It was the era of mullets and moustaches; a time when tight shorts and lace-up jumpers were the trends; and when footy expansion meant national, not international as it does today.
Remember the ‘80s?
If you can, you will recall it as one of the most volatile periods in Australian football history. It was a time of seismic change which dragged a near-broke Victorian Football League – with its 12 parochial clubs who played predominantly on suburban grounds each Saturday afternoon (often on muddy grounds) – towards the Australian Football League of today – when 18 clubs play in every state and territory at an assortment of times during the day and night (often under a roof).
If can’t recall them, you missed a remarkable decade for the game, and for Collingwood.
But don’t fret; Collingwood Forever plans to transport you back in time each week for a blast from the 1980s past, profiling a player who made an impact for one reason or another during that decade. They might not have all been stars, but each contributed to one of the club’s most tumultuous periods.
Andrew Smith
When Keith Burns, Collingwood's long-time developer of talent and under 19s coach, was asked to name the top ten players he groomed for senior football, it was no surprise to hear Gavin Brown and Peter Daicos rate so highly.
But one name, listed as Burns' No. 10 selection, was less recognisable to many Magpies supporters.
The player he named managed only 35 games for Collingwood, more than half in a season in which the club played in a Grand Final, even if an untimely injury cost him any chance of playing in it.
Burns was talking about Andrew Smith, a dashing half back whose ability to turn defence into attack and his piercing left foot looked set to become a Black and White staple throughout the 1980s.
Sadly, his career was hampered by a sickening injury suffered during a pre-season game in 1983, from which he lost confidence and never regained the form he had shown beforehand.
"Andrew was a great young player – tough as absolute nails, a good left-footer and he was playing along nicely," Burns recalled of the 180cm defender.
Smith, known as 'Puddin' to his teammates, had been recruited from Watsonia, in the Magpie heartland of the Diamond Valley Football League - the same club from which Murray Browne came from.
He was only 17 when he started in the under 19s - under Burns - in 1978. By his second season he had won the 'thirds' best and fairest award, which guaranteed him a pathway through to the reserves.
Smith was only two months shy of his 20th birthday when selected on the bench to make his VFL debut at Victoria Park in round 11, 1980, though the youngster wearing the No. 50 didn't trouble the statisticians that day. He had played in the Semi-Final of the Escort Cup on the previous Tuesday, impressing Tom Hafey enough to win a slot when a few injuries hit.
But it was a different story the following year, when Smith not only broke his way back into the senior team, but managed to hold down a spot throughout much of the season. It was an achievement, given the side was a premiership contender at the time.
Overlooked in the first two rounds, Smith’s form was good enough in the reserves to warrant selection for the round three game against St Kilda at Moorabbin. It was the start of six consecutive games, of which the Magpies won five of them, as he impressed the coach and those in the crowd, with his attack on the ball and his use of it.
One of his best performances came in his 16th game when his rebound off half back produced two important goals in the big win over Hawthorn in round 21, and the role he played that day earned him an audience with Lou Richards in the Sun News-Pictorial leading into the next game.
Ahead of the following round's clash with Fitzroy, Smith detailed his links to one of the players he was expected to play against, former Magpie Des Herbert, who had been a teammate before transferring to the Lions mid-season.
Smith told Richards he was going to be Herbert's best man at his wedding later that year, but joked that they had stopped talking leading into the game.
"I offered Des a goal or two in for $20 and he nearly biffed me," Smith joked. "I guess football is a bit too serious at this time of the year for any fooling around."
Smith spoke expectantly about a looming first finals appearance, with Richards suggesting he was impressed by the young footballer's maturity for his age. He had just turned 21.
"There's a good feeling playing for Collingwood now," Smith said. "All the boys have their spirits up and feel that this could be the year, at last. It would be wonderful if we could hang on to top spot, although I think we can win the flag from anywhere."
That's where Richards, knowing the club hadn't won a flag at that stage since 1958, said back to him: "Down Smithie, down. I've heard that before." To which Smith replied "sheepishly": "I know, everyone at the club keeps telling us to 'cool it'. But it is hard when you are so involved in the game and keep thinking about it all the time."
The Sun described Smith’s attributes as being important to Collingwood's finals campaign: "He plays close and strong, shoulder to shoulder with the best opponents, but still has enough confidence to back himself when he has the break ... Fast and long-striding, he is a one-grab ball handler, and a penetrating left foot kick."
Smith played two finals that season.
The first came when he had 14 disposals in the Qualifying Final loss to Geelong, but his luck ran out during what proved a frustrating second quarter in the First Semi-Final against Fitzroy.
Despite kicking six goals for the term to open up a 38-point lead over the Lions, the Magpies lost ruckman and skipper Peter Moore to a hamstring injury, and not long afterwards Smith dislocated his shoulder. It was a horrible sense of timing.
The Magpies won the game by the smallest possible margin, thanks to a late goal to Ross Brewer, but Smith's season was over, with one official saying in the rooms after the game that he would "almost certainly not take the field again this season."
He was confined to the grandstand for the next two finals, including the Grand Final loss to Carlton that he almost certainly would have played in, but for his shoulder issue.
Injuries, too, played a role in restricting him to only 11 of a possible 22 games in Collingwood's divisive 1982 season.
He played four of the first eight games - now wearing No. 15 - before returning for a stretch of six consecutive matches, starting with Mick Erwin's first game as caretaker coach in round 11 after Hafey's sacking.
Groin and leg issues hampered him, but he did finish the season strongly with 14 disposals and a goal in the final round win over Geelong.
He hoped for a change of fortune in 1983, with the Sun saying during the preseason "Smith has worked hard ... and is one of the fittest players at Victoria Park."
Then came the moment that many, including Burns, believe changed his VFL career.
In a fiery charity practice match to against Footscray at Waverley - played as a curtain-raiser to the Sun All-Stars v Carlton fundraiser for the Ash Wednesday bushfire victims - Smith had his jaw broken and lost several teeth in a controversial first-term incident involving Bulldog Steve Macpherson.
Five players were reported from the match, including Macpherson, but the Magpies were so furious with what had happened that they convened a special board meeting the following night to discuss what further action could be taken.
Smith was photographed in St Vincent's Hospital, with newspapers saying he was unwilling to discuss the incident, which wasn't surprising given the extensive surgery he had to undergo to repair his shattered jaw.
He missed 13 weeks of football, returning later in the 1983 season for three games (one of them against Footscray), but he had minimal impact.
Burns remains certain the incident shook him: "Andrew lost confidence about his toughness and I don't think he was ever the same player again."
Smith agreed, saying later: "The couple of years after my injury were lean years for me."
Two more games, played only off the bench, came during the 1984 season, which was the same year that he launched legal proceedings against Macpherson for $100,000 damages. The Sun described the proceedings as "the first case involving a VFL player claiming damages against an opposition player."
In the summons issued by 24-year-old Smith, it alleged "Macpherson assaulted him by striking him to the head with his fist." The claim was for "personal injury damage" of $100,000 and "exemplary damages for a broken jaw (in two places), the loss of a lower wisdom tooth, maloclussion (swelling of the brain), concussion, facial swelling and numbness, internal facial laceration, shock, and pain and suffering."
He claimed that while still employed by Collingwood, "as a result of his injuries, his employment versatility as a professional footballer may have been permanently impaired." The claim was finally settled out of court in the late 1980s.
Unable to break back into a permanent role with Collingwood, Smith moved to Sydney in an effort to revive his fortunes at the start of the 1985 season. But after playing the first four games, he didn't get another chance, and his VFL career was over.
He later joined Brunswick in the VFA, but it wasn’t the Black and White finish many had forecast for him.
Smith had shown so much promise in his 30 games from his first three seasons with Collingwood, but sadly played only five following the broken jaw that Burns still believes cost him the chance of becoming a Magpie star.
The Electrifying Eighties
Written by Glenn McFarlane and Michael Roberts
A lasting impact: Greg Phillips
A loved rover's big year: Matthew Ryan
A comet in the Magpie sky: Phil Walsh
Sweet sixteen and a senior debut: Terry Keays
Quiet, no fuss and got the job done: Ron McKeown
A man for all seasons: Jamie Turner
Almost ahead of his time: Bruce Abernethy
Hawke's rise and fall: Paul Hawke
Our first Indigenous Magpie: Wally Lovett
Mr Reliable: Michael Taylor
An impact beyond Collingwood: Tony Burgess
Another Shaw thing: Neville Shaw
What could have been: Russell Dickson
A flash in the pan: Darren Collins
It's not just about the name: Paul Tuddenham
A Shaw of a different kind: Gary Shaw
The Tassie boy who had no luck: Colin Alexander
A member of a fine football family: Mark Weideman
An 'unknown teenager' in the big time: Noel Lovett
An insatiable work ethic: John Annear
