 8.19 11.23 (89)
South Melbourne 3.4 5.7 8.12 10.18 (78)

1953: A very Collingwood Flag
Collingwood 2.4 5.6 10.10 11.11 (77)
Geelong 2.3 3.9 5.11 8.17 (65)

1958: Destiny
Collingwood 2.2 7.6 12.9 12.10 (82)
Melbourne 5.1 7.4 7.6 9.10 (64)

1990: Breaking the Drought
Collingwood 2.5 8.9 11.10 13.11 (89)
Essendon 2.2 3.5 5.6 5.11 (41)

2010: Side By Side
Collingwood 3.2 6.5 11.8 16.12 (108)
St Kilda 0.2 1.8 4.9 7.10 (52)

2023: Taking the Steps
Collingwood 4.4 9.9 10.15 12.18 (90)
Brisbane 3.0 9.3 11.5 13.8 (86)