We need to cast off the sack cloth and ashes.

[jonbe54]

I've noticed a tendency on these pages - and especially since the GF - for some of us to lament about 'the same old Collingwood story, bad luck, curse etc., etc.

I have lived through 50+ years supporting this club and have known more heartache and distress than all but of a few here.

There is NO curse, bad luck or flaw.

There is only pride and passion for those of us that have endured.

Ours is a club storied in passion and endeavour, whatever the situation of the list or the club we always over achieve - save those sparse few years of failure that come to us all. I can remember the talk coming out of the club in the leadup to the first flag I witnessed and it was along the lines of . . . "Our past is important to tell us where we came from, but it does not define us. This group is here to write our own story and stamp our own will upon the game."

I echo those sentiments RIGHT NOW - this is a special group - a young team forced together on the very brink of the precipice, standing at bay with the competition literally at our throats with only defeat and disillusionment in prospect.

Yet they did not falter.

Bloodied but unbowed they looked within themselves and found the courage and belief to overcome.

This is no longer a bunch of kids that we need to find excuses for but a group of young men steadfast, determined and united.

 

[Saintly Viewed]

During the GF not one player was thinking about close ones in 79 or 2002 or 1964

It's supporters who lament such things.

Simple solution, make the finals the top 4, the GF in 2019 and win the game.

 

[jonbe54]

During the GF not one player was thinking about close ones in 79 or 2002 or 1964

It's supporters who lament such things.

Simple solution, make the finals the top 4, the GF in 2019 and win the game.

No argument here Saintly, those young men have done us proud and will continue to grow as players and men. After such an intense baptism those first gamers that entered the fray this year have gained belief in themselves during adversity and are now certain it will not daunt them.

 

[Saintly Viewed]

What is a suitable mourning period.

Turnbull Stakes day for me offered suitable distraction.

 

[jonbe54]

What is a suitable mourning period.

Turnbull Stakes day for me offered suitable distraction.

I have my RC flying hobby to distract me - clearing weather for more early morning flights and a new aircraft to build.

By the time the weather starts deteriorating for RC flying we will be about to enter the pre-season comp so my off season is mapped out lol.

 

[Saintly Viewed]

I have my RC flying hobby to distract me - clearing weather for more early morning flights and a new aircraft to build.

By the time the weather starts deteriorating for RC flying we will be about to enter the pre-season comp so my off season is mapped out lol.

You have it worked out.
Smart.

 

[barrackers]

During the GF not one player was thinking about close ones in 79 or 2002 or 1964

It's supporters who lament such things.

Simple solution, make the finals the top 4, the GF in 2019 and win the game.

During the game I had no thoughts towards other gf losses. Post match there was some, but it wasn’t something I gave huge time too.

 

[The Royal Sampler]

I think it’s a case of mourning, mourning, mourning... and then 2019 starts and we start ******* everyone’s s**t up.

 

[domus]

The pain is real. The fear will be just as real if we reach the last day in 2019. It is unavoidable. We have to suffer the tension and possibility of further gut wrenching heartache in order to get our hands on the cup. You can dress it up anyway you like. No-one doubts the courage or tenacity of this group. I am very proud of them. However we have already seen that sometimes that is not enough. You need some luck and we rarely have it when it matters most. The Eagles were no more committed or courageous but they have the 2018 flag for ever. We don't.

I don't care whether the players were thinking about our past record in grand finals. I know that record and I have lived through it along with many other scarred Collingwood people.

Bring on 2019-I will be as pumped and optimistic as I have ever been, but as the finals draw closer and we look likely to contend, the fear will also return as I ponder the likelihood of further football hell. I posted a thread a few months back saying I was becoming fearful as the realization that we are a bloody good team finally kicked in. Most people were of the mind I should simply enjoy the ride but I knew what was waiting. Sadly, my premonitions were proven accurate.

 

[whiteside35]

i know it shouldn't matter what happened in the past,but somehow it does and we don't seem to be able to break it,we won it in 90 and then it was another 20 years until we won it again with a couple of losses in there and then again it has happened,we can't win a couple of grand finals in row to get away from this.It just seemed inevitable what was going to happen and as usual it was a bit of bad luck/dodgy call that got us in another close gf.i hope the pies get back in there next year and put this right,we can't lose them all.

 

[bunter]

Siren went. bloody hell, not again.
Been through a few but will always back the boys in no matter what, I reckon this group is no flash in the pan and happy days are ahead.

 

[surfer1]

I was excited we made GF was a great game pity we lost drank too much but can't wait for 2019 unlike other years I am ok I love the way we are playing I especially love the camaraderie shown. Oh yes I wish we had won gee I wish we had won

 

[jonbe54]

We need to be realistic and admit to ourselves that despite the heroics of our young men we should never have made the GF this year.

That we did this and lost is no cause for mourning, it's a disappointment to be sure but that disappointment will be a fuel for revenge. I said to my partner before the GF began that the Westies would keep coming no matter what due to their previous GF experience, and so it proved.

That can be true for our boys as well, plus they now have the understanding of what it takes to go all the way and the hardening that only playing a full finals series can provide.

Every team aims for improvement every year but this young squad will definitely improve - and improve hugely - in the aspect of what is needed to carry through a program from pre-season to hoisting the flag.

I for one am truly excited by next year's prospects.

Beams may or not make a huge difference but we have a new recruit running out next year - his first name is belief, second name is team and the last is solidarity.

 

[domus]

We need to be realistic and admit to ourselves that despite the heroics of our young men we should never have made the GF this year.

But this is irrelevant and offers no comfort. The Dogs should never have contended in 2016 but they won a bloody flag. The Crows of 97/98 should never have won one flag let alone gone back to back-but they did!

 

[cleomenes]

There are many of us with long memories. Mine start with the '67 loss. The many close losses, often with controversy, bite. The pain of being a Collingwood supporter is part of the story. We would like it not to be there, but it is an aspect of what makes us a bit different to the other clubs.
The added pressure of Collingwood in a final is not as immediate as it once was, (thanks to 1990 and 2010) but it is real. Just once, I would like the controversy would be over our win rather than our loss. I live in hope.

 

[jonbe54]

i know it shouldn't matter what happened in the past,but somehow it does and we don't seem to be able to break it,we won it in 90 and then it was another 20 years until we won it again with a couple of losses in there and then again it has happened,we can't win a couple of grand finals in row to get away from this.It just seemed inevitable what was going to happen and as usual it was a bit of bad luck/dodgy call that got us in another close gf.i hope the pies get back in there next year and put this right,we can't lose them all.

We need to understand that the competition is HUGE now - 17 opponents with at least 3 or 4 genuine Premiership threats every year. No longer is it possible to consider ourselves dominant over a timeline any longer than the next play - let alone a season.

It needs to be a matter of concentrating on getting the next tackle, the next clearance or goal right and then focusing on the following play. Anything else is in the lap of the footy gods.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

It was an honourable loss in a grand final we never expected to be in, but nonetheless heartbreaking to lose by 5 points. Hoodoos or past losses did not feature in my thinking pre or post game, just intense disappointment that we had lost. The nature of the current beast is that it may not pass this way again for some time to come. Opportunities need to be seized when they present themselves.

 

[jonbe54]

It was an honourable loss in a grand final we never expected to be in, but nonetheless heartbreaking to lose by 5 points. Hoodoos or past losses did not feature in my thinking pre or post game, just intense disappointment that we had lost. The nature of the current beast is that it may not pass this way again for some time to come. Opportunities need to be seized when they present themselves.

You just never know what's around the corner - many of us appear to have forgotten that we recently lost a brownlow medal winning clearance machine with at least a couple of fine years left in him in a freak injury accident.

You can't cover the loss of a Swan, or a virus running through the playing list on the eve of the finals. The game has become a matter of millimetres and milliseconds, so every decision/action is critical.

On the plus side we have great depth which we have just added to and with an improved healthy year we will be contending again. That is all any club can do, position themselves to contend and remain as healthy as possible leading up to the big dance.

 

[DWil6]

We have a habit, in recent times (decades), of losing when we are favourites and losing when we are rank underdogs.
It’s novel to think we won’t dwell on past defeats, but we have lost more GF’s then possibly any other team has played in... it adds up.

 

[35Daicos]

We have a habit, in recent times (decades), of losing when we are favourites and losing when we are rank underdogs.
It’s novel to think we won’t dwell on past defeats, but we have lost more GF’s then possibly any other team has played in... it adds up.

Close! We've lost 27 Grand Finals, while Carlton and Essendon have played in 29 (including a replay in Essendon's case):


Essendon's two other flags came in years (1897, 1924) where a Round Robin system was used to decide the Premier (no Grand Final was played).

 

[jonbe54]

We have a habit, in recent times (decades), of losing when we are favourites and losing when we are rank underdogs.
It’s novel to think we won’t dwell on past defeats, but we have lost more GF’s then possibly any other team has played in... it adds up.

I would normally point out that we made it to those GF's where all but one in the comp couldn't but that wouldn't be glass half empty would it???
Pfftt

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

No there’s definitely something to the curse.

Patterns exist for a reason.

44 Grand Finals for 15 wins.

Hawthorn are 13 from 19

That’s a cultural lifeblood that runs through the veins of each club. Hawthorn demands success. Collingwood hopes for it. Hawthorn does whatever it takes to win flags. Collingwood does whatever and is proud just to participate.

Simple fact is that Collingwood is a “we do our best and whatever happens happens” club.

 

[legendstatus]

I’ll take a GF every 2.8 years v what every other club serves up any day of the week
A bit more luck and it could’ve been 20/44 instead but at least we experience it.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[didaksrightfoot]

No there’s definitely something to the curse.

Patterns exist for a reason.

44 Grand Finals for 15 wins.

Hawthorn are 13 from 19

That’s a cultural lifeblood that runs through the veins of each club. Hawthorn demands success. Collingwood hopes for it. Hawthorn does whatever it takes to win flags. Collingwood does whatever and is proud just to participate.

Simple fact is that Collingwood is a “we do our best and whatever happens happens” club.

Yeah I don't buy that - at least not in the last 35 years. (I cannot talk of the Colliwobbles prior to that. But I don't think what we have seen recently should fit that narrative)

In my lifetime we are 2-4 in grand finals.
Of those 4 losses, I would say that 3 were Grand Finals we really overachieved to make it.
2011 really hurts - and it is painful how dominant we were as a team for that 18 month period but just happened to face the one team who had beaten us in that period.
But '02 and '03, and I would add '18 - we had no right to be there in the first place. All 3 of our lists were, on paper, very average squads. (You could almost argue the same about the 1990 team).
We have also generally remained competitive without ever really bottoming out.

To compare to Hawthorn is just not accurate IMO. 9 of their premierships came in the 1980's or from 08-15. Those were some of the most talented teams you will ever see on a football field, and their most recent flags have all come off the back of some serious bottoming out as a club (and being at risk of a merger) and rebounding with a bunch of elite top 10 draft picks.

 

[DWil6]

I would normally point out that we made it to those GF's where all but one in the comp couldn't but that wouldn't be glass half empty would it???
Pfftt

I guess I just don’t feel like constantly making it is a pass mark. Would I prefer to make it regularly and lose mostly, compared to never making it? Of course. The lesser of two evils always.