The Collingwood players reflected on the roller coaster of life in the AFL when collingwoodfc.com.au conducted its survey of the club’s playing list.

The players have anonymously nominated their on and off field bests and worsts of 2014 so far.

Best Win
Two victories stand head and shoulders above the rest, at least in the minds of the players.

The come-from-behind win over Essendon on ANZAC Day just pipped the gutsy triumph over Sydney at ANZ Stadium just four weeks prior as the players’ choice as the best win of 2014 so far.

ANZAC Day was one for the thrill seekers.

Find out who the players think will win the 2014 E.W. Copeland Trophy.

Ridiculously, Collingwood conceded the first six goals of the game but then proceeded to kick 12 of the last 14 to run out 23-point victors.

Essendon closed to within just 10 points as the game hurtled towards time on in the final quarter. Fortunately, the Magpies conjured one final burst of goals, as Dane Swan (who else?) and Brodie Grundy sealed the deal.

Collingwood 12.11 (83) def. Essendon 8.12 (60) at the MCG
Goals – Swan 4, Sidebottom 3, White 2, Elliott, Goldsack, Grundy
Disposals – Beams 32, Pendlebury 30, Swan 26, Sidebottom 26, Ball 23



Worst Loss
Before you read any further, it’s important to note that the poll was conducted shortly before Collingwood’s 64-point loss to Essendon in round 17.

With that out of the way, collingwoodfc.com.au can confirm that the players were torn when it came to deciding on the team’s most forgettable performance.

The 70-point loss to Fremantle in round one and shock loss to the Western Bulldogs each received the same amount of votes, putting them streets ahead of the loss to Gold Coast (the only other game to receive votes).

One player nominated both losses to the Suns and Bulldogs while two answered “all of them”.

Collingwood 5.16 (46) def. by Fremantle 17.14 (116) at Etihad Stadium
Goals – Collingwood: Elliott, Macaffer, Pendlebury, Swan, Young
Disposals – Beams 31, Swan 27, Pendlebury 26, Ball 25, Langdon 24

Collingwood 15.8 (98) def. by Western Bulldogs 16.10 (106) at Etihad Stadium
Goals – Cloke 6, Elliott 4, Adams, Ball, Pendlebury, Swan, Thomas
Disposals – Adams 30, Pendlebury 30, Dwyer 28, Lumumba 24, Swan 23



Best Mark
A landslide victory to Jamie Elliott, who received votes for his screamer over Geelong’s Jimmy Bartel in round three.

Two other marks were nominated: Jarrod Witts’ run-with-the-flight against Carlton in round 15, while another player simply wrote ‘Cloke’. We can only assume that Travis’ tally of 110 marks (23 contested) rubbed off on this particular teammate.

Best Goal
Another convincing victory, this time in favour of Dane Swan.

Swan’s two-bounce run down the Olympic Stand flank on ANZAC Day received an overwhelming majority of his teammates’ votes.

He burnt off Essendon’s Cale Hooker and ran himself tight into the pocket, sliding home the goal of the day on his non-preferred left boot.

It’s little wonder he took home the ANZAC Day Medal.

Other players to have goals nominated were Jarryd Blair, Scott Pendlebury, Jamie Elliott, Marley Williams and Travis Cloke.



Best VFL Win
Collingwood’s gutsy win against the Casey Scorpions in torrential conditions out at Casey Fields is the players’ favourite of the year so far

The Magpies came back from a 17-point deficit midway through the third quarter to record their first win at the venue since April 2010.

Debutant Mat Suckling (22 disposals) and Ben Kennedy (30 disposals) were adjudged best afield while Ben Reid kicked two goals on return from injury.

Other games to receive votes were wins over Geelong, Essendon, North Ballarat and Bendigo.

Best Black & White Show host
Each week, the CollingwoodTV camera follows a player around the change rooms and players’ kitchen as his teammates return from training. The results are invariably hilarious, with different players put under the microscope as they answer questions relating to the topic of the day.

The winner of this category is Dane Swan. Hardly a surprise!

Swan’s yearly Black & White Show is among one of the most watched editions each year, and the man himself usually finds a way to feature even when it’s not his turn to ask the questions.

Ruckman Ben Hudson is a favourite of his teammates, so it’s little wonder he figured second when their votes were tallied.

Others to receive nominations were Steele Sidebottom, Marty Clarke, Nick Maxwell and Tom Langdon.



Worst Haircut
Last year’s winner Paul Seedsman received his share of votes once again but fell short of new recruit Patrick Karnezis, who earned the most nominations for his latest hairdo.

One player noted that his funniest moment was “seeing Patty with his haircut”.



Photo: Shane Barrie.

It hasn’t stopped Karnezis from displaying outstanding form in the VFL, though. The ex-Lion performed well against Richmond and the Northern Blues in the weeks after the trim.

Others to earn nominations were Adam Oxley (“the head shaved with the bald patch”), Jarrod Witts, Travis Cloke, Clinton Young, Tyson Goldsack and Rodney Eade.

Best and Worst Instagrammer
A controversial question.

Somehow, one man won both categories.

That man is the fearless Ben Kennedy.

The 20-year-old South Australian’s work on the social media application has kept his teammates entertained during the first two thirds of the season.

Ben Hudson and Kyle Martin run the team’s fines system where they “get a lot of the young blokes for what they call selfies on Instagram,” as Hudson told The Club last month.

“Footy clubs can get pretty serious when preparing for a game so it’s something we enjoy doing and get all the boys in there and have a bit of a laugh.”

Kennedy received ticks and crosses from his teammates, with two even giving him best and worst in their own poll.



One player said the funniest moment of the season was “Ben Kennedy repeatedly getting fined for having a terrible Instagram page.”

The last word on the issue has to go to the man himself.

Q: Who is the worst Instagrammer?”
A: Myself...follow me @benkennedy35.



In summary, other players to receive votes were:

Best Instagrammer: Adam Oxley (multiple), Tony Armstrong (multiple), Heritier Lumumba (multiple), Matt Scharenberg, Alex Fasolo, Jesse White and Dayne Beams.
Worst Instagrammer: Lachlan Keeffe, Paul Seedsman, Brodie Grundy, Clinton Young, Dayne Beams and Brent Macaffer.