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Opinion
2020 was a tough year for everyone and one we hope to never see the likes of again.
Pandemics, isolation, social distancing and panic all ruined it, yet the Collingwood Football Club’s year went from bad to worse once on-field play ceased.
Put bluntly, it was the off-season from hell for the famous club. It was one marred by heartless treatment of loyal players, stubborn resistance to blatant facts that confirmed cultural flaws and the egocentric departure of its president.
Any other AFL club looking for a bit of heat or attention to be diverted away from it had their hope fulfilled by the media mauling rightfully dished out to the Magpies.
Fans of those clubs now have further galvanised negative attitudes towards Collingwood; attitudes that have been brought on by the club itself after one of the most significant AFL public relations and brand management failings of recent times.
After 94 games with Collingwood and a heart committed to serving the club up until his day of retirement, Adam Treloar suffered in club-induced limbo for five weeks leading up to the November 12th trade deadline for 2020.
Despite his honesty and insistence that he wished to remain a Pie for the foreseeable future, the club failed to transparently confess to the salary cap issues it had created and made the subsequent decision to release players they felt were expendable and provided the financial relief required.
Originally, Treloar was informed by coach Nathan Buckley that ‘senior players’ did not want him at the club. The reasoning shifted soon after when Treloar’s mental health challenges of the past and his wife’s decision to sign a contract with the Queensland Firebirds and return to netball were both stirred into a pot of innuendo and suggestion.
The brew was ultimately used in conversations between Buckley and Treloar and the clear suggestion made that there was a fear the player would not cope with his partner’s absence.
Treloar has confirmed those conversations took place and spoke candidly on AFL360 on Tuesday night to do so.
To his credit, while admitting to feeling pain and hurt, Treloar resisted any temptation to lay blame, insult or attack those whose grubby actions and unwillingness to be honest and upfront led to his trade to the Western Bulldogs.
Apparently Buckley addressed his existing playing group upon their return from the off-season break, citing the failings of the trade period and a need for things to be done better in the future.
It was no doubt something of an apology intended to placate the playing group and ensure trust and loyalty were not to be issues with them in 2021.
It wasn’t the first time that Buckley has apologised in recent months. He did the same in early March, soon after the results of the internal racism report into Collingwood were leaked, citing a 2017 press conference where his comments around the mental health and claims of racism by former player Heritier Lumumba were dismissive at best.
That matter and others, were the triggers for the report and as if guided by a work experience media manager, Collingwood President Eddie McGuire somehow found it linguistically possible to suggest that the leaked results confirming systemic racial problems at the club were cause to laud the day as a ‘proud’ one.
Despite fans of rival AFL clubs having no shortage of stories, incidents and moments with which to fuel their dislike of Collingwood, those offensive words must have seen the bile rising in the throats of even the most already bias and anti-Collingwood people.
Adam Treloar is now a Bulldog (Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)
However, the off-season public relations train wreck was to continue towards one more stop, when McGuire finally stepped down from his position on the 9th of February, despite insisting he would see out 2021 just days earlier.
As is so often the case with McGuire and surprisingly for a man who has spent much of his life using words as tools, his loose language had drastically misread the room with his feelings of pride around the report.
In a dramatic turnaround, he became far more sorry than proud and unsuccessfully attempted to spin his departure speech to leave the stage as a hero and winner.
He failed dismally, just as Collingwood Football Club has done over the course of the break between the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
All AFL fans should feel a little sick about the findings of the report. AFL players should take heed of the treatment dished out to Treloar and the collective football community should reflect on the deception used to do so.
For all the talk about having to be better, the club has shown itself at its absolute worst over the last six months and given everyone yet another reason to dislike Collingwood.