Collingwood
Collingwood has copped a truckload of bumps - mostly off the field - in its quest to win back-to-back premierships.
A year of troublemakers, distractions and criticisms has added fuel to the Pies’ fire. The players will tell you they’re hungry to win consecutive AFL flags under Mick Malthouse’s leadership.
The Pies’ efforts are working to great effect, and the players realise they are in top nick for another crack at the flag.
Continue reading "It’s impossible to picture Malthouse in a backseat role" »
Nothing better symbolises the hypocrisy that surrounds sports betting in this country than this painting, which depicts the scenes in the Collingwood rooms after last year’s grand final.
You can’t see it at this resolution, but if you view the original painting up close, a betting slip is clearly visible in the hand of Tyson Goldsack, who is the bloke about fourth from the left standing against the wall with another player’s arm around his shoulder.
The slip contains the words “Mrs” and “80-1” and “first goal” – a reference to the successful bet Goldsack’s Mum placed on her son kicking the first goal. Nothing was untoward about that bet. But all the same, it’s a nice irony given the events of the past week.
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The Pivitonion. says:
Quite right NSW. The Umpires should be selected and subjected to Bishop Mc Guire’s training seminary. Those who do not make it will not be offered the “Who wants to be a Millionaire"program. Read more »
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Milton Friedman says:
People betting into any pool do so because they think they know better than the market. Obviously this stance involves a certain degree of risk. The onus is on the player to understand and mitigate the risk associated with their intended trading strategy. And if you listen to ‘forecasts’ and… Read more »
The biggest donkey-licking of the weekend wasn’t in New South Wales politics. It was at Melbourne’s Moonee Valley racecourse, where unbeaten mare Black Caviar went so fast it would have outpaced Mark Webber’s Red Bull. Actually, Melbourne trams go faster than Webber’s Red Bull. Anyway, you get the point.
Horse racing doesn’t get much of a run in the sports pages outside of Melbourne’s spring carnival, but with 11 wins from 11 starts, Black Caviar is already fit to graze in Phar Lap and Makybe Diva’s paddock, and has probably even earned the right to eat the nice green grass in the shady corner. Check her performance a few weeks back in the time-honoured Newmarket Handicap. Wow. She never got out of second gear.
Ratings experts, who produce a formula which no one seriously pretends to understand, upgraded Black Caviar to 135 after that win, which is a statistical way of saying she deserves a speeding ticket. Rival trainers know this, and are now avoiding her. That’s why racing authorities offered prize money of $10,000 down to eighth place on Friday night, in a desperate attempt to attract a decent-sized field.
Continue reading "Sports wrap: The fast black horse, the great white hopes" »
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fairsfair says:
I am as surprised as you are TimB - it is only temporary - fairsfair will come crashing down at some point - just like the doggies…. I can feel an off-field scandal coming on. Read more »
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Tim says:
Lockyer has been past it the last couple of years. The only thing saving him has been the players around him allowing him to get away with mistakes. He was one of the greatest but it definitely is time for him to go. Read more »
The Magpies’ 20-year premiership drought is over. Collingwood players were soaking up the sweetest feeling in AFL today after their 56-point annihilation of St Kilda in the Grand Final replay.
The nervous tension expended in last week’s draw proved to help the Magpies. Today they moved with confidence and precision.
The Pies blew away their cobwebs in last week’s draw. It proved a blessing in disguise as the Pies finally executed on their game plan.
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Asmae says:
Follow up to this post Western Bulldogs and Collingwood lost on the weekend. Not iirprussng really. I refused to let it ruin my Father’s Day, which thanks to Nay and Zac (and the 1.5 litres of German beer) was very enjoyable. Read more »
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Nicole says:
That’s ok Dan, I’m sure you’ll get your chance and break that drought soon. Now if you followed a winning team such as the mighty Hawks, it will happen sooner. *Hides under desk so I don’t get whacked on the head* Read more »
On the eve of the AFL Grand Final, I wrote just two words. Colliwobble Day.
It wasn’t a deliberate curse – I was simply acting on a sickly feeling that the Magpies might kind of wobble.
My instincts proved right, when the Pies died in the second half of their Grand Final showdown against the Saints. It’s scary, when you feel those Colliwobbles invading the hallowed turf once more.
Continue reading "What the hell was that? The big AFL let-down" »
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Nickk says:
Not a Saints fan, but Riewoldt took some amazing grabs in the game, especially in the third quarter. You know nothing about footy if you believe he’s a lousy mark, and that there have been no ‘really good’ marks for 6-7 weeks. Read more »
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Ricky Smith says:
There is this replay because of the existing rule. But if it is a stupid rule we must admit it and change it. Only an ass will continue with such a rule. Read more »
Collingwood are into a Grand Final.
If you’re a Collingwood supporter, read that line again, and let it sink in. If you’re not a Collingwood supporter, read that line again, and suck it up.
The lot of you have grown more obnoxious and annoying than anything our supporters could dish up. Nearly 40,000 people have joined some nonsense Facebook event: “The Day Collingwood Choke”. Their M.O.? “Collingwood are shit and we hate you.”
Continue reading "A considered rebuttal from a Pies fan: go and get stuffed" »
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Fgmfpbdb says:
We need it because we are not there, because we haven’t smelled the death and the terror, because we have not seen the corpses with our own eyes. , virtiulgirls.com, virtiulgirls.com, http://flikmhso.puhuwog.co.cc/virtiulgirls.com.html virtiulgirls.com, 3808, Read more »
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He was cranky after all says:
Spinner….., mate…., not a sound strategy to slag off Pies supporters as stupid with a series of incoherent rants and selective analysis. It is in fact you who misses the point, in both your original comment and subsequent responses. 2009 - 15 of 22 matches at their home ground and… Read more »
After months of uncertainty last week had about it a sense of clarity.
With all the incessant talk about the rise of Collingwood, Geelong was finally going to set this season right. The undisputed heavyweight champions were going to teach the Pies a lesson about finals footy.
We all knew Travis Cloke couldn’t kick. Didak hangs up his boots at the end of August. Not even Dane Swan could carry a team by himself in the heat of a Prelim. Stacked up against 14 All-Australians in a team which had reached the mountain top twice in the last three years, Collingwood had no hope.
Continue reading "A Cats fan concedes it’s the changing of the guard" »
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Graham S says:
Good teenage memories Greg, reminds me at a similar age scalping tickets at the footbridge in ‘67, taking my 1st date out to the ‘68 GF and the piece de resistance: Climbing up over the bowling green hedge at the MCG member’s entrance, scampering unseen across the green, into an… Read more »
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Puss Inbootz says:
There,s a saying in football,,,a good young side will beat the good old side,,,the weary legs and punished bodies do take their toll,however Geelong,s 2 out of 3 flags are the measure of a great side,maybe Ling,Ottens and Scarlett will fade,but underneath that is a side with the talent to… Read more »
Make no mistake - the mighty Collingwood Magpies are due.
They are ready to build on the lessons of a near-flawless 2010 season and a gallant defeat in this Saturday’s Grand Final by going one better in 2011. If there is one thing this team has mastered over more than a century, it is the ability to bounce back from a grand final defeat. With another grand final defeat.
Today, as a special tribute to the Pies, The Punch offers its readers this FREE downloadable slightly glossy poster commemorating Collingwood’s 24 extraordinary losing grand final appearances.
Continue reading "Go Pies! The Punch tribute to 109 years of almost winning" »
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Kevin says:
Is this going to be updated for the latest loss? Read more »
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Kirk says:
It may have taken 2 weeks but the Mighty Magpies have the silver ware. Now if you will excuse me, I have some gloating to do !!!! Go Pies !!!!! Read more »
Magpie fans ... get ready for the time of your lives. The Collingwood football machine is on the verge of breaking its 20-year premiership drought and we’re going to witness one giant party in good ‘ol Melbourne town.
After ruling the MCG’s hallowed turf on Friday night against Geelong, the Magpies are red hot and on their way to winning the AFL’s biggest prize this Saturday.
The Magpies have just two hurdles to overcome in their bid to secure their first flag since 1990.
Continue reading "The year to banish the Colliwobbles forever" »
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Tails says:
Well you know what they say, “If you can’t beat ‘em, hate ‘em. Read more »
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GreenGoblin says:
The average Australian doesn’t care about mining taxes or climate change. What they care about is sport. The nation stops for grand finals, and Victoria has a day off so it can organise and run a horse race that stops a nation. Yet the political elite ignores sport. Sport gets… Read more »
It’s going to be a ferocious war zone on the MCG’s hallowed turf this Friday night.
The Magpies are fired up to punch nails in the Cats’ coffin in their preliminary final blockbuster.
But the Magpies must achieve three targets – beating midfielders Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel and co. in the central war zone, shaking off their goal-kicking yips to win on the scoreboard and destroying the demons that have haunted them for decades, the Colliwobbles.
Continue reading "Magpies and Cats ready for war on the hallowed turf" »
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Luke says:
I’m sorry Paul but i am not a league fan… infact I attended 4 Sydney Swans games this year. The television ratings speak for themselves, there is no need to try and discredit them. Perhaps you’d like to read this artcile on how well the swans are doing financially: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/sydney-swans-dive-to-big-cash-loss/story-e6frexwr-1225820982027.… Read more »
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Paul says:
Not sure if you know Luke that the swans average attendance for the 11 home games in 2010 was 30675 which I am guessing would be a touch larger than any of the Sydney League teams. I always find it funny that the League people in this town always cling… Read more »
THE Magpies are raging flag favourites, thanks to the Hawks fuelling their hunger on the eve of the AFL finals.
The Pies’ stinging loss to the Hawks in round 22 hurt like hell. Collingwood’s flat spot, on the eve of the finals, could prove to be the catalyst in their quest for the premiership.
The Hawthorn loss was the fuel the Magpies needed to brush off their famed losing mentality.
Continue reading "Hawk Heimlich solution to the Collingwood choke" »
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The Bishwa says:
This is insightful: “I believe Magpie superstar Dane Swan could prove his team’s trump card, if he controls the midfield in their remaining finals.” My one-year-old son who can only say daddy offers more!!! Read more »
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Tails says:
Nice to see you’re brave enough to post comments that are critical of your writing style and content, Julie. Or, more aptly: Julie Stating the Bleeding Obvious In an Uninteresting Way Tullberg. Sorry if you find criticism offensive but you seem to be getting away with murder here. Read more »
Collingwood’s 22-point win over Geelong in its top-of-the-table blockbuster revealed that the young Magpies have come of age.
Like a fine wine, matured with care over time, the red-hot Magpies are playing with greater intensity, using their running brigade to boot a string of goals.
Earlier this year, I said Collingwood couldn’t win the premiership because they lacked goal-scoring power and big marking forwards.
Continue reading "Young Magpies come of age in quest for premiership" »
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Julie Tullberg says:
I’d like to make the point that August is often the month where there are many upsets. There were so many upsets on the weekend it was almost impossible tip more than four teams. I think Geelong was down on Saturday night for a number of reasons. You can’t be… Read more »
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Grand Old Flag says:
The season is open. Any top eight team can still win it. Hawthorn will make the eight. Bulldogs might play in the granny. So will Collingwood. Read more »
Ever since Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse got into strife after allegedly calling Saint Stephen Milne a “f***ing rapist”, the Magpies have done everything they can to earn their stripes.
The Woods’ victory over St Kilda on Saturday confirmed they are in the hunt for the AFL flag after claiming top spot on the premiership ladder.
The Woods were desperate to gain the upper hand over the Saints and show their authority after their April 9 horror game, in which AFL’s “role models” stooped to a new low following the ugly Malthouse-Milne exchange.
Continue reading "Can Collingwood actually win a premiership?" »
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Roja says:
Collingwood play Hawthorn, St Kilda, Geelong, Carlton and the Bulldogs twice. They have the hardest draw of any team in the league in 2010. The money for gate receipts is quite true, the pies 11 away games are the most desired of any teams in the league due to the… Read more »
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Peter says:
@ Martin, and who did Hawthorn SMASH in the prelim final in 2008 to win the premiership? St Kilda… Also, when it comes to big games Hawks vs. Coll, Hawthorn always come out on top.. When Hawthorn hit odd of 28 to 1 after losing 6 games at the start… Read more »
Collingwood were on top of the world before Friday, seemingly unstoppable and had the feeling of an AFL premiership coming their way.
The Magpies ruled the AFL last week. But they were brought back to earth with a thud after copping a nasty wake-up call during Friday night’s blockbuster against Geelong.
Described as pretenders after their 36-point loss to the Cats, Collingwood simply didn’t have the goal-scoring power to match Geelong.
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Jabso says:
I loved the footage of….COLLINGWOOD WINNING THE PREMIERSHIP. Looks like you were wrong Tullberg. Better luck next time. Read more »
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John says:
well isn’t collingwood in a grand final now after beating geelong? and FYI collingwood in the last ten years has never choked under Malthouse, they have just been comprehensively beaten by a better side, losing by 73 points in a prelim against one of the best teams of the decade… Read more »
Having Mick Malthouse as your coach is like being punished for a crime you haven’t committed. Malthouse is small-minded, bad-tempered, lacks discipline and shirks responsibility. He’s quite unpleasant.
Now we know that he is a liar, and that’s a problem, because lying isn’t a mistake you make, it’s a character flaw.
It is yet another pointy arrow in Malthouse’s quiver of shortcomings, joining his over-sensitivity, profanity and lack of courage.
Continue reading "Mick’s Churchill pretensions are just pie in the sky" »
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A dose of Reality says:
Read up on Monash again, you’ve got it wrong. Currie was a Canadian. If the war had continued for another year Currie would have been appointed by the allies as the High commander (rather than the butcher, haig) with Monash as his deputy. Their co-ordinated use of the different elements… Read more »
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Sean Williams says:
First of all may i beg the indulgence of the moderators on what is, after all, a “football” thread to give my final right to reply to my friend ADoR. All i was responding to was the snide sneering tone we always get from certain Australians whenever the world wars… Read more »
The AFL and its clubs have had no shortage of moral minefields to tip-toe through this year.
From nude photos to boozy cruises to rape charges to senior coaches abusing opposition players to drug trafficking charges, the league has run the gamut of off-field issues. Or, as I like to think of it, they’re a Christmas Day scuffle away from earning their Charlie Sheen Badge.
Two incidents have dominated the airways over the past five days: The tete-a-tete between Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse and St Kilda’s Steven Milne and Richmond’s late-night hotel ruckus .
Continue reading "Malthouse and Cousins: a tale of two confused clubs" »
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Nigel Catchlove says:
Thanks acker. Looked at the reference and particularly enjoyed definition No 5. Ironical - just like ironic but with an -al. Read more »
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Dunno says:
Dunno .. beating your chest a lot? Read more »
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