A season to remember (and be thankful for!)

[dillo_09]

Well people, the season has come to and end for the Collingwood Football Club. Some may say too soon others may say it was right on the money. My heart says the season ended too soon but my head says that we have equalled the expecations that I had for the year.

Can anyone, at the start of the season and with the hugely UNFAIR draw that we had, honestly say that they thought we would win more than 11 or 12 games and be as competitive as we were in the losses we had?

Lets have a little look at what we acheived for the year -

Improvement - Well apart from the obvious 11 wins Vs 7 wins last year, there was a number of areas we improved in. Leadership was one with a number of guys taking on more senior roles and leading the way with Buck's and not following him.

Tarrant, Davis x2, and Fraser were a couple of those who showed significant improvement throughout the year, not so much in skill (They have always had that) but in mental toughness that is 80% of today's football.

Josh Fraser continued on this year where he left off last year - improving. Don't forget that this kid is still a teenager but at his age is commanding the resect of his peers accross the nation for his agility, skill, elusiveness and 2nd, 3rd and 4th efforts at the ball within a contest. The way he attacks the ball in a pack is similar to a young G.Brown and for a man of 202cm he is really a freak!! Expect at least 1 Brownlow and a number of Copelands to be adorning his mantlepeice over the next 10 years!

Nick Davis played the 2nd half of the season with a broken thumb and was consistently one of our best players. His vision and ability to read the play will take this kid to heights within our game that he never imagined in his wildest dreams. I can see him being one of the top 5 players in the competition in a few years time.

Leon Davis also has proved himself a genuine AFL player. Our excitement machine will only get better for his season and provide us with many highlight reels over what we hope is a long and distinguished career at the highest level. That grab on Anzac day and goal a few weeks ago are just the tip of the iceberg for Leon.

Anthony Rocca moved out of his brothers shadow to begin forging a name for himself in his own right. He probably had his best and most consistent season of his career, but still suffered from inconsistency (if that makes sense!).

Chris Tarrant had a much improved year to the point that he attracted the oppositions best forward each week due to the respect that he earned through his performances. Lets not forget he has finished 4th in the goal kicking for the home and away season with 53, behind LLoyd 96, Lynch and Richardson both on 54. For those who arent aware he is also in the top 10 of marks for the entire AFL which is a brilliant effort. Season 2001 will become known (I hope) as season BC - Before Chris! It is a season that he will look back on in a few years time as the year he learnt the most and with a big pre-season weight program to improve his strength he will only get better!

Our recruits. Contrary to the belief of a certain person on this BB, I think history will prove that our recruiting prior to the 2001 season was skilled and precise.

Jarrod Molloy has been fantastic with his hardness at the ball and the presence he gave on the paddock he was able to lift those around him to another level. Ryan Lonie has been a revelation and if he doesnt win the Rising Star award there will only be one guy in front of him. Not much more I can say that hasnt already been said about this kid. Steinfort and Clement have added some experience and toughness to the side accross the middle and half back and will only get better as MM continues to mould this side into a top quality winning combination.
Brodie Holland had a number of good games throughout the year and was used well off the bench at times. With a little consistency will be a much better player in the future.
Shane O'Bree was a surprise packet and obviously returning home from Qld has done him the world of good. I think that the biggest plus to come out of O'Brees season was his ability to take a lot of pressure in the midfeild off Buckley. If this continues, expect Bucks to be able to front up for more seasons than what we think!
On the subject of our great Captain, and I ignore all the rumours about him, he will probably admit himself that he hasnt had his best season, but that is probably due to 2 things. One he had some niggling injuries that plagued his year and he wasnt able to get the ball as often because other players within the side such as O'Bree and Licuria had it!! It's harder for him to stand out when so many more players in the side are standing up!!! I beleive that Nathan, being the ultimate professional that he is, find some improvement within himself that we wouldnt expect and next season will step up to an even higher level as a player, captain and person. He now has players along side him who are challenging him. Thats the sort of thing that drives people like Bucks.

The Future. Well if I could predict the future I would be a rich man!!
But from where I see it, our future as a football club is so bright, they will issue sunnies with a seasons ticket next year!
There are a number of players touted as possible trades that we could pick up such as Everitt, Wirrapunda and Solomon. I am confident in the ability of the coaching/recruitment team we have to be able to negotite the right trades and draft the right players to fill certain roles and voids within our club.

People, if the Collingwood FC wanted a quick fix, we probably could have got it but it would be a lot more riskier over the long term than the way we are going about things. 2 cases in point - St.Kilda and Melbourne. Melbourne have been up and down more often and faster than a hookers knickers at a welcome ashore party for sailors. There is now way that I want our club to experience the roller coaster ride that they have - my heart couldnt handle it! As for the rabble from Moorabbin just have a look at the state they are in with the Blight/Butterss/Thomas FIASCO! A perfect example of why football club boards and football departments should be kept separate!!! The internal crap that goes on at both these clubs will do nothing other than ensure they are forever occupting the bottom rungs of the ladder. I never want to see our club in that sort of state and fortunately with the calliber of person and unity of the current board, this football club is as stable off field as any other in Victoria and once the onfeild situation has us consistently in the top 4 teams of the competition, we will only get stronger and stonger off field.

Well, I didnt expect this post to be so long but the more I typed the more I wanted to say.

The last thing I would like to do is to THANK the entire population of the Collingwood Football Club for the results acheived in all areas during the 2001 season. That includes all people be they on field, off feild, cheer squad (you guys did great!) or outer people. You all deserve credit for being involved in raising this club to the only position it deserves to hold within the great game of Australian Rules - NUMBER ONE!

Floreat Pica

Mark Dillon
2001 Member # 1738

[AlfAndrews]

Well said, Mark.

It has been easily the most enjoyable season for me since I moved to Melbourne prior to the 1997 season. Many, many positives came out of it. The highlights for me were the wins over Carlton and Port. The form of Josh Fraser and Nick Davis gave us plenty to feel good about. It will be interesting to see which of these two rising champions takes out the Copeland. And of course, Anthony Rocca ... when he was good he was bloody magnificent. When he was bad ... well, er ... let's keep this positive.

Another great player to really shine out this year was Tarkyn Lockyer. Let's hope that sickening blow he copped from Molly a couple of weeks ago doesn't have any ongoing effect.

And, of course, that brings us to Molly. What an instant cult hero he has become at The Club. If only that bump on Tarks had connected with the player it was intended for. I reckon he would have to be the player who, more than anyone else, epitomises the difference between the Collingwood team of 2001 and teams of the past few seasons.

Then, of course, you've got legends like Rintoul. Honestly ... any player who can break a leg and then JOG off the ground has got to be larger than life itself. What an inspiration that was.

Clement, Buckley, Holland, Leon Davis, Tarrant, Lonie ...

I am one very satisfied member this year:

medallion number 6757 ... and proud of it.

Eleven wins may not a premiership make ... but it sure as hell gives us something really positive to keep us going through the summer.

So ... all you mathematicians.

A question for you.

What is the next number in this series?

4 ... 7 ... 11 ... ?

I agree about the shades.

**floreat pica**

[Lockyer24]

Well Done boys. First of all to my fave player Tarks, great season, it was tremendous to see you add a new dimension to your game, i.e goalkicking. Nick Davis, what can I say he has become one of my fave players (his preseason in his first year he looked like being superstar..knew he wouldnt let us down) and Nick has shown us some magic not seen since Daicos. Tarrant, although he dissapoints me sometimes made huge leaps and bounds and to say he kicked more/as many goals as supposed stars like Grant, Richardson and co is a credit to how hard he has worked and where he is headed. Joshs workrate for a man of his physique is phenomenal in such a tough environment, hes an inspiration to mYSELF personally plus he has such a level head. Bucks, the games against Carlton and the first one against Freo proved you are simply the best, nuff said. Burnsy it was great to have you back and firing. Magic, thanks for them great goals. Chipper see you fit and firing next year, thanks for adding those extra kilos though. Clement thanks for your (underated) effort. Anthony Rocca thanks for beating Carlton and almost beating Essendon. Molloy thanks for making me (and our young blokes) feel ten feet taller again..something I havent felt since Darren Millane. Obie thanks for your tireless running all year. I could crap on for ages on each individual but to point out individuals would be stupid because make no mistake this year was a tremendous TEAM EFFORT!
Although we missed the finals you should be very proud..Rohan or the like may call me stupid for accepting non finals football but to be a realist and see where we have come since those 4 wins in 99 swells me with pride. Sign me up for my membership now for 2002.

And to answer your question Alf its 14

[London Dave]

Great posts folks. Its been a pretty good season for us. disappointed not to make the finals when we were in position to do so, but after the last few years I'd have taken it in March if offered. Couple of costly losses early up (and the lopsided draw) probably cost us finals action, but the challenge is to improve next year by as much. Well done to all the players, staff and fans who were lucky enough to see us this season. Its been the most enjoyable football season I've had since I've left home. we have plenty to be optimistic about, but remember we've only jumped the worst teams in the comp, next year we gotta jump over some better ones, but the launch date for the unstoppable Magpie juggernaut is in the forseeable future, and out of cloud cuckoo land. We have a great bunch of young players, and a big credit to the admin for getting us out of the hole we were in. Lets go an extra 200% next year!

Your numerical series as a prediction for next year alf was suggested by Mike on chat as well. The 16 wins will have to include 2 10 goal wins against Carlscum and Essendork. Alas, we do not live in a La Placian universe, and the randomness will have some effect upon us, hopefully for the better.

Thanks to all the folks who I've met on chats too. I'm flying into Sydney next Sunday night, and will make it down to Melb for a couple of days at some stage. Pity as I was looking forward to catching the pies in the finals. I managed to catch games in 4 countries this year, which is a new record for me.

Super big thanks to Mike and Nick for running this BB. You guys are total legends.

[Broadie]

Great to see such positive attitudes to this season. I deliberately stayed off the board (mostly) msinced the Carlton game for "mind-clarity" reasons.

At the start of the year I hoped for 10 - 11 wins and thought we'd finish around 10th, so bravo to our lads for the improvement.

The superb start to the year (8-5 at Rd 13) led many of us into despair when the last 9 games didn't pan out in a similar fashion, but a season should be looked in its totality. Most of the previous posts have dealt with the individuals who have improved in one way or another (and I agree with almost all of it), so I'll just list generally.

Overall, I was most pleased with

• the increased "load-sharing" that was a feature of our good games
  
• the continued improvement of the 2nd & 3rd year players
  the way the "older head" recruits successfully integrated themselves
  
• And of course the 4 more wins: similar improvement next year will have us nudging a top-4 spot, back where we belong
  

I'll leave any thoughts about de-listings for a different topic.

Thanks to all whose contributions have made the cyber-season another enjoyable and controversisal one here at Nick's.


Broadie

[MargOZ]

Great to read such positive posts. Although I was disappointed with missing out on the finals by just one game (particularly when there were a few close games we should have won during the year), I have to admit that last year 9th position was probably where I realistically saw us finishing in 2001.

Even just a slightly easier draw and a little more luck in the really close games would have seen us in the finals. So we’ve made great improvement on previous years and further improvement next year will see our boys deservedly playing in their first finals campaign.

Looking back at season 2001, there have been many highlights and I’ll try and do my best to keep this as short as possible although I think it’s going to be tough!

Nick Davis has proven he is already a star and will without a doubt be a future AFL champion. Josh Fraser continues to play at a level beyond his years and as Mark said, will have a number of awards and accolades adorning his mantelpiece over the next 10 years (hopefully all with Collingwood!).

Chris Tarrant has also had a great year, although this has resulted in opposing teams placing their best backmen on him as the season has progressed and at times he had to deal with two or more opponents. He will definitely keep improving as he gains more strength and experience. I think the Club also need to work hard over the summer on how to best utilise Chris at full forward, such as allowing him plenty of space to lead and the guys down the ground reading his leads better and making sure their kicks hit Chris on the chest.

Leon Davis has improved in leaps and bounds - literally! He is an exciting player and will continue to light up our forward line and prove extremely illusive for our opposition. Jarrod Molloy has been a huge asset for the team. His strength and the hard work he does around the ground, particularly on the forward line (that usually don’t count as stats) is fantastic. It would be good to see him kick a few more goals next year though.

I think Anthony Rocca has also worked really hard this year and only needs to slightly improve his fitness and consistency to be a champion CHF. I don’t think Buckley has had his best year but a rest away from footy before the pre-season starts will do him good and knowing the team are knocking on the door of the finals will fire him up again for one of his best seasons next year.

Another player who has worked hard and improved dramatically since he first arrived at the Club is Tarkyn Lockyer. He never stops running and a highlight of his game is his fantastic kicking, both to the forward line and when he’s kicking for goal. A fit Scott Burns is a must if our side is going to play finals next season. The hard work he’s done in the last few weeks has been sorely missed and he really is a top class footballer.

Brodie Holland has shown some patches of brilliance and with a bit more consistency will be fantastic next year, particularly as another illusive goal sneak. James Clement has shown a lot of strength on the back line and is also confident enough to run down the ground when needed.

Although Shane O’Bree hasn’t had a lot of ground time in recent weeks, when he’s firing he’s one of our best centre players and always manages to get a lot of the ball. I think Paul Licuria has improved immensely this year and if he keeps improving his disposal, he will be a great help to the other guys in the centre of the ground. He also does a lot of hard work running the ball out of the back line.

I think Chad Rintoul has been fantastic for us and the bonus is that he can be played in a variety of positions. Ryan Lonie should definitely win the rising star award and if he keeps improving will be a future champion. It’s also been great to see Ben Kinnear really step up this year and he probably just needs to improve his speed and disposal at times to be a regular contributor. It was great to see Mark Richardson playing some great football at CHB earlier in the year and it would be great if he could reproduce that form next year.

Then when you consider we have young guys like Didak, Cloke and Adkins possibly stepping up next year and if we can recruit even two or three key position players then our team is looking pretty formidable!

In fact I think an exciting aspect of our team is our forward set up. Between Chris, Jarrod, Anthony, Leon, Nick and Brodie we have an awesome forward line if they can just get a good system working and can all fire. Then add to that mix the likes of Burns, Buckley, Fraser and Lockyer running forward at times - we should be able to kick some big scores

Okay, I’ve babbled on a lot longer than I’d planned! Here’s looking to a huge Season 2002 for the Mighty Magpies (once I’ve survived a summer of black and white withdrawal symptoms!).

GO PIES!

Marg




[This message has been edited by MargOZ (edited 03 September 2001).]