On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

…well, we can’t exactly give these players to you, but in the spirit of the song, we look at twelve of the best Magpies to wear the No. 12.

Dan Minogue
Let’s start at the start. Minogue was the first Magpie to wear the No. 12 when jumper numbers were awarded in 1911. He wore it for just that year, playing a total of nine games, including the Grand Final loss to Essendon. Incredibly, he broke his collarbone in the opening minute but played out the game. Minogue was involved in a total of five clubs in a playing and coaching capacity, but began his career at Victoria Park where he played 85 games between 1911 and 1916 and was captain in his final three years.

Charlie Dibbs
Between 1911 and the late 1940s, Collingwood’s jumper numbers were assigned by name (and captaincy) on a yearly basis, meaning players rarely kept hold of the same jumper each season. Dibbs was one man who bucked the trend (to some degree). He wore No. 12 in four of his first eight seasons at Victoria Park, and took it into battle in two of the Machine team’s four premierships in a row between 1927 and 1930.

Des Healey
Healey was the first Magpie to officially make the No. 12 his own. He wore it in all bar one of his eight years at Collingwood during a career that saw him win a Copeland Trophy (1955), a premiership (1953) and four top three placings in the best-and-fairest. Sadly, his career came to a close following a nasty collision with Melbourne star Frank “Bluey” Adams in the 1955 Grand Final. Aged 28, he never played in the VFL again.

Errol Hutchesson
A fine servant of the Black and White, Hutchesson managed 127 senior games between 1958 and 1967, featuring in two Grand Finals along the way. A speedy onballer, Hutchesson later became a board member, overseeing the club’s drought breaking 1990 triumph.

Ross Dunne
Though he topped and tailed his career in the No. 40s, Dunne’s best years were spent in the No. 12 jumper. He was named Best Finals Player in 1971 and was made a Life Member in 1977, the same year he famously kicked the goal that levelled the scores in the drawn Grand Final against North Melbourne. Like Hutchesson, Dunne went on to serve the club in an administrative capacity.

Max Richardson
Richardson played 211 games for Collingwood, but just 25 of them were in the No. 12. It was in 1978, the year that became his last at Victoria Park. He played all 25 games, kicking 21 goals including four against St Kilda in round 21. But it was just weeks before the curtain was drawn on his Collingwood career, and he rounded out his time in the VFL with three years for Fitzroy.

Denis Banks
Hard as nails, committed to the cause and absolute in his loyalty to the jumper. They’re the qualities all Collingwood supporters expect of their players, and it’s exactly what Denis Banks delivered to the club during his thirteen-year career. He was an All-Australian, a Hall of Famer, twice the winner of the Most Courageous award and, most famously, a key driver behind the 1990 premiership triumph.

Jason McCartney
While his time at North Melbourne is what will live on in the minds of most football followers, McCartney’s AFL career began at Victoria Park. A high profile draftee, McCartney spent four years as a Magpie, three of which were in the No. 12 jumper. The last of those, 1994, saw him play 19 senior games, including the Qualifying Final loss to West Coast, but he signed off on a trade that saw him cross to Adelaide at season’s end.e The last

Andrew Schauble
A dependable centre half back who was one of the brighter young prospects to walk through the doors at the tail end of the ‘90s. Schauble wore No. 12 in his final four seasons at Victoria Park, a time in which he played in 20 or more games in three consecutive years. He fell out of favour for much of 1999 and was traded to Sydney, where he went on to win a best-and-fairest.

Steve McKee
The 199cm ruckman wore No. 12 in each of his 64 games for Collingwood. He joined the club in a trade that saw him cross from Richmond in exchange for Clinton King. While it took McKee time to find his feet, he developed into one of the Magpies’ most important players in 2002 when he played 22 of 25 games and helped propel the team into its first Grand Final in twelve years.

Luke Ball
How could we forget this man? Chances are we never will, and nor will the St Kilda supporters who saw him feature prominently in their team’s Grand Final loss in 2009, only to be celebrating in a Collingwood jumper against them twelve months later. Ball quickly became a Magpie favourite with his brave attack on the contest and cool head during the Grand Final years of 2010 and 2011.

Matt Scharenberg
Now to the player charged with carrying the number into the future. Unfortunately it will be some time before we see Scharenberg back out in the ground, for he underwent a second knee reconstruction in December. He debuted late in 2015 and had shown glimpses of his undoubted potential during the VFL finals series.



Matthew Scharenberg is the current custodian of Collingwood's No. 12 jumper.