1986 – 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 A football enigma https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/a-football-enigma/ Mon, 03 Oct 2016 23:44:49 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=10805 Wes Fellowes was in many ways a football enigma at Collingwood. The powerfully-built ruckman with a Black and White pedigree earned the club’s highest individual honour in a season in which he even scored an invite to the Brownlow. By the time the next season started, however, he had been dropped back to the reserves. Seemingly, throughout his entire 10-season, 102-game career with Collingwood, his place in the senior side was on a knife’s edge, as he competed for a spot against the likes of big men David Cloke, James Manson and, later still, a young Damian Monkhorst. Such was the frequency of Fellowes’ revolving door between the seniors and reserves following his 1986 Copeland Trophy win that the Coodabeen Champions penned a song in his honour. It was written to the tune of Abba’s Fernando, and was titled ‘You’ve been dropped again, Wes Fellowes.” Even through his most celebrated season, he came in for criticism from unforgiving fans – and sometimes even his coach – for his attack on the ball and competitive edge. Wes inherited his Black and White connection from his father, Graeme, who was a member of Collingwood’s famed 1958 premiership side. Graeme, who had played 66 games across eight seasons, once acknowledge his son’s passion for the club, saying: “he was born and bred Collingwood.” The other thing he inherited from his father was a giant frame – both stood 200cm. But as Wes spent more and more time in the weights room at Victoria Park, he transformed his frame into an exceptionally powerful one, only heightening the calls from the outer for him to use it more. Having been recruited from Bulleen-Templestowe, he made his senior debut as a 20-year-old in round 13, 1981, against St Kilda at Victoria Park. It was Peter Moore’s 150th game and there were hopes that the debutant – who kicked a goal – might one day be able to take over the ruck mantle. Fellowes didn’t get another chance that season. But when Collingwood imploded and tumbled down the ladder the following season, he had more regular game time, playing 16 games and having 320 hit-outs in 1982. But his body let him down over the next few seasons. In 1983 he had cartilage removed from his knee, restricting him to 13 games. Then ankle surgery in 1984 kept him to 12 matches, though he regained his spot late in the season to play in all three finals. He enjoyed a strong second half of the season in 1985, polling 10 Brownlow votes, the same tally as Cloke. That season appeared to give him the confidence he needed and he repaid the faith of the selectors in 1986 by playing all but one man as the first choice ruckman. Considered a strong tap ruckman, a solid mark around the ground and relatively dependable with his disposal, Fellowes had a strong season. While he polled four fewer votes in the 1986 Brownlow than the previous year, he was a clear winner of the Copeland Trophy, scoring by 11 votes from Bruce Abernethy and third-year player Darren Millane. His form was such that one of the league’s new franchises, Brisbane, made him a lucrative offer that he dismissed out of loyalty to the club. It would be a decision he would later question as his opportunities diminished over the following years. Coach Leigh Matthews challenged Fellowes to be more aggressive after his Copeland success, as well instructing him to stop turning back on the play. In the pre-season after, Matthews said: “Fellowes had an up-and-down season, despite winning the best and fairest. He can be a more valuable player.” It was hardly the ringing endorsement for the reigning club champion winner, who was just about to turn 26. Fellowes was left out of the senior team for the round one, 1987 clash with Sydney – a precursor for what was ahead. He managed 17 games that season, but slipped back to only five games in 1988 and just a solitary game in 1989. The expectation of the Collingwood faithful turned to frustration. They questioned why someone as physically imposing as the 106kg big man did not always use it. One newspaper explained: “When you are as big as Wes, the public’s expectations are always just as big. When your name is Fellowes, they are twice that size.” And even media commentator Lou Richards conceded: “Too often, too easily, Fellowes falls out of the game, and the Magpies’ hopes crash with him.” To his credit, Fellowes never complained publicly, even when the criticism was at times too personal and occasionally unfair due to his limited opportunities. “I guess sometimes it could be true, but I go for the ball, that’s the way I play,” he said of the criticism of his aggression. “But if someone hits me or a teammate, I’ll just go and hit them back if I have to.” “I say I’ll be out there trying my hardest. You can’t do any better than that, can you?” There was talk – denied by the club – Fellowes, Ron McKeown and Athas Hrysoulakis were considered for a trade that never happened with Footscray’s Tony McGuinness. Cloke returned to Richmond in 1990, and Manson and Monkhorst locked in the ruck roles, leaving Fellowes on the outer – again. He did not play a senior game in a drought-breaking premiership season that he had often dream about. He was delisted in March 1991, after the club had allowed him to keep training to keep in shape as he looked to other opportunities at a rival AFL club. Sadly, that never came, and he was overlooked in the draft. That surprised his first coach at Collingwood, Tom Hafey, who said: “I am absolutely staggered he wasn’t drafted.” In keeping with his character, Fellowes didn’t lash out at the club or cry foul, but admitted to a little frustration with how he was managed. “I suppose people didn’t want to play me,” he said. “It was their choice whether I played or not. I suppose I’m sorry I didn’t go (elsewhere earlier), but that’s the way it goes.” He signed a two-year deal with Port Adelaide in the SANFL and enjoyed a strong season, in 1991. But he didn’t take up the final year of the deal and opted to return to Melbourne to concentrate on his professional career with the tax office, rather than football. But with a Copeland Trophy on his mantelpiece, Fellowes’ place in Collingwood’s history will live on forever.]]> Seeds of the future https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/seeds-of-the-future/ Tue, 27 Sep 2016 01:09:06 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=10799 By: Glenn McFarlane of the Herald Sun Mick McGuane remembers it as the moment his Collingwood under 19s team was linked to the man who would ultimately determine their destiny, Leigh Matthews. It came in April 1986, in the days after Matthews replaced Bob Rose as senior coach, and McGuane credits it with part of his future success, and the bridge between the young up-and-coming Magpies and the man in charge of the club’s direction. McGuane was 18 at the time, having come to the club from Sebastopol, and already displaying good potential alongside some highly-rated teenagers in the club’s “thirds”, as the under 19s were sometimes called. Among the group was a skinny kid from Templestowe devoid of fear (Gavin Brown), a big lump of a lad from Woori Yallock (Damian Monkhorst) and a resolute left-footer from Queensland (Gavin Crosisca). Other likely lads brought together under the coaching of Keith Burns came from all parts of the state. Plenty of them came from the fertile recruiting grounds of the northern suburbs, including captain Jason Croall, and Damian Keating from Bundoora, Athas Hrysoulakis from Lalor, Terry Keays from St Marys, Neil Brindley and Paul Smith, from Greensborough, as well as John Mrakov, from Preston Wanderers. “We were a very close group (in the under 19s) and we felt as if we really connected to each other, and connected to the Collingwood Football Club,” McGuane said. “The first time that I felt really connected to the club, and a part of Collingwood, was when Leigh Matthews got the whole club together in the one room at Vic Park.

LIST: View profiles of those who won an under 19s best-and-fairest while playing for Collingwood.

“It was the whole club, too, and that included the under 19s. We all felt connected because we were included in it. “He spoke about what he expected from us. He told us that, as an outsider looking in, he thought there were too many egotistical bastards in the room, and he was prepared to name them. It didn’t matter that we were in the under 19s. We knew we were a part of what was happening at the club then and in the future.” Fast forward five months, to September 26, 1986 – 30 years ago this week – and the highly-rated Collingwood side defeated North Melbourne to win its fourth VFL under 19s premiership as the first game of a big day of football at the MCG, culminating in the Hawthorn-Carlton VFL Grand Final. Coached by Keith Burns, a great tutor of young footballers, this Magpies under 19s team would prove to be one of the most celebrated, with four players going on to play in the first AFL Grand Final four years later on a day where Collingwood broke a 32-year premiership drought. All four – Brown, Monkhorst, McGuane and Crosisca – played important roles that day in 1990, and had long and distinguished careers in black and white. Others from that 1986 under 19s side had solid careers with the Magpies, 11 of the Grand Final team represented the club at senior level, and a number of them were very stiff not to play a league match, given how strong the competition was. Many of them are still connected to the club – and to each other – as evidenced by the 30-year reunion alongside their former mentor Burns in early September. “We’ve always been pretty close,” Paul Smith, one of the team’s best defenders, said. “We’re all still close 30 years on.” Burns has always had the philosophy that developing players was more important than wining flags, but he knew this particular under 19s side had the talent and the temperament to achieve the ultimate success. “We knew we had a good side, and we had a great year,” Burns said recently. “We tried a lot of young players out that year and tried to develop them as players.” “We used to send them up to the seconds when they were ready to go. But the seconds that year (in 1986) weren’t going to make the finals that year. We still sent some boys up to the seconds (Mark Orval and Paul Tuddenham), but we knew we were a chance to win the under 19s flag, so we kept a lot of the group together.” Incredibly as the season would later pan out, Collingwood’s under 19s side started 1986 slowly, winning only three of the first nine games. Two of the early defeats – one of them to North Melbourne – were floggings. But somehow they clicked, and with Matthews keeping an eye on the young charges, and with Burns polishing their skills and their commitment, the Magpie thirds stormed home to finish third on the ladder, giving them the double chance by 0.01 per cent.

PREMIERS: The records of our under 19s team.

Better still, they knocked off Denis Pagan’s highly-rated Kangaroos in the second semi-final, launching themselves in the premiership playoff. Monkhorst admitted he was “a bit wild” in those days, but Burns was able to chisel off some of his rough edges. One of those times came in a match against North Melbourne earlier in the year when the ruckman took offence at an opposition player having a go at him. Burns laughed when he recently recalled: “Monky was about to kill him, and I had to take him off just to settle him down.” The big man said he loved being a part of that side, saying: “I was just going out there having some fun … We had a really good side.” “Mick McGuane was the greatest football brain I ever played with. Browny was the bloke you would just look at and admire as he was a really competitive bugger.” “But there were other guys in the team who should have been destined for long VFL careers, but for whatever reason, didn’t get the chance. But some of them went onto really good careers in the suburban leagues.” McGuane credited Burns as the man who set the standards for that under 19s side, saying he taught them about professionalism. “Burnsy was ruthless in his approach to get the best out of you,” McGuane said. “And that was even more so for the country boys … Burnsy was really hard on a lot of the country boys, and he was the making of us. “I still love Keith dearly for what he did for us.” Smith, who would later go on to play reserves with Collingwood and Richmond, agreed: “Even after all these years, you realise Burnsy was the best coach I ever played under. He was hard, but he was fair, and he called a spade a spade. You knew where you stood.” McGuane added: “They were all champion blokes in that team – Browny, ‘Croally’, Greg Faull, Paul Smith, ‘Bolts’, Damian Keating, all of those boys.” “We just really connected as a group. We trained hard as a group, and that was an extension of Burnsy’s demands. He just helped us evolve as players.” Burns was also confident after defeating North Melbourne in the second semi-final that the same result would follow in the Grand Final. His confidence was undented, even when the Kangaroos shot out to an early lead. A massive brawl erupted before the first bounce, which centred on David Stagg, who had formerly played with North Melbourne, and who had penned Pagan a letter (not a complimentary one) before the Grand Final. But the young Magpies reeled the Kangaroos in as the game wore on. “We had a good rivalry with North Melbourne, but we always felt confident we would win it,” Burns said. “We got far enough in front in the last five or so minutes, so we put an extra player in the defensive zone, and there was never going to be a chance that we would lose that game, I don’t think.” McGuane agreed: “North Melbourne had Denis Pagan as coach and Mick Martyn, who had kicked a hundred goals that year (and three goals in the Grand Final), so they were a tough side to beat. But here was the opportunity that I had dreamt of since I was a kid. I had black and white running through my veins.” The Kangaroos never gave in, but the Magpies held on to win by 16 points – 12.11 (83) to 9.13 (67). The young Collingwood side celebrated wildly on the MCG, had a victory lap and chaired Burns off the ground. They were even given a guard of honour as they went back to the Collingwood Social Club for “a few beers” that night. But what came next was more important than what happened on that day 30 years ago. In 1987, as the Magpies had an injury epidemic at the start of the season, Matthews had to look at the group of young talent from that under 19s side for senior selection. Four of the nine new faces for round one, 1987 had played in the under 19s premiership six months later – the previous year’s ‘thirds’ B&F winner Neil Brindley, Athas Hrysoulakis, Gavin Brown and Gavin Crosisca. Brindley, 19, received a phone call from Matthews on the Friday night before the game, informing him he would shadow star Swan Barry Mitchell for the game. He recalled: “It was a bit of a shock to be picked … I debuted with a number of under 19s players and also some recruits who came across (from interstate).” “It was a very, very new side … I think it was the start of the building block for the 1990 premiership.” Mitchell had had 35 touches and kicked three goals, which made for a busy afternoon for Brindley in what was his only game in Black and White. “I managed to play the whole four quarters without being rested … I didn’t get picked the following week,” Brindley recalled. It was a tough call on Brindley, who was an exceptionally good footballer, and a quality individual, as Mitchell was one of the most exciting players in the AFL. Burns said of Brindley: “They (Collingwood) crucified him a bit, didn’t give him much of a chance.” Hrysoulakis showed great promise, but never produced the consistency that once saw him touted as a future star. But Brown, Crosisca, McGuane (who debuted later that year), and Monkhorst (who played his first senior game in 1988) would make their mark on football’s biggest stage. Four years on from that under 19s premiership, those four were among the 20 players who helped to end one of Australian sport’s long-running and most embarrassing droughts. And Burns, for one, felt exceptionally proud of the role he – and the under 19s side of 1986 – had played in that.]]> Taylor’s ton https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/when-taylor-topped-the-ton/ Wed, 17 Aug 2016 02:06:09 +0000 http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/?p=10649 By: Glenn McFarlane of the Herald Sun It looked like being the simplest of tasks for a player in white-hot form. Brian Taylor needed two goals in the final game of the home-and-away season (round 22) to become the fourth Collingwood player to reach a century of goals in a season, a mark reached by Magpie full forwards just nine times in the previous 89 seasons. Given that the 24-year-old powerful full forward, in only his second season in Black and White, had kicked 10 goals against his old side Richmond the previous week; it seemed as if it was a fait accompli. What could possibly go wrong? What seemed less assured was whether Collingwood’s 1986 season would be extended into the finals? That equation wasn’t just predicated on the Magpies beating St Kilda at VFL Park on the last day of the regular season; it also had to rely on second-placed Sydney beating fifth-placed Fitzroy at the Magpies’ home base of Victoria Park on the same afternoon. That result would elevate Collingwood into the finals on percentage in what was Leigh Matthews‘ first year as senior coach, having taken over after Bob Rose‘s resignation following losses in the first three rounds. So the Collingwood fans who traipsed out to Waverley that August afternoon were almost certain Taylor would join the likes of Gordon Coventry, Ron Todd and Peter McKenna as Magpie centurions, but somewhat less convinced that the team would be required to play the following week. A crowd of 30,442 turned up for the match that saw the Magpies take on the bottom placed Saints, who had won only two games for the entire season. Collingwood was in the midst of reshaping its playing list, but there was still a core group of senior players in the team. It was David Cloke‘s 249th game, and the likes of Tony Shaw (170th game), Ricky Barham (151st), Peter Daicos (132nd) and, Mark Williams (135th) brought considerable experience to a team that had nine players yet to reach the 50-game mark. A few of those relatively young players would go on to become decorated Magpies, including Darren Millane, playing his 45th game. Others would have relatively shorter careers in the Black and White. One of them, 22-year-old Peter Adams, was playing his second game for the club. It would be a day that he would never forget, kicking four goals. As far as the Saints go, Trevor Barker was playing his 197th game. Geoff Cunningham and Greg Burns had been around for a long time, and plenty of the focus was on a burly full-forward in his 71st game, a 20-year-old called Tony Lockett, who had already kicked 235 goals. 160817_taylor600b ‘BT’ on the lead, out in front of his former club, Richmond, during the 1980s. As highly regarded as Lockett was, few would have believed this kid with the strong hands, powerful frame and a prodigious punt still had more than 1000 goals left in him. Or that he would, in 13 years, overtake Coventry as the most prolific goalkicker in VFL-AFL history. A 23-year-old called Ricky Nixon was playing his 14th game. His future in the game would be off the field more than on it. And a 22-year-old from Bungaree, Danny Frawley, was developing a reputation as one of the toughest full-backs to beat in the competition. A date with Taylor awaited ‘Spud’ Frawley. Taylor, himself, had been in rare form. He craved the history that stood before him – becoming a 100-goal kicker – but speaking in the lead-up to the game said that the chance to play finals was more important to him. “Goals don’t mean anything to me,” Taylor said. “If we don’t play in the finals it will be a disappointing year. We have to win on Saturday if we have any chance of making the five.” But he knew he had his work cut out on Frawley: “Danny is a very, very good player, and he has always played well against me and given me a hard time. I am expecting a tough contest.” Three decades on, Taylor and Frawley are firm friends, and a part of Triple M’s football team, but there wasn’t a lot of love lost between them back then. Taylor recalled years later in the Herald Sun: “I was playing against a 22-year-old potato farmer named Danny Frawley. We had taken an instant dislike to each other a couple of years earlier (1984) when I kicked seven on Danny. He reminded me of Rick Kennedy and Danny Hughes, never leaving you alone.” In that same article, Frawley said of his 1984 encounter: “He had three (goals) by half-time and a teammate of mine, Stephen Pirrie, who had played with Brian at Richmond, said to give him a whack because Brian was a big sook. So naive old Danny from Bungaree whacks him behind the ear after he marked early in the third quarter. He kicked the goal then came back and drove me into the ground, throttling me until I was blue.” So the pair was wary of each other as they locked horns in the round 22, 1986 clash. Taylor needed two goals to reach the ton, Collingwood need four premiership points and some luck elsewhere, and Frawley simply wanted to annoy the hell out of the most productive full-forward of the season – without turning blue again. However, Taylor’s afternoon did not go to plan. In an early passage of play, he suffered a groin injury, and there were fears he might be done for the day, left stranded on 98 goals. He tried to hide his injury. And fortunately, 21 minutes into the opening quarter, he managed to shove Frawley out of the way and take a mark in the goal square. The goal was his 99th … only one major to go. However, coach Leigh Matthews knew the extent of the injury, and wanted him off. He told Taylor so at quarter-time. There was still a game to be won – and potentially a finals series to be a part of – and if the club’s main spearhead could not run, that was a serious problem. Taylor recalled: “Leigh Matthews said, ‘You are off’. I insisted I was OK and pleaded for five minutes.” The coach reluctantly agreed. The burly forward was relieved when he marked a few minutes into the second term. Fans began to leap over the fence, preparing to run out, and the bluecoat security staff realised there was nothing they could do. But it was a false alarm, as Taylor explained in an ABC TV interview after the game. “It was a shocking kick actually. I think I was in two minds … first of all, what to do with the ball and secondly, was my injury going to affect my approach. I wasn’t concentrating on the correct things,” he said. His kick sailed to the right, and didn’t even score. It was out of bounds on the full. Taylor feared he might not get another chance. Collingwood’s runner was soon out on the field, trying to get him off. Matthews knew he was lame and couldn’t run. However, Taylor was having none of it, and limped the other way when the runner came out. Frawley was gaining in confidence that he could deny Taylor. He recalled: “I could tell ‘BT’ was struggling with injury early and thought, ‘Hang on, I’ve got him here’. I started to think I would go down in folklore.” Enter umpire Peter Cameron. Taylor somehow threw everything into this passage of play late in the second term. He led Frawley to the ball – but only just – when the whistle sounded. It was a free kick to Taylor within kicking distance … right in front. 160817_taylor600a Carlton great Stephen Silvagni and Brian Taylor square off during the late 1980s. “I thought I deserved it, I thought I was a chance 20 yards out and dead in front,” Taylor said after the game. Years later, he told a different story, when he said to the Herald Sun: “Peter Cameron, who was a good bloke, gave me a dubious free kick. The players didn’t know whether it was downfield or what and Danny, who was five metres away, couldn’t believe it. This time I was only 25m out. It was about as far as I could kick.” Cameron, perhaps putting a little mayonnaise on the events, said in 2008: “We knew that Brian was injured and I could tell it was fairly serious, so the whole thing was pretty well set up.” “In those days there wasn’t the same scrutiny there is today and you could get away with something like that. I think I paid the free kick for hands in the back. “Was the free there? I don’t think so, but Brian needed only one goal for his century, so what was I going to do – let him limp off on 99? That was a time when the circumstances were such that we looked after each other.” This time Taylor could not miss. His kick sailed through the middle for his 100th goal of the season – the first time in 14 years since a Collingwood player had reached that milestone. And on cue hundreds of the Magpie faithful rushed out on the ground as Taylor’s teammates, led by Mark Williams and David Cloke, circled around him for protection. Huge numbers of kids with banners and streamers, teenagers eager to be a part of it, and older supporters simply living in the moment crowded around the Magpie players to celebrate Taylor’s feat. The game was held up for more than five minutes. When the crowd reluctantly began to leave the ground, so too did Taylor. The message had come from Matthews that it was time for him to come off. The game was still to be won, and given Taylor could barely run, the coach wanted him on the bench. Other than a short, brief run in the third term, his day was done. “I was really of no benefit to the team, I wasn’t able to run properly,” he said. “I was able to jog a bit, but not run how the coach wanted me to.” Taylor had achieved what he wanted – 100 goals – and the Magpies would end up doing what they needed to do – win the game by 52 points, off the back of a seven-goal to one third term. But, on the other side of town, the Lions upset the party. They proved a little too strong for the Swans, winning by 10 points, as disheartened Magpie supporters listened forlornly on the radio to the progress scores. Collingwood’s finals were sadly over before they started. The only consolation for those Magpie fans headed home from Waverley that night was the fact they had seen Brian Taylor reach the magical three figures.

MAGPIES WHO TOPPED THE TON

1929 – Gordon Coventry (124) 1930 – Gordon Coventry (118) 1933 – Gordon Coventry (108) 1934 – Gordon Coventry (105) 1938 – Ron Todd (120) 1939 – Ron Todd (121) 1970 – Peter McKenna (143) 1971 – Peter McKenna (134) 1972 – Peter McKenna (130) 1986 – Brian Taylor (100) ]]>