Collingwood intent on swooping historic AFL flag double

A couple of hours following their victory in a historic AFL grand final, Collingwood players convened in the center of the MCG.

 

It wasn’t your typical premiership celebration, the circle.

 

Serious contemplation took the place of wild and jovial repeats of the Magpies theme song.

Collingwood hasn’t won back-to-back flags since 1935–36. They joined Essendon and Carlton with 16 VFL/AFL premierships following their exciting four-point triumph against the Brisbane Lions last September.

 

In 2011, they nearly won the minor premiership, but on the day of the grand final, Geelong got in the way.

 

Following the Magpies’ drought-breaking victory in 1990, the illustrious Lou Richards declared the end of the Colliwobbles, even staging a fake funeral at Victoria Park.

However, the Magpies had a decade of agony after suffering a severe hangover from their triumph in 1991.

 

With Craig McRae as their modern-day master coach, Collingwood looks certain to avoid a drop-off this time.

 

Darcy Moore has praised McRae’s “evolution” slogan. Moore led the Magpies to a premiership in his debut season as captain.

 

At the AFL captains’ day, the standout defender stated, “It’s clearly a core belief with him around coaching, which I think is really healthy for a team when you think your best footy is always ahead of you.”

“Being the defending premiers, it’s a unique challenge, and that really puts to the test that mentality and how well are we going to handle it.”

 

“We must never give up on playing our best football.

 

Every season brings with it new trends that teams catch on to, changing the way it looks.

 

“We have a whole office full of people that watch the videos and figure out

what would help us win games. This year, the opening round will look different than the rounds 10 through 20.

“Where we ended last season is not necessarily where we’re going to start from this season.”

 

Collingwood will embark on their premiership defence with the oldest list in the competition.

 

But as the Magpies displayed last year, and Geelong showed in 2022 when they

fielded the oldest grand final team in VFL/AFL history, age is merely a number.

 

Dynamic but controversial forward Jack Ginnivan departed Collingwood for

Hawthorn just weeks after becoming a premiership player as a 20-year-old.

 

But his spot inside 50 has been filled by Lachie Schultz, who left Fremantle after five seasons with the Dockers.

 

Ginnivan’s decision to attend a horse-racing meet at Moonee Valley the night before the grand final drew the ire of

McRae, even during the glow of a premiership.

 

Moore insisted Collingwood and Ginnivan were “bonded for life”, but he

was also puzzled by Ginnivan’s pre-match routine.

 

“I couldn’t really believe it, to be honest,” Moore said.

Not at all what I would have done.

 

“It was an extraordinary decision, but Jack’s shown that he’s an extraordinary guy, so good luck to him.”

 

Rival teams have already made an effort to mimic Collingwood’s remarkable

knack for winning close games—all three of their finals from the previous season came down to seven points or less.

 

Following last year’s victory over GWS in the preliminary final, McRae remarked,

“All those lessons are why we’re here now and we practise it, two years of practising scenarios.”

 

“Two minutes to go, kill the game, two minutes to go, we need to win, it’s rehearsed for these moments.”

 

When the scores are close, Collingwood will undoubtedly be difficult to defeat,

but will they add another tool to their toolbox that will make their opponents more formidable?