Well done Buckley Surfers.....

[London Dave]

A great story...well done to the folks at Buckley Surfers!(and the Collingwood admin)
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/news/2002/05/22/FFXWR5WNG1D.html

Picken gets his just award

By Jake Niall

Collingwood is set to establish a precedent by awarding a retrospective best and fairest to popular former defender Bill Picken.

The Magpies have decided to award Picken a second Copeland Trophy after learning that he tied with Ray Shaw in the 1978 best and fairest, but finished second on a countback. Both players polled 18 votes that year.

By recognising Picken as a joint winner nearly 24 years after the fact, the Magpies are following the lead of the Brownlow Medal, which decided to award retrospective medals after abolishing the system of countbacks, in which the player who polled the most best-on-grounds won the medal.

President Eddie McGuire has also asked the club's archives committee to investigate whether there may be other players who lost Copelands on countbacks and are thus deserving of joint best-and-fairest status.

Remarkably, McGuire was first alerted to Picken's situation by an unofficial Collingwood website run by supporters.

The "Buckley Surfer's" website had interviewed Picken for a series on past players. Picken told the website he had lost a Copeland on a countback, prompting the site's managers to find details of Picken's tie and pass them on to McGuire.

McGuire said last night that Picken would be given his second Copeland - he won the best and fairest in 1983 - later this year.

McGuire said the awarding of the belated best and fairest would be ratified at a board meeting tonight.


McGuire said, as yet, he was unaware of any other former Magpie players who might be entitled to the award on the same basis but said the club was investigating.

Picken was gratified to receive a second medal. "There could be others in the same boat," he said. "It's an interesting scenario."

Picken played 212 games for Collingwood from 1974-1983 and in 1986, having left the club to play for Sydney in 1984 before returning to end his career. Renowned as a great finals player, Picken played in four losing grand final teams under Tommy Hafey.




[This message has been edited by London Dave (edited 22 May 2002).]