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Collingwood players celebrate on the final siren of the AFL 1st Semi Final between the Collingwood Magpies and the Adelaide Crows at the MCG. Slattery Images
Eddie McGuire once said Collingwood was the Manchester United of the AFL. Mick Malthouse fired a shot at Geelong coach Mark Thompson a fortnight ago by claiming the Cats were under more pressure than any other side to win this year’s flag.
Well, maybe, it is time for the Magpies’ hierarchy to reconsider their position in the AFL pecking order.
In terms of supporters, they are flying; in terms of premiership success, they are starving.
The club’s record of one flag in the last 51 years remained after last week’s heavy loss to Geelong.
Malthouse has not delivered a flag at Collingwood since he secured the coaching job in 2000. The expectations would have been different when he accepted the position.
For the moment, though, the 1990 premiership win remains a significant moment in the hearts of ardent Magpie supporters. The Grand Final triumph over Essendon broke a 32-year drought for the club.
Many expected them to add to the trophy cabinet this season. But in finals, weaknesses are always exposed.
Anthony Rocca has already retired, and a couple of others are expected to follow.
We always hear that Collingwood is a young team. But how long can you be young for?
Reigning premier Hawthorn entered 2009 with one of the youngest lists in the competition.
Mick Malthouse will coach for two more seasons, before handing the reigns over to Nathan Buckley, who might have a tougher gig than many thought.
This Collingwood team has been praised for its ability to win against the odds. But the Magpies, simply, fail too often on the big stage.
The fact that Collingwood has not won a final over a Victorian-based club since the 1990 Grand Final tells the story.
Since 1991, Collingwood has participated in 17 finals matches, including two Grand Finals, and have won eight of those games – all against interstate opposition.
Whether you are a fan of crunching the numbers or not, it is a fact worthy of the raise of an eyebrow.
The Magpies missed the finals in 1991, but in 1992 they returned to the big-stage. After finishing the regular season in third position, Collingwood was bundled out of the finals race by St.Kilda in the elimination final, losing by eight points in front of 74,253 spectators at Waverley Park.
In 1993, the Magpies narrowly missed the top-six, but they snuck into the finals the following season but lost to West Coast first-up, which ended their campaign.
Between 1995 and 2001, Colingwood failed to play a final and it was one of the more barren periods in the club’s history.
But the AFL wheel does turn and the Magpies were back up with the elite in the 2002 and ’03 seasons, progressing to the season finale in both years.
In 2002, Collingwood, against all odds, defeated Port Adelaide in the qualifying final, by 13 points, at Football Park. After a week off, the Magpies then conquered Adelaide in the preliminary final.
In the Grand Final against the imposing Brisbane Lions, Collingwood, again, threatened to triumph against all odds. But, in the end, it suffered a heartbreaking nine-point loss.
The following season saw the Magpies set the finals alight with a 15-point win over the Lions in the first final. They followed that up with a victory over Port Adelaide in the preliminary final.
But on Grand Final day, Brisbane crushed the Magpies by 50 points to complete a hat-trick of premierships.
In 2004 and ’05, Collingwood was absent from the finals and left to play the role of spectators.
They returned in 2006, but their hoodoo against the Victorian teams continued with a loss to the Western Bulldogs in the elimination final.
In 2007, the Magpies clashed with Geelong in the preliminary final, after defeating Sydney and West Coast in the first fortnight of the finals series.
In a result that was talked about before last week’s final. The Cats won by five points – and went on to win the flag. Collingwood, meanwhile, was left to ponder another close finals loss.
Last season’s finals saw the Magpies eliminated by the Saints in the semi-finals, after defeating Adelaide in the elimination final the previous week.
Before last weekend’s clash with Geelong, the Magpies of 2009 have lost to St.Kilda in the qualifying final and narrowly eclipsed the Crows in one of the more memorable finals in recent time.
Last week was, simply, a disaster for all associated with the Magpies.
In all, since 1991, Collingwood has lost six finals to Victorian-based teams.
Who said Mark Thompson was under pressure?
Geelong will prepare for their third consecutive Grand Final this week, while Collingwood will be left to clear the wreckage of another failed campaign.
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