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/taylor-adams/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:03:15 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/taylor-adams/ https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/dale-thomas/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:49 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/dale-thomas/ He represented Vic Country at the U18 National Championships where he was named as an All-Australian as a half forward, and he was also named in the TAC Cup Team of the Year on the wing, polling 11 votes in the Morrish Medal. Thomas was drafted to Collingwood with the second selection in the 2005 National Draft, behind Carlton’s Marc Murphy. It was considered a surprise at the time, as Gippsland teammate Xavier Ellis was the hot tip to be selected by the Magpies with their first selection. Thomas first appeared for his new club in the NAB Cup of 2006 and was blooded officially against Adelaide in round one at Docklands. He took centre stage immediately, kicking two early goals and pulling in an early contender for Mark of the Year. He was nominated for the AFL Rising Star the following week. He again attracted media attention when he starred on ANZAC Day in front of 91,234 fans, taking one of the marks of the season and kicking two important goals. He was important in the win over the Eagles in round 16 when the Pies snapped a three game losing streak, but he broke his collarbone leaping as the third man up at a ruck contest in the loss to the Crows in round 18. He managed to return in time for the  Elimination Final against the Western Bulldogs. Incredibly, for a first year player, he spent only one game with Williamstown, the club’s VFL affiliate, during his comeback from injury, and showed his liking for the big stage with four goals in a final against the Northern Bullants. At season’s end he was awarded the Harry Collier Medal as Best First Year Player. There was no sign of second year blues for Thomas, who was a strong contributor all throughout 2007 at half forward and occasionally in the midfield. He enjoyed a purple patch mid-season, kicking four against the Swans in Sydney to win three Brownlow votes, and single-handedly winning the game for the Pies against St Kilda in round 14. The win over the Saints was memorable for the ‘goal that wasn’t’ – when Thomas evaded two tacklers before dribbling a miraculous goal from the boundary line, only for the goal to be disallowed as it was deemed he’d stepped out of bounds. He tapered a little as the season ended, but put in a gutsy performance against West Coast in the Semi-Final and finished sixth in the Copeland Trophy. Thomas had a steady 2008 season, playing mostly in attack where he nailed 23 goals in 22 games. He was sublime in the 100 point win against the Eagles, attracting plenty of coverage for his four-bounce goal and subsequent celebration. He added an important goal against Adelaide late in the third term in the Elimination Final and represented Australia in the International Rules series under coach Mick Malthouse, ending the year in eighth place in the Copeland Trophy. Season 2009 saw Thomas employed in a different role as to previous seasons, spending a lot of the year as a defensive half forward. He still had his moments, kicking the match winner against the Western Bulldogs in round 15 and bagging three majors and 16 disposals against Brisbane in round 18. He signed a new two year contract mid-season, and was one of the better performers in the Qualifying Final loss to St Kilda, kicking two goals. But it was in 2010 that Thomas transformed his game, going from a flashy half forward to a full time wingman. He increased his fitness base and subsequently his output, upping his average disposal count to 23.9 (up from 17.2) and his tackle count to 3.5 (up from 2.9). Importantly, he became a real weapon as the fourth midfielder behind Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury and Luke Ball, and still managed to push forward to score goals (18.14 for the season). He was excellent throughout the finals campaign, kicking a goal in each final and starting with 32 disposals against the Bulldogs in the Qualifying Final. Thomas etched his name into club folklore with his performances across the two Grand Finals against St Kilda, enhancing his reputation enormously in the process. He had 26 touches and eight tackles in the drawn Grand Final, and was one player to stand up when the heat was on in the final quarter. He repeated the dose with 27 possessions in the Replay, this time ending the day a premiership player. He ran third in the Copeland Trophy and tied for the Bob Rose Award (Best Player in Finals). In 2011, he continued his improvement as a midfielder to the point where St Kilda coach Ross Lyon mused mid-season that Thomas may be the best player in the competition. Lyon’s comments followed a hot streak in which Thomas polled maximum Brownlow votes for two weeks running against the Crows and the Eagles. He was suspended for two weeks mid-season for striking Saint Clint Jones but it did little to take the wind out of his sails. Another suspension in round 23 against Fremantle did, however, meaning he missed the Qualifying Final. Thomas went down fighting in the Grand Final defeat (31 disposals and seven tackles), and played in the pre-season premiership, finishing the year ranked sixth in the Copeland Trophy. After the boom years of 2010-2011, Thomas’ output wavered in his last two years in Black and White. He played 20 of a possible 25 games in 2012, showcasing his newly shorn head in the process. He kicked 22 goals for the year but lacked the impact of the previous campaigns, save for his match-winning burst of three goals in the emotional Semi-Final win over West Coast. The following years was the toughest of Thomas’ eight seasons in Collingwood colours. Foot and ankle injuries held him to only five senior games, his lowest tally since his debut year of 2006 (when he played 16 games). He missed the entire NAB Cup owing to foot surgery and was brought back via the VFL where he was one of the best afield in the final practice match against the AIS-AFL Academy at the MCG when he won 25 possessions and laid five tackles. He followed that up with 22 disposals against North Ballarat in the first round of the VFL and was quickly brought back into the senior side for the round three encounter with Hawthorn. Thomas had 19 disposals from 86 per cent game time but sustained a kick to the back of his ankle that would eventually see him sidelined for the majority of the season. In the month that followed, he was used as the substitute against Richmond and was productive as a rebounding half back against St Kilda (34 possessions and a Brownlow vote) and Fremantle (25 possessions). Unfortunately, the condition of Thomas’ ankle forced him to take a 14-week absence from the game. His attitude and commitment during his rehabilitation allowed him an attempt at an eleventh hour comeback ahead of the finals, but his season came to a halt during the second quarter of the VFL team’s win over Sandringham when he jogged from the field after experiencing discomfort in his ankle With that, his season was done, and the attention shifted to his whereabouts for the 2014 season. Thomas eventually made the decision to cross to Carlton as a free agent where he was reunited with Malthouse, who coached him in the first 132 games of his career. By way of compensation, Collingwood received pick No. 11 in the National Draft, which the club later upgraded to pick No. 6 in a trade with West Coast. The Magpies used selection No. 6 on young South Australian prodigy Matthew Scharenberg. While Thomas’ move to Princes Park evoked strong emotion from the Collingwood faithful, it will never forget his role in the acquisition of the club’s 15th VFL/AFL premiership in 2010.]]> 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/heath-shaw/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:48 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/heath-shaw/ Although he was mooted as a potential debutant early in 2004, Shaw made his AFL debut late in 2005 and had an impressive start as he demonstrated his ball-winning skills in defence. To start 2006 he was a late call up against Hawthorn in round 2 after having won 35 touches for Williamstown the previous day. After that, he played in all the remaining games and rapidly became a major component of the team as a running, penetrating half-back who could launch constant attacks, as illustrated when he won the ANZAC Day Medal in 2007. His influence was so strong that by the end of the season, opposing teams were allocating negating forwards to the job of limiting him. Always busy on the field, he had been diagnosed with ADD as a kid, and his energetic style endeared him to the hearts of the Collingwood faithful. He was touted as a future leader after he ran fourth in the 2007 best and fairest and continued the momentum into early 2008 but his form wasn’t quite as consistent. His season ended dramatically when the club suspended him after round 18 when he and teammate Alan Didak found themselves in off-field strife. He admitted later that it shook his feeling of being invulnerable. He responded in the best way possible by running third in the 2009 best and fairest and at the start of 2010 he joined the leadership group. A fine year ended with a premiership for the Magpies and he provided a highlight of the Grand Final Replay when he desperately lunged to smother a Nick Riewoldt kick from the square. In late 2011 he was suspended for eight games (with a further six suspended) in a football betting scandal, but he bounced back to continue as one of the foremost running half backs in the competition. Unfortunately, a number of undisciplined acts in 2013 left him on the outer and he was placed on the trade market, being traded to Greater Western Sydney in exchange for Taylor Adams.]]> https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/travis-cloke/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:45 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/travis-cloke/ And what a package that was. Across his 12 seasons in the black and white, his tally of goals and capacity to drag down important contested marks stamped him as one of the most important and influential players of his era. Ignore the wayward kicking for a moment and look at the statistics: he kicked more goals than all but six players in Magpie history – Gordon Coventry, Peter McKenna, Dick Lee, Peter Daicos, Saverio Rocca and Alby Pannam. But even more importantly, it’s worth remembering that Travis Cloke was not your classic stay-at-home full-forward. He often played as more a centre half-forward or even high half-forward: he had a huge engine and would often present as a leading target for marks on the wing, or even deeper, then wheel on to that famous left-foot for a booming kick into the forward line. So goals alone are not how his legacy should be measured. So it’s the contested marking for which he will be most remembered. Immensely strong with a good leap and remarkably ‘sticky’ hands, Cloke at his best was almost unstoppable. Across three seasons – 2010 to 2012 – he recorded three of the top 12 highest contested mark counts in a season ever recorded. He could wrestle an opponent out of contention in one-on-one contests, or fly into a pack against three defenders and almost always emerge with ball in hand. Despite his strength he was very much a gentle giant (though you wouldn’t want to have been on the end of one of his bone-crunching tackles), but even then he was rarely looked after by the umpires. Indeed, at times they seemed to penalise him for being so much stronger, and so much better, than most of his opponents. But Cloke rarely complained or remonstrated: he just shrugged and prepared for the next contest. Football had always been in Travis’s DNA, with his father, David, having a celebrated career with Richmond and Collingwood. David’s three sons – Jason, Cameron and Travis – were born within a five-year window, but there was always a belief the youngest might be the best. Each son had the luxury of choosing between Richmond and Collingwood, but most believed the trio was a package deal. Jason, taken by the Magpies in 2000, said as much after he was joined by Cameron in 2002: “There’s still another one to come. Hopefully we can all play at the same club.” Richmond launched a late bid to convince Travis that he would be better off at another club. But Collingwood was never going to let this young talent from the Eastern Ranges slip through the net. He debuted for Collingwood on Anzac Day in 2005, kicking a goal and having 15 touches. All three brothers played in the same match the following week against St Kilda, a one-off moment that Travis would later declare to be one of his most cherished in football. It also provided one memorable passage of play when Jason (No.34) took control of the ball, gave it off to Cameron (No.33) further down the ground, and he send it down to Travis (No.32) deep in attack. At the end of 2006, the Magpies made the difficult decision to move both Jason (76 games) and Cameron (21 games) on. As disappointed as Travis was, it did not affect his football. Indeed he had an outstanding 2007 season, culminating in a Copeland Trophy win – one of only six who won it at 20 or younger. From that season on, Cloke’s was one of the first names on the Collingwood team sheet each week. A contract standoff between his management and the club caused tensions in 2012, which impacted on the forward’s form. Soon after the 2012 preliminary final loss to Sydney, Cloke signed a lucrative five-year deal to stay at Collingwood, saying that he wanted to remain loyal to the club. He followed it up with a strong season in 2013, finishing third again in the Copeland, winning a second All-Australian berth, and kicked 68.51, narrowly missing out on a Coleman Medal for the second time in three seasons. Like his father, he had countless kicking coaches – from Saverio Rocca to Ben Dixon – and dealt with psychologists and body movement experts, seeking conventional and not-so-conventional solutions. For a time, he even took to using an iPod and headphones in his training sessions to replicate the noise of the crowd. But as the game changed in shape, and the influence of power forwards began to diminish, Cloke’s impact on games began to drop off through 2014 (39 goals) and 2015 (34 goals). He had one last glorious hurrah in 2016, four goals against Greater Western Sydney, but at the end of the year sought a move to the Western Bulldogs. He had limited on-field impact at the Dogs, but was widely lauded for publicly talking about his decision to take time out that year to deal with depression. In the end, Travis Cloke will go down as one of the best Collingwood key forwards of the post-war era. If he’d been just a little more accurate in front of goal, his standing would be even higher. But if he’d been more clinical in front of goal, then some other part of the package might have been diminished. So rather than focus on the flaws we can instead celebrate the whole: the extraordinary contribution and wonderful career of one of footy’s true nice guys.  ]]> 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/dane-swan/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:40 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/dane-swan/ In the years that followed, Swan made incredible improvement to the point where he became the 2011 Brownlow Medalist, and earned the label of ‘untaggable’ from many commentators. A strongly built midfielder who is dangerous if released to half forward, Swan’s unique ability to repeatedly out-sprint his opponents, allowing him to power from contest to contest, made him Collingwood’s most consistent player of the Malthouse-Buckley era. Criticised earn on by some for his occasionally errant kicking, Swan’s disposal was soon considered to be as good as any other. His barrel chest meant he could hunt down the ball at the stoppages and explode away from them courtesy of his deceptive pace. Far from a front runner, Swan averaged 84.4 tackles between 2007 and 2011. He also had ability to make himself a threat in attack, be it around stoppages, outrunning his opponent when the side’s in possession and when isolated one-out where his underrated ability overhead made him the complete package. After a disappointing and injury-plagued 2014, he returned to stellar form in 2015, running second in the Copeland Trophy. He began the 2016 campaign well, starring during the NAB Challenge, only for a rare foot injury suffered minutes into the season opener against Sydney to end both his season and his career.]]> https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/james-clement/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:34 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/james-clement/ Malthouse, it turns out, had unsuccessfully tried to recruit Clement as a teenager to West Coast. The coach had watched him as a junior in the mid-1990s, but the Dockers had first dibs as part of their zone selection options, given that he had played with South Fremantle in the WAFL. He made his name at South as a mobile half-back and winger, but once he joined Freo he spent most of his time in defence, quickly becoming a regular in the seniors. In 1998 he had a brief burst of success as a forward, kicking five goals in consecutive matches against West Coast and Essendon, but mostly he was a defender. He played all 22 games for the Dockers in 1999 but managed just eight the following year. Malthouse was by now at Collingwood, so when Judkins suggested Clement was frustrated and might be gettable, the coach couldn’t have been keener. He’d actually kept in touch with Clement over the years, and the two were keen to work together.     At the end of 2000 he was traded to Collingwood in a complex deal that saw him joined in black-and-white by Fremantle small forward Brodie Holland, while Paul Williams headed to Sydney. And as good as Willo was for the Swans, nobody doubted that the Pies ended up with the best of that deal. Clement was an instant hit at Collingwood, snagging three goals in his first game (only 10 more would come in his Magpie career). He was understated off the field and could not stand hype. On the field, he loved the contest, hated fuss, and preferred a low-key approach. He was tall, strong, good overhead but also quick and agile, capable of playing on both tall and small forwards. An educated man, he was one of those players who was never going to have to rely on his football career to steer him through life, and yet he played the game as though his life depended on it. He rapidly developed into one of the game’s premier defenders, missing only six games in his first six seasons at the club. His durability amazed some teammates. In a contest against his former side in 2004, he played three quarters with a suspected fracture cheekbone. And in a practice game earlier that year he suffered an eye injury that would not stop bleeding for two days, prompting concern over the health of his eyesight. Clement’s consistency and his rare ability to win his contests, regardless of the result, saw him become a star in a revamped team that would contest the 2002 and 2003 Grand Finals. He was third in the Copeland Trophy in his second season at the club, and also shared the best finals player award that year. He then won consecutive best-and-fairest awards in 2004 and 2005, and finished second in 2006. He was named in two All-Australian teams (2004-05), though some of his teammates insist he should have been selected in more. “He was probably the best defender in the competition for two or three years,” Scott Burns maintained. “He was an All-Australian lock. I still can’t believe he didn’t make it (the team) in a few other years.” Clement took on and eclipsed some of the best forwards of his time, and is widely remembered for one clash in 2006 where he outpointed Essendon’s James Hird so comprehensively – often with perfectly timed subtle nudges under the ball – that the AFL subsequently introduced the “hands in the back” rule. “He absolutely dominated James Hird that day,” recalled Burns, “and Hird sooked and Essendon sooked, and we got the stupid ‘hands in the back rule’ as a result.” Clement could play on power-marking big men or the fleet of foot, mobile smaller attacking players, which set him apart from other more predictable, one-dimensional defenders. “Jimmy could play on the smallest of forwards and the tallest of forwards, and he would knock them all over,” Nathan Buckley said. “He was hard, really hard, and he made himself that on and off the field.”   He was rarely beaten one-on-one, was an exceptional rebounding defender and in an age where metres gained was not necessarily a focus, his ability to break free from his opponent and roost the ball 60m out of the defensive zone was a huge part of the Magpies’ game plan. He was a beautiful kick of the football and rarely missed his targets. But more than anything it was class and composure that James Clement brought to the heart of Collingwood’s defence. He was cool, unruffled and seemingly always in control. The whole defence seemed tighter and more assured from the moment he stepped into it. As understated as he was off the field, Clement proved extraordinary guidance and inspiration on it, and stepped into the captaincy breech whenever Buckley was missing. It wasn’t until 2007 that injuries began to catch up with him. He managed only 13 of 25 games that year, missing 11 straight with a calf injury. He returned in Round 18, and did not miss a beat as the Magpies won their way through to another finals series. Fittingly for a player who won the club’s best finals player in 2002 and 2006, Clement was among Collingwood’s best players in the heartbreaking preliminary final loss to Geelong in 2007. Few took much notice when he gave a wave to the crowd as he left the MCG that night. He was 31, and seemed to have so much more left to give, almost certainly as the next captain. But Clement was ready to move to the next phase of his life, helping to support his wife, Jeanne, who was undergoing a health battle. He quietly gave the game away, with no fanfare, no media conference and no looking back. For a guy who eschewed the limelight for so much of his career, it seemed the perfect way to go out. James Clement finished his career as one of the AFL’s most respected defenders of the early 2000s, and his legacy was upheld by several of his younger teammates such as Nick Maxwell and Heritier Lumumba, who regularly cited Clement’s influence as a key driver behind the nucleus of the group that was to take out the 2010 premiership.  ]]> https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/josh-fraser/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:27 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/josh-fraser/ Collingwood insisted when it made Fraser the number one draft choice in 1999 that he would be eased into AFL football and would be lucky to play more than a handful of games in 2000. Fraser, however, proved very early that he was ready, willing and able to step up to senior ranks right from the start of the season and he made his debut in the round one clash with Hawthorn. He did well in that match and held his place in the side until he missed one match with a hamstring niggle mid-season. Fraser exceeded expectations in 2000 and continued to develop nicely the following season, although his form tailed off later in the year under the demands placed on him. No eyebrows were raised when he was suggested as suitable for a leadership position in 2002. He was hampered by osteitis pubis throughout 2002, but still managed to play every game and he came to the fore in the Preliminary Final and Grand Final, kicking three goals in the gallant nine-point loss to the Lions in wet conditions. In the 2003 Grand Final he played a lone hand with Anthony Rocca serving a suspension and won respect for his efforts. A big workload was thrust on him in 2004 and at times he seemed to struggle, but still managed a top 10 finish in the club best and fairest. As the club’s lead ruckman he was a key figure early in 2006 and his athleticism meant he had a solid year. The workload in 2007 wore him down at the end of the year when he missed the club’s epic finals against West Coast and Geelong due to a back injury and then in 2008 he injured a knee while representing Victoria against the Dream Team which restricted him later in the season, although he managed to lead the team to a win over Adelaide in the Elimination Final in the absence of captain Scott Burns. A steady 2009 ended with a below par finals series and in 2010, with the combination of Darren Jolly and Leigh Brown’s renascence, he struggled to get a senior game, reaching the 200 milestone in the last home and away match. Despite performing well at VFL level, Fraser was traded to Gold Coast at the end of the year where he played 18 senior games in the Suns’ first two seasons. After his retirement, Fraser became a Collingwood life member and served as the coach of the Gold Coast reserves.]]> https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/paul-licuria/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:02:23 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/paul-licuria/ Licuria had always had a rare capacity to find the ball (he had more than 450 disposals in seven consecutive seasons), and he found plenty of it that night, having a career-best 40 disposals. But he also shut down Josh Francou, whose form had been so good he would finish runner-up in the Brownlow Medal. So that was Licca in a nutshell: doing the team thing, a shut down job, to the absolute best of his ability, and then somehow adding to that his innate ability to get plenty of the ball as well. By the end of 2002, everyone inside and outside Collingwood recognised that Paul Licuria was an elite footballer. His disposal efficiency wasn’t his strength in his early years, but he painstakingly worked on making it an asset, not a weakness. His pressure was elite; his tackling ferocious. He was, by his own confession, not the most gifted of players. But he worked harder than most, and through sheer hard work and a fierce determination, he built a tank that produced a capacity to keep running when others couldn’t. Above all, he was selfless, always doing things for the sake of the side rather than for his own benefit, and aiming wherever possible to improve those around him. “If we all had a set of values to live by, Paul Licuria would be a ten out of ten,” Buckley told Champions of Collingwood. “There was a little bit of self doubt early and question marks about whether he was good enough, but through sheer will and hard work, he created a mindset that underpinned the way he went about things. Once he had that belief system … there was absolutely no stopping him.” Licuria had grown up as a Collingwood supporter, playing for Keon Park Stars. In a different age, he would have been residentially zoned to Collingwood, but in the drafting era, he was snapped up by Sydney as pick 24 in the 1995 national draft. He had to endure a knee re-construction at the age of 16 in 1994 and then had the other knee reconstructed just before the 1995 draft. After 10 games in three seasons with the Swans, he was traded to Collingwood ahead of the 1999 season, playing 13 games that first year and earning a Rising Star nomination. He was mostly regarded as a defensive player in those days: a dogged, determined type with a big engine who would do a tagging job on an opposition star. But in his third season – 2001 – Licuria took his game to a higher plain. He played every match and surprised many outside the club when he won the Copeland Trophy, knocking off Buckley, drawing some criticism from the likes of Mike Sheahan, who damned him with faint praise by describing him as an “honest toiler”. No one was saying that a year later, after his extraordinary finals performance against the Power, and winning a second consecutive Copeland Trophy. He also won the coveted Bob Rose Award for the best player in our finals series. He wasn’t simply stopping players anymore, as he did with the likes of Jason Akermanis and Andrew McLeod, he was also hurting them back the other way. His teammates loved his commitment to the tasks set for him, and the wholehearted way he approached every game, and every contest. The fans, many of whom were initially critical, did too. By the early noughties he had become one of the club’s most popular players. Licuria wasn’t afraid to show how much it all meant to him. The image of him, arm-in-arm with Mick Malthouse, crying uncontrollably after the 2002 Grand Final loss remains one of the rawest images in Australian football. He was a member of the club’s losing Grand Final side in 2003, too, finishing fourth in the best-and-fairest that year while winning best clubman honours. Licurias was runner-up in the Copeland Trophy in 2004. He barely missed a game across six-and-a-half seasons, fronting up to any challenge that was thrown at him. As his career wore on, though, that trademark resilience he had become renown for loosened a little, as his well-travelled body began to fail him for the first time. A calf injury restricted him to only 11 games in 2007, and it brought about an emotional retirement, announced at Copeland Trophy night. Fittingly, for someone so connected to the club, Licuria has never really left Collingwood. In various roles over the years – as a VFL player assisting the young group, as a midfield and development coach, and more recently, as a board member, the kid who grew up barracking for the black and white is still giving back to the club. He wouldn’t have it any other way.        ]]>