Paul Robinson is one of the men behind the cult social media channels 'The Carlton Draft' and 'The Ressies Footballer'. 

His Black and White passion is unquestionable, and the views represented in this article are solely his own and not representative of the Collingwood Football Club.

“And now, the end is near and so I face the final curtain…”

Like Frank Sinatra sang, we did it our way. It has been anything but unconventional… In fact, we took the script, flicked through every page and laughed a toothless Collingwood grin in its face.

We were supposed to sack Bucks and we were further away from a flag than Carlton according to the experts. Experts. People who get paid for their knowledge and predictions on the game. Go back and read their pre-season predictions for a good laugh.

But now we are in the Grand Final.

Season 2018 is coming to an end – and if we do what we’ve done for bulk of the year, we will be premiers. Can you believe that?! You’d be forgiven for still pinching yourself.

The season rolled on and we gained momentum and all of a sudden the wins we fiercely celebrated in the early days became standard, and the unrivalled joy of big wins became more of a feeling of ticking off a job list.

So we should be pumping sides. We’re Collingwood – the greatest football club in Australia and we are back.

“I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried. Had my fill, my share of losing. Now, as tears subside… I find it all so amusing.”

After round three we were 1-2. Our first win came against the lowly Blues. There’s never a win against that mob I won’t love – but it hardly filled us with warranted belief.

Since then my worries have been put to bed. I occasionally worried about the telling stat of our year… that we couldn’t beat sides in the top half of the ladder.

But how laughable that seems now given the fact we destroyed the reigning premiers at their own game on a ground they hadn’t lost at since last season.



Unconvincing wins over Carlton seem like a thing of the past. Image: AFL Photos.

“The record shows I took the blows”

Since 2010, before he even started, Nathan Buckley the coach has been in the headlines.

His game plan, ability to coach and whether he had the side playing for him was questioned – until now.

He’ll sit in the coaches box this weekend as the ‘Coach of the Year,’ but he knows it will stand for nothing if he doesn’t do all he can do to get us across the line.

We’ve had injury after injury. Matthew Scharenberg, Lynden Dunn, Kayle Kirby, Daniel Wells, Darcy Moore, Jamie Elliott and Tim Broomhead have spent more time in the rehab room than on the grass. Similar lists would be enough to derail the season of most other sides.

This is a special group. Injuries? Off-field incidents? Nay-Sayers? Forget it. Nothing else matters. 22 individuals making one strong unit through a joint desire. The ultimate success.

We took every possible punch we could from the footy world and we’re still standing.

So here’s how it will go. Pies by 26 with Travis Varcoe wearing two medals at 5pm. Expect big performances from Tom Langdon, Scott Pendlebury, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Jimmy Barnes.

After 120 minutes on Saturday 29th of September we’ll be able to say – “I did it my way.”

Go the Pies.



Two amazing September stories. Travis Varcoe and Nathan Buckley embrace after the Preliminary Final. Image: AFL Photos.