Good afternoon, fellow Magpies! Well, here we go again. After another long hot summer, we are finally within sight of football season. But before we embark on another premiership campaign, we have to tick the boxes of pre-season practice matches. For the first of our two JLT Community Series outings, we travel across the Nullarbor…
AFL Draft (National, Pre-Season and Rookie) 2018 – Discussion
Good afternoon, one and all. I’ve been mostly checked out of football for about a month now, so it’s sort of crept up on me that we have an AFL Draft going on tonight. What’s more, it’s the first AFL Draft to be conducted over the better part of two days, with the first round…
Making Sense of a Hexed Nest
When recently writing of the season that just was, I mused about the possibility of writing a piece exploring our history of Grand Final defeats. Admittedly, it was never a piece that I was in a rush to get to, especially not at a point when our most recent loss was so raw. However, being a little further removed from that most recent of wounds has perhaps allowed time to act as a salve of sorts, at least enough to dampen the sort of emotion that might plague such a discussion.
Ins and Outs: Post-Trade Wrap 2018
It has been a few weeks now since the trade period ended, meaning that yours truly has been customarily tardy — but better late than never, as they say. This year’s trade period shaped as an interesting one given the amount of movement amongst established players: GWS were faced with another salary dump fire sale; Gold Coast’s co-captain bookends decided to head south simultaneously; and of course, there was the eleventh hour confirmation of the desire of Dayne Beams to return to Collingwood.
A Humbled Pie, Revived Pride and Another Dose of Anguish
I confess that ahead of the Grand Final, a big part of me was hoping that when I did get around to writing an article about our season, it would be something bordering on epic, perhaps even akin to hagiography. As the season unfolded, I was increasingly taken by a heady emotional cocktail: a mixture of pride, humility and the surreal. That the Grand Final unfolded as it did has, not surprisingly, knocked some of the wind out of my sails and made for a heavy comedown.
Game Day: Collingwood vs West Coast (Grand Final, 2018)
As I type, the sun is soon to rise on the last Saturday of this September. And as unlikely as it seems, the Collingwood Football Club will be one of the two teams playing in the last game of football of the season to be held today. I can’t believe it. But it’s happening. And…
Game Day: Collingwood vs Richmond (1st Preliminary Final, 2018)
Well, this is it. The Moment of Truth has finally arrived. Welcome, one and all, to the Game Day discussion thread for the 1st Preliminary Final of 2018, against the Richmond Football Club. The teams… Collingwood B: Brayden Maynard, Tom Langdon, Jack Crisp HB: Jeremy Howe, Tyson Goldsack, Travis Varcoe C: Adam Treloar, Scott Pendlebury,…
Game Day: Collingwood vs Greater Western Sydney (2nd Semi Final, 2018)
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Well, this is it. No more second chances now. We came up short against the Eagles, but we get the opportunity to stay alive into next week if we can get over the Giants tonight. The teams… Collingwood B: Brayden Maynard, Tom Langdon, Jack Crisp HB: Jeremy Howe, Tyson Goldsack,…
Game Day: Collingwood vs West Coast (2nd Qualifying Final, 2018)
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Big day! This is your first finals Game Day thread for 5 years, which makes for a welcome change to the practice of the past few seasons of going backwards year after year and having to watch September from the sidelines with the rest of Loserville. The teams, in case…
Game Day: Collingwood vs Fremantle (Round 23, 2018)
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this week’s Game Day thread, as we travel across the Nullarbor to the fancy new digs of Optus Stadium to take on the Fremantle Dockers. With a win, we will lock in a Top 4 spot, possibly even as high as 2nd. A loss, on the other hand,…