Coach Craig McRae

[PonsfordMagpie]

Never in doubt.

Exceptional performance from him and his assistants to get this team from 17th to 3rd.

Most importantly, Craig has brought back the fun and excitement at Collingwood.

 

[manicmagpie]

Most importantly, Craig has brought back the fun and excitement at Collingwood.

If there’s anyone out there that didn’t enjoy the hell out of this season (judging by some comments on this board they do exist) they should probably reconsider the whole idea of following a football team.

I don’t think we’ll ever experience anything in football as fun and exciting as this season. Sure, hopefully we’ll have seasons with happier endings, but good luck finding one that will be 6 months of pure fun like this one.

I’m in my mid forties and I’ve had the good fortune to witness 2 flags first hand, but neither of those seasons were as good overall to experience as a fan than 2022.

 

[Didak_attack]

I want flags. Doing well isn't enough!

So what you are saying is we need to do better?

...I'll show myself out

 

[FromTheBoundaryLine]

I think the gratitude for their courage and pluck and sheer dare is well deserved but I'm reading many similar comments here and from mates and I don't entirely concur. Losing our last two prelims by a point and 4 points with the pill deep in our forward line on top of the GF loss in the last minute of the game in the past 5 years makes it a bitter pill to swallow.

When are we going to cash in on an unexpected, unpredicted rise rather than fail bravely yet again? It is something we have been doing for seven decades and I have seen most of them. I get a thrill from individual home and away wins, but a big part of that thrill is knowing we are inching closer to a finals berth and then a top four finish. The win against Carlton will go down in history because of the context of that game for both teams.

The elephant in the room is the quite unprecedented failure rate over such a long period of being in contention. Much of it can be put down to bad luck as most of the close wins this season were a result of a goodly portion of good luck. So, this is what worries me. No amount of hard work, flair and dare seems to overcome that fickle finger of fate which has treated us with such ruthless brutality for so long. How will this change? I don't see us developing into a super side or dynasty team so it will once again be a combination of hard work, luck with injuries, a daring gameplan and getting the very best out of what we have got. And still there are no guarantees.

I will remember much of this wonderful year with a smile but once again it has ended in two heartbreakingly bitter defeats which could so easily have been victories for the ages.

But no. The brave Pies will soon be forgotten (by non pies fans) when another team goes on an unexpected run in 2023.

Watching Sydney or Geelong celebrating another flag will be like a knife in the guts given the fact we know we can match both of them.

Had very similar thoughts immediately after the finals losses. As supporters we carry our club history with us through decades. My finals pain began in 1970 age 10. Still, we barrack for the club that has played in the most finals, won the most finals and lost the most finals. I love that. I get the impression our coach is keenly aware of our history and our reputation for “wobbling” and that our fans bring that history with them. I think Darcy Moore mentioned that the team really focused on that history pre-season and I got the sense that our players really embraced that and the Collingwood army of the present. So I’ve tried to take a Macrae approach this year rather than lament another close finals loss for too long. Strangely I think he’s made me a different barracker as I normally would be seething and grieving for days or weeks. I don’t really know what I’m trying to say but I feel your pain. Good times are ahead I feel and more palpitations and heart break I suspect

 

[Didak_attack]

If there’s anyone out there that didn’t enjoy the hell out of this season (judging by some comments on this board they do exist) they should probably reconsider the whole idea of following a football team.

The only knock on this season is the potential impact on the health of our fans (and the long term impact on our membership numbers)

All these tense stressful games has probably made me age more than a lifelong pack a day smoker. Atleast the likely early onset salt and pepper in the hair is something I think I'll be able to nail

 

[76woodenspooners]

… but I'm reading many similar comments here and from mates and I don't entirely concur. Losing our last two prelims by a point and 4 points with the pill deep in our forward line on top of the GF loss in the last minute of the game in the past 5 years makes it a bitter pill to swallow.

I consider these two things:

(1) I toss a coin, I call tails and it comes up heads. Am I going to get upset about that? No. A lot of footy is tied up in luck - the bounce of a ball, a lineball umpiring decision one way or the other, the draw. But what if I had my house riding on the result of that coin toss? I am a proud supporter, but I wouldn’t be silly enough to do that. My footy club focus on things in their control, they wouldn’t gamble an enormous amount away on something totally outside their control … so why would I?

(2) Great things are achieved through joy. Yeah, they’re also achieved through bloody hard work too, but hard work isn’t so hard when you enjoy doing it. When there is the burden of expectation … ‘unless you win a Premiership you’re a failure’ … things can quickly stop being fun and all kinds of anxieties bubble to the surface. Or people try too hard. Or people get fearful of success. And all that stuff negatively affects performance. I get that we’re a broad church, but gee, I do not understand how anybody who followed Collingwood during the Colliwobbles years cannot see this?!? Or how anybody who has peeked over the fence at Carlton at anytime over the last two decades for a bit of schadenfreude delight cannot see this?

Compare: Both Collingwood and Carlton started the season with a new President and a new coaching panel. One team had their President proclaim that their goal was to make finals, the other team had no expectations of outcomes whatsoever set on them. Which team did better?

Make no mistake, that doesn’t mean that we have no expectations. We’re not StKilda. But what I expect is for our players to be their best selves. Whilst Carlton were busy grooming a Coleman medalist and a Brownlow medalist, our players were busy hitting PB’s in the gym and on the track. And the results followed.

 

[76woodenspooners]

The only knock on this season is the potential impact on the health of our fans (and the long term impact on our membership numbers)

All these tense stressful games has probably made me age more than a lifelong pack a day smoker. Atleast the likely early onset salt and pepper in the hair is something I think I'll be able to nail

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

Congratulations to Fly. A wonderful season, and not only gave us members and supporters a season to thoroughly enjoy and be absolutely mesmerised by, but has taken the club back to a position of strength in this competition, and a great club and environment for our players.....

 

[gouki88]

Thank god we have him, and (in light of recent reporting), thanks to everything that is holy that we never ended up with Clarko

 

[sideswipe]

I think the gratitude for their courage and pluck and sheer dare is well deserved but I'm reading many similar comments here and from mates and I don't entirely concur. Losing our last two prelims by a point and 4 points with the pill deep in our forward line on top of the GF loss in the last minute of the game in the past 5 years makes it a bitter pill to swallow.

When are we going to cash in on an unexpected, unpredicted rise rather than fail bravely yet again? It is something we have been doing for seven decades and I have seen most of them. I get a thrill from individual home and away wins, but a big part of that thrill is knowing we are inching closer to a finals berth and then a top four finish. The win against Carlton will go down in history because of the context of that game for both teams.

The elephant in the room is the quite unprecedented failure rate over such a long period of being in contention. Much of it can be put down to bad luck as most of the close wins this season were a result of a goodly portion of good luck. So, this is what worries me. No amount of hard work, flair and dare seems to overcome that fickle finger of fate which has treated us with such ruthless brutality for so long. How will this change? I don't see us developing into a super side or dynasty team so it will once again be a combination of hard work, luck with injuries, a daring gameplan and getting the very best out of what we have got. And still there are no guarantees.

I will remember much of this wonderful year with a smile but once again it has ended in two heartbreakingly bitter defeats which could so easily have been victories for the ages.

But no. The brave Pies will soon be forgotten (by non pies fans) when another team goes on an unexpected run in 2023.

Watching Sydney or Geelong celebrating another flag will be like a knife in the guts given the fact we know we can match both of them.

We had a bit of luck with the Milne bounce. That’s a flag to counter-balance the bad luck.

Swans and Cats have had recent success but both have had longer premiership droughts than us.

If we won last week you would be inconsolable because Cox would be out.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[NMBB]

Didn't Bucks win it one year?

Shared with Longmuir and Hocking?

 

[domus]

We had a bit of luck with the Milne bounce. That’s a flag to counter-balance the bad luck.

Swans and Cats have had recent success but both have had longer premiership droughts than us.

If we won last week you would be inconsolable because Cox would be out.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

That Milne bounce took place in game we dominated from the start. We had twice as many entries and missed countless sitters. They should never have been within 5 goals of us.
That's very different to equate with decades of such heartache we have endured. Definitely would have been upset about the absence of Coxy.

I know many see me as obsessed with our heartbreaking history but I am staggered by the complete absence of any historical context in the media coverage of our countless near misses

Droughts are not heartbreaking. They are frustrating. They are annoying.

Having your club come within minutes of glory so often only to have it snatched away by sheer bad luck or bad kicking or throwing away substantial leads is shattering.

I will be ready to fire up by the start of the next season but can't quite get to the Pollyanna outlook so many seem to have about our latest finals exit

But McRae is the man I want trying to get us there

 

[sideswipe]

That Milne bounce took place in game we dominated from the start. We had twice as many entries and missed countless sitters. They should never have been within 5 goals of us.
That's very different to equate with decades of such heartache we have endured

Nonsense. It was a piece of good luck that got us a flag. It counterbalances at least one, i would say more of the "heartaches". Sumich's poster in the 90 drawn qualifying final probably won us the flag too.

It goes both ways.

 

[NMBB]

Nonsense. It was a piece of good luck that got us a flag. It counterbalances at least one, i would say more of the "heartaches". Sumich's poster in the 90 drawn qualifying final probably won us the flag too.

It goes both ways.

We are Collingwood - we create more drama than other clubs and suffer more finals heartache than other clubs.

St Kilda won their ONLY flag against us via a mongrel, wobbly kick.

Fly might just be the man to lead us out of finals heartache (which means 3-4 flags back to back) - not just winning a flag and galloping into the Gobi desert for 29 years.

 

[Anzacday]

Nonsense. It was a piece of good luck that got us a flag. It counterbalances at least one, i would say more of the "heartaches". Sumich's poster miss in the 90 drawn qualifying final probably won us the flag too.

It goes both ways.

Fixed that for you.

 

[sideswipe]

Fixed that for you.

Thanks. You are so greatly appreciated.

 

[NMBB]

Thanks. You are so greatly appreciated.

And so are you (from time to time)

 

[anshell]

Well done,Craig,so we’ll deserved.What he achieved this year with a list full of holes is quite remarkable.With an ounce of luck and less interference from the umpires we would almost certainly by playing off in the grand final this week.This is astounding when you think where we were last year.

 

[jonbe54]

Well done,Craig,so we’ll deserved.What he achieved this year with a list full of holes is quite remarkable.With an ounce of luck and less interference from the umpires we would almost certainly by playing off in the grand final this week.This is astounding when you think where we were last year.

Agreed re Craig.

As for the umpiring situation - no other professional sporting body would even consider it - let alone implement it.

Even without the undue influence connotations game day umpire 'coaching' is a bad look and doesn't inspire any confidence in the standards set.

 

[domus]

Nonsense. It was a piece of good luck that got us a flag. It counterbalances at least one, i would say more of the "heartaches". Sumich's poster in the 90 drawn qualifying final probably won us the flag too.

It goes both ways.

I can't take you seriously if you are suggesting we have had just as much luck go our way in finals.

But take luck out of the discussion. From the viewpoint of sheer shattering disappointment in leading five grand finals by four or five goals and losing all of them, that record is unmatched. Geelong lost a few in the 80s but they never looked like it in the Eagles games or the blues in 95.

I'm happy for others to not feel the angst I do but don't try to tell me the ledger is evenly balanced when it comes to luck in finals.

The Hawks won three prelims by less than a kick during their dominant run. We have lost three by less than a kick since 2007 .

15 grand finals for two wins in my lifetime. Seriously.

 

[Capital Magpie]

I can't take you seriously if you are suggesting we have had just as much luck go our way in finals.

But take luck out of the discussion. From the viewpoint of sheer shattering disappointment in leading five grand finals by four or five goals and losing all of them, that record is unmatched. Geelong lost a few in the 80s but they never looked like it in the Eagles games or the blues in 95.

I'm happy for others to not feel the angst I do but don't try to tell me the ledger is evenly balanced when it comes to luck in finals.

The Hawks won three prelims by less than a kick during their dominant run. We have lost three by less than a kick since 2007 .

15 grand finals for two wins in my lifetime. Seriously.

domus you and I are of a similar vintage I feel, and I share your pain about the Pies getting more than their fair share of rotten luck. However, karma is what it is, and if we live long enough, I reckon it will balance out eventually.

Let's speak again when we're centurions centenarians

 

[Gabbo64]

If there’s anyone out there that didn’t enjoy the hell out of this season (judging by some comments on this board they do exist) they should probably reconsider the whole idea of following a football team.

I don’t think we’ll ever experience anything in football as fun and exciting as this season. Sure, hopefully we’ll have seasons with happier endings, but good luck finding one that will be 6 months of pure fun like this one.

I’m in my mid forties and I’ve had the good fortune to witness 2 flags first hand, but neither of those seasons were as good overall to experience as a fan than 2022.

Happy endings are good for me!

 

[WalterBlaknWhte]

I can't take you seriously if you are suggesting we have had just as much luck go our way in finals...

15 grand finals for two wins in my lifetime. Seriously.

Domie, what if you are cursing Collingwood?

There is 100% correlation with your support and us winning 2 out of 15 GFs

 

[NMBB]

I can't take you seriously if you are suggesting we have had just as much luck go our way in finals.

But take luck out of the discussion. From the viewpoint of sheer shattering disappointment in leading five grand finals by four or five goals and losing all of them, that record is unmatched. Geelong lost a few in the 80s but they never looked like it in the Eagles games or the blues in 95.

I'm happy for others to not feel the angst I do but don't try to tell me the ledger is evenly balanced when it comes to luck in finals.

The Hawks won three prelims by less than a kick during their dominant run. We have lost three by less than a kick since 2007 .

15 grand finals for two wins in my lifetime. Seriously.

Which GFs did Geelong lose in the 80s?

 

[neilk]

Which GFs did Geelong lose in the 80s?

I can only think of 1989.