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/players/jeremy-howe/ Sun, 11 Sep 2016 06:37:56 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?post_type=cf_player&p=10724 https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/leigh-brown/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:58 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/leigh-brown/ Collingwood website forums were sceptical when Brown’s name was called out as pick No. 73 in the 2008 National Draft after being delisted by the Kangaroos following an extended stint in their VFL side. Even in his infancy in Black and White, when the issue of tanking was raging, a throw-away line from AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou – “Leigh Brown played on Jonathan Brown the other night … was that tanking?’ – questioned his position in the team. Fast forward to the end of the 2010 season, and Brown had not only cemented his place in the team, he had enshrined it in Collingwood’s history. And the icing on top of a premiership cakewalk was that he had also played a unique part in establishing a template for the rest of the AFL competition. In playing that role, as an undersized but physically strong forward/back-up ruckman to Darren Jolly, he also become a cult figure of sorts to the black and white army, and remains one now well into his retirement. Mick Malthouse saw the competitive streak that coursed through Brown’s veins, and crafted a role for him. He explained: “I thought, ‘this bloke’s still going around and can play league football? He can take a nice catch; he kicks the ball OK; he plays at either end of the ground.’ I couldn’t really work out why he would be discounted in the ranks of perhaps being able to play a role within any organisation.” Originally from the timber and dairy farming hamlet of Heyfield, a community of less than 2000 residents, Brown had come to prominence with Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup. He was drafted by Fremantle as pick No. 5 in the 1999 National Draft. He won a Rising Star nomination in his debut year of 2000, missing only one game for the year. But after three years and 63 games, he was traded to North Melbourne where he became a defender who could go forward, or vice versa, across six seasons and 118 more matches. That could well have been the end of the Leigh Brown story. But when he was delisted by the Kangaroos, Malthouse figured he was worth a late draft punt after impressing in some pre-season training with the Pies. Brown only required a chance: “A journeyman is how everyone describes it, but to me it’s more about having a new opportunity and playing at the best level you can.” Most assumed he would take up a defensive role, given the retirement of Shane Wakelin. He did, for a time. But Malthouse began to use Brown more in attack, as well as offering some coverage as a back-up ruck option. Brown reached his 200-game milestone in round 20, 2009, and finished the season with 10.17, with his goal-kicking accuracy at times causing fans some concern. Still, he played in all three finals that season, including kicking a towering 50m goal in the club’s Semi-Final win over Adelaide. Brown played on the edge, never feeling secure about his position within the team. Just to emphasise this, after playing the first four games of 2010 without registering a goal, he was dropped back to the Pies’ VFL side. It wasn’t until the round 11 clash with the Western Bulldogs that he won his spot back again, but other than a short suspension served near the end of the home and away season, he wouldn’t look back again. Neither did the Magpies. He played in only one loss (round three) from his 19 games that memorable season, courtesy of his redefined role. He played the role so well that it kept Josh Fraser out of the senior team for all but game in the second half of the season. Malthouse preferred the combative Brown over Fraser when it mattered. It worked so well that the one-time unfashionable footballer quickly became a versatile trailblazer for the rest of the competition. Some people dubbed it as “the Leigh Brown role.” He had almost 100 hit-outs that season and his pressure, tackling and pack-crashing in the Magpies’ front half proved crucial in many instances. He hit the scoreboard, kicking 21 goals to silence those worried about his accuracy. Two came in the Qualifying Final win over the Bulldogs, and few will ever forget his booming goal against Geelong in the Preliminary Final. Brown thrived in the role, saying: “I’m not sure we can classify it as a Leigh Brown role, but I guess everyone’s got to be more versatile.” Nick Maxwell explained: “He (Malthouse) copped a lot of flak for backing in ‘Leroy’. Mick made people eat their words. Now all clubs seem to be talking about needing a Leigh Brown-type as a second ruck.” Never mind the fact that Brown didn’t kick a goal in either Grand Final in 2010 against St Kilda – the thrilling draw or the one-sided replay. In the drawn game he took an important mark in the last quarter, had 13 touches and laid five tackles. In the rooms after the game, complete with swollen eye and ice packs applied to both legs, he described the feeling was “surreal … it would have been great to win, but it wasn’t to be. We’ll saddle up next week.” Brown had the first kick of the replay the following week, driving the ball long into attack. Once more, he had 13 disposals, but as was always the case with Brown, he contributed far more than pure statistics can measure. He was rewarded with a premiership medal that looked so unlikely only a few years earlier, and with it came the admiration from a grateful Collingwood army who had taken him to their collective hearts. Yet he wasn’t satisfied with that. Brown took his game – and his role – even further in 2011, as rival clubs looked to mirror Collingwood’s second-ruck strategy, particularly with the introduction of the sub rule that year. He kicked 23 goals for the season – his most in an individual year – with four goals against the Western Bulldogs in round six his best display in what was a blistering start to the season for the club. On the eve of the 2011 finals, Brown dropped a bombshell, announcing he would retire at the end of the season. He was only 29, and still a crucial member of the team. Malthouse was “staggered” by the decision. But Brown resolved to give it everything he had during the finals. He kicked a goal against West Coast in the Qualifying Final and another major halfway through the third quarter of the Grand Final against Geelong, which regained the lead for the Magpies. But the fairytale ending was not meant to be. The Cats ran away with the match in the final half hour. That closed out his 246-game, 138-goal AFL career. Sixty-five games and 54 goals came in a black and white jumper. This journeyman had finally found a home – and a role that he relished. Such was the esteem in which he was held that he was presented with the Darren Millane Memorial Trophy as best clubman as a farewell gift. With that also came life membership, a reward for Collingwood premiership players. Brown embarked on a coaching pathway after retiring, spending two years as an assistant at Melbourne before seeing his career return full circle when he took over as coach of Gippsland Power. The Magpies struggled for a time afterwards in getting the right balance for their second ruck option. Sometimes you don’t truly appreciate something until it is gone.]]> https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/alan-toovey/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:52 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/alan-toovey/ https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/heritier-lumumba/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:49 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/heritier-lumumba/ https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/scott-pendlebury/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:49 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/scott-pendlebury/ https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/nick-maxwell/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:42 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/nick-maxwell/ https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/shane-wakelin/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:33 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/shane-wakelin/ In later years, he admitted that he had lied to coach Mick Malthouse when asked about the extent of his Achilles problem when the coach had interviewed him about coming to Collingwood. He was one of a band of experienced players who added substance to the Collingwood side and in 2002 enjoyed one of his best seasons, finishing fifth in the Copeland Trophy. He played in the Magpies’ Grand Final sides of 2002-03, locking horns in several engrossing duels with Brisbane’s Alistair Lynch and getting the better of him on several occasions. Wakelin was a stalwart in defence in 2004 until he broke his arm and missed the final six games of the season, and his third placing in the best and fairest of 2005 was his highest individual honour. His career began to flag as a young group of Magpie backmen, led by Nick Maxwell and Heritier Lumumba, became senior players in the years that followed, but instead of fading into the darkness, Wakelin enjoyed an Indian summer. After playing just four games in the first 10 rounds of 2007, the then 32-year-old Wakelin returned for the Queen’s Birthday clash with Melbourne and missed just two more games as his side shocked the competition by charging into the Preliminary Final. During the finals series, Wakelin performed admirably on the likes of Barry Hall and Cameron Mooney and typified his team’s fighting spirit with a one-handed tackle on Mooney at a critical stage of the epic Preliminary Final. In 2008, Wakelin’s renacconce continued, managing 20 games in his final season at the age of 34. He was caught in the crossfire when Barry Hall took a swipe at hime durng the team’s visit to Stadium Australia in round 14 and he notched his 250th career game in round 20, fittingly, against Port Adelaide, the club at which he played much of his junior football. Although he missed the Elimination Final, he returned for one last hurrah against his old club St Kilda in the Semi-Final. To the end he was an honorable and respected footballer who fashioned a proud record, and later returned to St Kilda where he worked in the club’s administration.]]> https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/jarrod-molloy/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:32 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/jarrod-molloy/ After attaining cult status with the Lions in 1999, Molloy played all 24 games the following year but lacked the impact he’d had previously and was traded to Collingwood in exchange for Mal Michael. A debutant at 17, Molloy was an old 24, in football terms, when he joined the Magpies and immediately added leadership and grunt to a team that was rapidly regenerating. In an odd twist of fate, his move to Collingwood was a form of returning home as he had sold Football Records at Victoria Park as a youngster. In the lead-up to the 2001 season he lost a massive 10 kilograms, and his hard-hitting, crash through style in the forward line gave an extra dimension to the Magpie attack and provided the perfect foil for Chris Tarrant and Anthony Rocca. He ran second in the best and fairest count, starting the year with three goals on a hot March afternoon against Hawthorn and was a consistent contributor throughout the year. He was robbed of a Mark of the Year contender mid-way through the year when he took a hanger over Sydney’s Andrew Dunkley, only for teammate Anthony Rocca to infringe for a push in the back. Dunkley had to be assisted from the field after Molloy had landed heavily on him. Hamstring, foot and knee injuries decimated his 2002 season, reducing him to just seven games. He made a brief impact against his old club in round eight but played just twice more before being recalled on the eve of the finals. Molloy won just three disposals in the Qualifying Final and, despite his status as vice-captain, was omitted for the Preliminary Final. Jason Cloke’s suspension paved the way for his return on Grand Final day, but he struggled with limited game time, winning just the one kick and laying two tackles. Molloy hit back in 2003, playing all bar one of the first 21 games in the senior side. He sparked the team after a mid-season lull, kicking 3.3 against the Bulldogs in the first week after the bye. The Magpies lost just twice more for the year. His final starring role was played under the lights at the MCG on a Friday night against Richmond in round 16 when he kicked four goals, took nine marks and won 23 disposals in a 69-point win. Molloy lost his place just before the finals, appearing for one last time in wet conditions against Sydney in round 21. His battering ram style had taken its toll and although he was an emergency for the Grand Final, he retired at the end of the year aged 27. In retirement, Molloy worked in television and radio commentary and coached locally.]]> https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/shane-obree/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:29 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/shane-obree/ Drafted to Brisbane, he had a limited taste of AFL football in 1998 as a forward pocket and half-forward flanker and in 1999 began the season well as part of a mean Brisbane defence The Lions had long-term ideas of grooming him as a midfielder, and though he played capably in two finals in his second season on the list, he expressed his desire to return home to Victoria because he could not come to terms with the Lions, and Collingwood picked him with the No.1 selection in the December 1999 pre-season draft. Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse had been keen on drafting him when Malthouse was at West Coast. O’Bree settled smoothly into the Magpies’ line-up and not only was an ever-present in the team in 2000, but proved himself one of the most important members of the team. O’Bree finished fifth in Collingwood’s best and fairest in his first season and started 2001 in slashing form and constantly pumped the ball out of the middle for the Magpies to finish fourth in the best and fairest. He became a constant force for the Magpies for most of the next decade. He was slow to start in 2002 because of osteitis pubis, but he eventually reclaimed his position, playing in the losing Grand Final sides of 2002 and 2003. O’Bree had an unspectacular 2004 season punctuated by a knee problem that sidelined him for four weeks and he needed to quickly turn the trend around. He had an excellent 2005 and continued to be a stalwart through to the end of 2009. In 2010 he was supplanted by younger midfielders and with just six senior appearances drew the curtain on a fine career.]]> https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/rupert-betheras/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:24 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/rupert-betheras/ Many Collingwood footballers who have had longer and more productive careers have not had the same sort of engagement with the fans as Betheras had in much of his 85 games across five AFL seasons. But somehow he seemed to touch not only the supporters who admired the way he embraced the contest, but also his teammates who respected his honesty and commitment to the cause. Even he couldn’t quite explain it: “I suppose if it can get everyone fired up, that’s good.” Nathan Buckley acknowledged in Betheras’ first AFL season, 1999, that the new player wearing the No.49 jumper “was always going to get him a bit of attention (because of his unusual name), if he got a kick.” Fortunately, for Collingwood, he could get a kick, even if his pathway into the AFL came from an alternative route. He had shown good potential as a junior at East Malvern, though he was a late developer, highlighted by the fact that X-rays when he was 15 showed that he had the bones of an 11-year-old. He had two seasons with De La Salle in the VAFA before heading off with a girlfriend on a surfing sabbatical to Western Australia. Betheras drove across the Nullarbor Plain – with no spare tyre, mind you – with football the furthest thing from his mind. But a chance meeting with a mate on the beach at Margaret River changed the direction of his life. That mate invited him down to train at East Perth, where former Magpie Kevin Worthington was coaching, and he impressed from the outset, and wound up playing every game of the 1996 WAFL season. Such was his form that he was rookie-listed by Fremantle, though he never won a senior call-up. A move back to Melbourne followed and he sent a video highlights package to a host of AFL clubs. One of them was Collingwood, and the Magpies reserved a spot for him on its supplementary list for 1998. By the end of that season he was almost part of the furniture, acting as the reserves captain and winning the best-and-fairest award. He shouted ‘Go Pies’ into the microphone when accepting the Joseph Wren Memorial Trophy on Copeland night. That further endeared him to the faithful, and saw him rewarded as pick 76 in the national draft. Betheras debuted for Collingwood against West Coast in round three, 1999, in the penultimate match at Victoria Park. He would play 16 games for the year as one of the few illuminating characters in a season of darkness. His first six games resulted in losses, including one to Adelaide that he almost secured off his own boot, only to be penalised for a push in the back in the dying moments. A week after that near-miss, he played “the game of his life”, according to one newspaper, against St Kilda, having 27 disposals, kicking the sealer goal 21 minutes into the final term and having Nathan Burke assigned to him. “When you haven’t played in a winning team before, you don’t look at those things (the goal) as sealers …. I’ve always had to fight pretty hard for my position,” Betheras said after the breakthrough win. He was happy to take on difficult roles, playing on seasoned midfielders Mark Bickley, Todd Viney and Daryn Cresswell in his first season. The more arduous the role; the more he seemed to thrive on it. “I always had the belief that once I got a go, I’d play all right,” he said. Betheras finished in the top 10 of the Copeland Trophy, winning the Harry Collier Trophy, as best first-year player, as well as highly-regarded ‘Wrecker Award’ in that debut season. He barely missed a beat the following year, under new coach Michael Malthouse, playing all 22 matches, finishing sixth in the best-and-fairest award and winning the Darren Millane Perpetual Trophy as Best Clubman. A blue-collar worker who was more of a pure footballer in a time where many clubs were chasing athletes, Betheras was described by Buckley as “very much team-orientated, (always) about doing the right thing, and working hard to earn your stripes.” A guernsey number change to 10 came in 2001, but he managed only 14 games that season, finding himself out of the senior side late in the year. But his most influential season was to follow, as he played all but one game of the 2002 season, contributing to Collingwood’s run through to a Grand Final appearance against Brisbane Lions. His impact gave life to the chant, notably in the round eight clash with a seemingly invincible Brisbane at Docklands, a game in which he kicked three goals and had 22 disposals. Asked after that breakthrough win over the Lions why he had rapidly become a Collingwood cult figure, Betheras shrugged his shoulders and said: “I don’t know”. But the real explanation was that Pies fans loved the way he attacked the ball and the way he had a capacity to provide a spark when it was required. They were also intrigued by his story off the field, and how this one-time street graffiti artist had taken to painting. For a time he had even taken up the disused press box in the Bob Rose Stand as his art studio. Betheras played a significant role in Collingwood’s spirited run through September, kicking two goals in both the qualifying final win over Port Adelaide and the preliminary final win over Adelaide. He had 14 disposals – including nine contested ones – in Collingwood’s nine-point loss to Brisbane in the 2002 Grand Final, throwing himself into every contest as if his life depended on it. In the rooms after the game, he spoke of how the pain of narrow defeat could hopefully lead to something better. “We thought we could win the game, showed we could, but we didn’t,” he said that night. “It’s an opportunity lost and it doesn’t come around every year.” Collingwood would get its chance the following year, but would fall short again. Betheras wasn’t there, having lost his spot in the senior team late in the season. Ever the team man, he did play in a premiership that year, with Williamstown – Collingwood’s aligned side at that time – in the VFL sharing the moment with a young Nick Maxwell and Dane Swan. Betheras was only 27 when he was delisted at the end of the 2003 season. He did pre-season training with Richmond one summer and with North Melbourne the next, but never got another shot at it. Sadly, his AFL playing career was over, but his influence on the game wasn’t. Betheras would go on to play a key role in unearthing Liam Jurrah and helping to put him on the pathway to becoming the first indigenous player from a remote community to play AFL football, albeit with Melbourne. He would continue to work with indigenous communities, assisting many young sportsmen and women and artists along the way. Betheras was a good footballer, but in many ways, he was never solely defined by the game that he played. Maybe that’s what endeared him to Collingwood fans so much when he was wearing the Black and White jumper.]]>