Collingwood diehard Steve Fahey recalls some of his favourite moments in time between the Magpies and the Swans.

It forms a part of #125Wednesdays, our mid-week celebration of Collingwood's 125th Anniversary.

This article continues my occasional series on the best wins the Pies have had against each other club in my footy watching lifetime, which began as a toddler in the mid-1960s. This week, I look at the best wins the Pies have had against the Swans (as both South Melbourne and Sydney).

I cover five games, and our good record this century against Sydney means that I have had to be a bit creative to fit in a win against the old South Melbourne.

I will start with that game, which sits at No. 5 on my list.

The round 19 1969 game at Victoria Park was remarkable for only one reason, the 16.4 (out of a team score of 19.15) kicked by The Sharpshooter, Peter McKenna. While the Swans were in eleventh place going into this game, they were not hopeless, having won their last two games, and building towards a finals appearance the following season, their first in 25 years. Indeed, this game was closely fought until half time.

I was only six at the time, but my father was a close friend of The Sharpshooter and regularly used to drive him and/or his mother, Winnie, to games.

It is part of our family footy folklore that in the car on the way to this game, The Sharpshooter noted that he had a niggling leg injury, and that there had been serious discussion about withdrawing him earlier that morning, as there were only two weeks to the finals, and we were likely to have the double chance.

Luckily he played, and from start to finish he kicked goals from everywhere. It was a career-high tally for McKenna, and his 84 per cent of the team’s goals that day is, remarkably, only eleventh on the all-time list (with a minimum of eight team goals).

Game No. 4 comes from our entirely unremarkable 2014 season.

We travelled to ANZ Stadium in round two with our tails between our legs after a first round mauling by Freo had placed us fairly and squarely under the media blowtorch. The Swans, with their multi-million recruit Buddy, were one of the pre-season flag favourites, but had suffered a shock loss in round one to the Giants.

It was a game aptly described by the Floreat Pica Society’s Andrea McNamara as "ugly, gutsy, often shambolic, unskilled and heart-in-mouth stuff."

Buddy’s opponent for the evening was rookie listed Jack Frost, in only his fourth game, a match-up marked by a massive gap in experience and, most likely, pay cheque. We trailed narrowly throughout the first half, hanging in there through the superb efforts of new skipper Pendles and Beams in the midfield, and the defence led by the now ex-skipper Maxy and the unsung Frost.

We managed to get our noses in front in the third quarter by virtue of a combination of good old-fashioned Collingwood grit and some brilliance from Jamie Elliott. The last quarter saw a titanic struggle, with scores level with nine minutes remaining on the clock. Bodies were put on the line and Beams, Elliott and Clinton Young all converted to give us a much-needed win and keep the media wolves from the door (at least until the second half of that season!).

Game No. 3 was at the SCG in round four, 2000.


After being wooden spooners in 1999, a refurbished list under new coach mighty Mick Malthouse had in equal parts shocked and delighted us by starting with three straight wins. I remember these weeks as the most enjoyable period of any home and away season, when performance far exceeded expectation, the latter starting the season at a very low level.

The Swans had also won their first three games. This clash featured plenty of players who once had worn the opposition’s colours – the Swans had Andrew Schauble and Robbie Ahmat, while we had Anthony Rocca, Paul Licuria and Mark Orchard, who had been and returned. Of course our team also featured Paul Williams and Nick Davis who would both become premiership players for the Swans.

This game was a colossal struggle, which we led by a solitary point at the first break before scores were tied at both half and three-quarter time. A draw seemed both a likely and appropriate result when scores were again level at the 29 minute mark of the last quarter. High drama ensued, firstly when Swan Wayne Schwass outmarked Burnsy just inside 50. His shot was accurate and a large pack rose on the goal line as the kick ran out of legs.

HEADLINERS NO. 23: A pre-season shock.

Possibly beginning what has since become an AFL tradition, a goal line conference was held, featuring a goal umpire, a field umpire and two boundary umpires. Eventually, and correctly, they decided upon a point.

While the conference was in session, Bucks made his way to the goal square to prepare to take what would hopefully be a kick-in. He booted it long and straight up the guts, nearly to the centre of the (admittedly short) SCG, where the crumb fell to Lica, who kicked it to an unmarked Anthony Rocca at centre half forward. With less than a minute left on the clock, Pebbles went back and slotted it through the middle at goal post height.  Finals-like celebrations followed the siren.

No. 2 on the list is the 2007 Elimination Final at the MCG, remarkably the first final between the two clubs since 1945. Going into this game, we hadn’t won a final since 2003 and our young team would have to be at their best against a team that had great finals experience, having finished premiers and runners-up the previous two seasons.



Anthony Rocca and Shane O'Bree celebrate a goal during the 2007 Elimination Final.

A magnificent rundown by Josh Fraser on Leo Barry, and the resultant goal, sparked a huge start for the Pies. We led by five goals at quarter-time, and by six goals early in the second, before the Swans hit back hard. When Jude Bolton goaled after the half-time siren, the margin was back to ten points, and for older supporters, the ghosts of big finals leads lost in the past (the 1970 and 1979 Grand Finals, the 1973 Preliminary Final) were beginning to stir, especially when the Swans kicked the first goal of the second half.

This young team showed it was made of stern stuff and snuffed out the Swans’ challenge both quickly and emphatically, starting with Pebbles goaling from outside 50 to break the run, one of his six for the match.  He was ably supported by his young sidekicks Travis Cloke, who was dominant (in what was a Copeland Trophy winning year for him at age 20) and the injury-riddled Sean Rusling, both of whom kicked three. We led by five goals at three quarter- time and never looked back.

This was an authoritative win which established this young team and list as serious contenders both this season and in the coming seasons. My match report for the Floreat Pica Society included:

"The young blokes appeared completely at home in the big occasion, with Pendles again excellent and every week looking like he will be an elite midfielder in the mould of Nick Dal Santo, but kicking more goals. Clarke, Goldsack and O’Brien were all solid and Heath Shaw continues to play and look like a bloke who has played 150 rather than 50 games."

BOWING OUT A WINNER: One-game wonder Percy Rowe.

There was a sad aftermath to this win. As Floreat Pica Society tradition dictates, I awarded our best player the (non-existent) medal, which always features the name of an ex-player who has represented both clubs. I awarded the Len Thompson Medal to Pebbles. Sadly, big Thommo died unexpectedly ten days later, just a couple of days after our great win in Perth against the Weagles.

No. 1 on the list was the game at ANZ Stadium in round 20, 2012.

A week before the game it was shaping as massive, with the Swans the ladder leaders, having won nine on the trot, playing the third-placed Pies. It became even bigger when Swanny was suspended for a fortnight. The Swans hadn’t beaten us in their last ten attempts, and were also without some talent, notably Jude Bolton (who was replaced by future Pie Tony Armstrong!).

This was a typically tight and low-scoring contest between the teams. The absence of Swanny was exacerbated by Daisy Thomas suffering a bad corkie in the first quarter and hobbling off, eventually replaced in the second quarter by sub Alan Didak, who himself was returning from eight weeks on the sidelines with injury. Dids made his presence felt immediately, feigning to create space before kicking a ripper to give us back the lead just before half time.

Beams, Pendles and Wellingham all stepped up magnificently to cover our midfield absences, but we looked like we were in deep trouble late in the third quarter when the Swans got out to a 17 point lead, the biggest of the game, which could have been greater if not for their inaccuracy. Goals to Travis, Fas and a ripper by Beams narrowed our deficit to one point at the last change.

We regained the lead early in the last quarter, through Blair, and, when the Swans hadn’t scored a goal for over 40 minutes, looked like we had done enough to get the chocolates.

But when Sydney broke its goal drought, there was only two points the difference and thirty seconds on the clock.

Jolly won the hit outs at both the vital last centre bounce and the subsequent one in our forward half, with Beams crumbing to snap a beauty and seal the win on the siren. The Swans, of course, went on to win the flag six weeks later, and a win away against red-hot, high quality opposition in a tumultuous week for the club pushed this win to top spot on my list.

There have been other great wins against the Swans, including the round 12, 2006 game at ANZ Stadium when we knocked off the reigning premiers by 13 points.

May there be plenty more, starting at the SCG on Friday night.