So it’s 2015, and all that matters is the present.
But as we wait for the festive season to pass, collingwoodfc.com.au takes a moment to look back to how the club was placed 100 years ago, back in 1915.
VFL Season 1915
Premiers: Carlton
Runners Up: Collingwood
Champion of the Colony: Dick Lee (Collingwood)
Collingwood coach: Jock McHale
Collingwood captain: Dan Minogue
Leading goal kicker: Dick Lee (66 goals)
The more things change, the more things stay the same.
In 1915, Collingwood played eight games at Victoria Park, three at the MCG and an extra at the Punt Road Oval.
Now, 100 years on, the club will play nine VFL games at Victoria Park, one at Punt Road and potentially a handful at the MCG, should senior curtain raisers become a reality.
Granted it’s the VFL, but it’s interesting to note the similarities between the club’s situation and playing circumstances 100 years apart.
Collingwood was the VFL’s most outstanding team for the majority of the 1915 season, winning 14 of its 16 home and away games to finish atop the ladder on the eve of September.
The Magpies’ biggest win of the season was recorded against St Kilda in round 12, when they belted the hapless Saints by 98 points at Victoria Park.
Dick Lee, who would go on to win the league’s Champion of the Colony award, bagged eight goals while Harry Kerley kicked four.
Unfortunately, the year ended in tears. The Magpies were unable to notch a win when it mattered most, falling to Fitzroy in the Semi-Final and again to Carlton in the Grand Final.
Perhaps Collingwood should have seen it coming – the team’s only two defeats of the home and away season were at the hands of the Navy Blues.
It compares similarly with the Magpies of 2011, who won 22 of a possible 25 games. All three defeats were against Geelong, who, of course, triumphed against the Pies on Grand Final day.
Five Magpies managed to feature in all 18 games in 1915 (George Anderson, Jack Green, Jock McHale, Dan Minogue and Pen Reynolds) while the club used just 25 players across the season.
The way things were, 100 years ago
So it’s 2015, and all that matters is the present. But as we wait for the festive season to pass, collingwoodfc.com.au takes a moment to look back to how the club was placed in 1915.
