It was the era of mullets and moustaches; a time when tight shorts and lace-up jumpers were the trends; and when footy expansion meant national, not international as it does today.

Remember the ‘80s?

If you can, you will recall it as one of the most volatile periods in Australian football history. It was a time of seismic change which dragged a near-broke Victorian Football League – with its 12 parochial clubs who played predominantly on suburban grounds each Saturday afternoon (often on muddy grounds) – towards the Australian Football League of today – when 18 clubs play in every state and territory at an assortment of times during the day and night (often under a roof).

If can’t recall them, you missed a remarkable decade for the game, and for Collingwood.

But don’t fret; Collingwood Forever plans to transport you back in time each week for a blast from the 1980s past, profiling a player who made an impact for one reason or another during that decade. They might not have all been stars, but each contributed to one of the club’s most tumultuous periods.

Russell Dickson

If it hadn't been for a host of frustrating injuries, Russell Dickson might well have become a household name at Collingwood.

An opportunistic, talented forward who would have instead preferred to have broken into the Magpies' midfield, Dickson had an uncanny knack for slotting through goals.

He kicked four goals on VFL debut in a particularly noteworthy match in round one, 1985, and by the end of his 13th game in black and white, he had slotted through four goals on three occasions.

Frustratingly, he played only seven more games beyond that, kicking a solitary goal in those remaining games, as he fought a constant battle with his body before returning to his suburban club.

Dickson had been born and bred in one of Collingwood's northern strongholds – Greensborough - where his parents helped to establish the junior football club in the Diamond Valley Football League.

He was a junior star with teammates still recalling his freakish talents, on both sides of his body. His form pricked the interest of the Magpies, though there was an initial reluctance to take up the offer.

Dickson would recall: "My old man was very keen for me to play senior football (in the Diamond Valley) before I went to Collingwood. I stayed away and played (with Greensborough) in the seniors as an 18-year-old (in 1982). That was tough footy."

Having played that one season against men, Dickson decided to head to Victoria Park the following year - in 1983 - and he had two seasons playing predominantly in the reserves, despite being eligible for the under 19s.

He would suggest later he was fortunate to still be on the Magpies' list after his 1983-‘84 seasons in the reserves.

"I didn't really put in (during) my first preseason and was very lucky to make the senior list," Dickson said. "In fact, I only just snuck in at No. 60."

"I'm sure if I had been at any other club which had a few good small men, I would have been given the flick. Only halfway through the season did I realise how good VFL football could be, and (I) really started to have a go."

It worked, too, as Dickson won his way into the opening game of the 1985 season, which would prove a significant game. For a start, the round one game against North Melbourne at the MCG, was the first Victorian Friday night game. That started a football revolution.

The MCC underestimated the crowd which turned up for the historic match, as fans endured long queues, with some people even breaking through gates in an effort to get in.

Bob Rose and John Kennedy made their coaching comebacks that night, while Brian Taylor played his first game for the Magpies, kicking seven goals, and earning three Brownlow Medal votes from the umpires. Incredibly, 21-year-old Dickson, in his debut game, was handed the two votes, for four goals in his maiden match.

"It was the first (Friday) night match," he recalled. "I played on (Tony) 'Pud' Furey - we (had) played together on the Australian schoolboys' Gaelic tour."

Dickson "was hardly seen until half-time", according to the Canberra Times, but he kicked consecutive goals in the eight and ten-minute-mark of the third term. He followed it up with two later goals in a brilliant debut, ending with 4.1 and 12 disposals in the Magpies' 38-point win.

The following Tuesday, he played in a mid-week ‘night’ match, where he kicked two more goals, as one of the club's best players behind the footballer many believed he resembled - Mike Richardson.

The Age said of that game: "With his blonde hair and dashing style, Dickson has been compared to dynamic Magpie rover Mike Richardson."

At the time, Dickson was trying to model his game on Tony Shaw, not Richardson: "Tony is such a gutsy player who sets a fine example to everyone on the ground."

He kicked one goal the following week against Geelong, followed by two more in the next game against Melbourne. But a missed chance late in the game against Essendon in round four proved costly.

Dickson played six games in succession, then had to work his way back into the team later in the season. In all, he played 11 matches in his first year, for nine goals.

Opportunity for going into the midfield was scarce, which proved a little frustrating. "I was a floating forward," he said. "I was up against Tony Shaw, Mike Richardson, Geoff Raines, and Mark Williams (in the midfield). I was trying to break into that ... how do you get into that when there are no rotations?"

Injuries began to impact on Dickson's progress.

But back-to-back hauls of four goals against Footscray (you can check out his goals in a highlights package on YouTube) and Melbourne in rounds five and six in 1986 highlighted his capacity to hit the scoreboard.

However, he managed only six games in 1986 and three more in 1987, taking his tally to 20 games and 18 goals.

"I was riddled with injury," Dickson said. "I was a fringe player in the sense that I wasn't a mainstay in the 20 (players)," he said. "I had four or five hamstrings, I had a broken wrist in my last game against the Eagles in the early rounds of 1987.

"I tore all the tendons off the pubic bone, which I didn't know, and I was operated on at the end of the season - and it was over."

That brought an end to his time with the Magpies: "I loved my time at Collingwood ... and enjoyed my time there."

He went back to Greensborough in 1988, harbouring a dream of having one more crack at the VFL in the future. That ended with a broken jaw in the rough and tumble of the Diamond Valley league.

"I thought I would play a year and if I was fit again, I would do a (Carlton) Paul Meldrum (who walked into the club off the street)," he said. "But in my second game, I ended up with a broken jaw and missed 14 weeks, so I just stayed at Boro."

Dickson's VFL career was over, but his connection to his childhood club would be far more enduring. He would go on to a play a significant role with Greensborough, as a player and later a coach. He would win two best-and-fairest awards and end up in the club's team of the century.

His time in Black and White was relatively brief, but his initial impact was significant, and his connection to the game at his local club endures off-field to this day.

The Electrifying Eighties
Written by Glenn McFarlane and Michael Roberts

A lasting impact: Greg Phillips

A loved rover's big year: Matthew Ryan

A comet in the Magpie sky: Phil Walsh

Sweet sixteen and a senior debut: Terry Keays

Quiet, no fuss and got the job done: Ron McKeown

A man for all seasons: Jamie Turner

Almost ahead of his time: Bruce Abernethy

Hawke's rise and fall: Paul Hawke

Our first Indigenous Magpie: Wally Lovett

Mr Reliable: Michael Taylor

An impact beyond Collingwood: Tony Burgess

Another Shaw thing: Neville Shaw