Good old Collingwood for ever!

[PeterB]

Ah, what a sweet sensation - the football team I support won the AFL premiership yesterday afternoon. It's Collingwood's first premiership since 1990, having lost grand finals in 2002 and 2003.

But it came in heartstopping fashion. Collingwood finished the regular season in first place, which provides a useful advantage going into the finals. It therefore wasn't a surprise that they made it into the grand final. And their start in the big game was good too. In a low scoring game, they held a handy lead by half time, but it could have been quite a bit more if they'd kicked accurately.

Then, in the second half, St Kilda made a strong comeback, and seriously outplayed Collingwood. A few minutes from the end, the Saints hit the front for the first time in the game, and they seemed to have all the momentum. Collingwood scored a late goal to snatch the lead by one point, but with barely a minute remaining, Saint Kilda made a minor score to level things up. Then the siren went, and the grand final ended in a draw.

Now in the regular season, drawn games are an accepted result. But in all the finals games except the grand final, a draw means extra time, and if scores are level at the end of extra time, the teams keep playing until someone scores. The grand final is different again: if the grand final is drawn, it's replayed the following week.

So yesterday's game was the replay. And it started in remarkably similar fashion, with Collingwood taking a solid early lead. The main difference leading up to half time was that Saint Kilda just couldn't kick goals. Their best chance came when one of their players took a mark only a few metres out and turned to play on immediately. What he didn't realise was a Collingwood player racing up on his blind side to smother the kick, a charge-down that many rugby league, rugby union or American football players would be proud of.

By half time, the lead was about the same as it had been in the first match. The difference in the replay was that it was Collingwood which kicked ahead in the third quarter, not Saint Kilda. And it continued into the final quarter, with Collingwood extending its lead until it finished more than double Saint Kilda's score.

The feeling is still good, and I'll have a few fellow Collingwood supporters to share it with at work and other activities.

[PeterB]

For those who want the briefest introduction to Australian Rules Football, there's a three minute segment on the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon featuring actor Eric Bana demonstrating a couple of the skills of the game. Amusingly, he's wearing a Saint Kilda jersey, while the host is kitted out in Collingwood colours.

www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/eric-bana-taking-st-kilda-to-the-world/story-e6frf9jf-1225760596094

[PeterB]

Oh, and for those St Kilda fans bemoaning the loss of two grand finals in two years, consider Collingwood's results.

After winning the 1958 flag, Collingwood:

- was humiliated by Melbourne in 1960, despite the conditions supposedly favouring Collingwood;
- gave Saint Kilda their only premiership in 1966, losing by 1 point;
- had the largest lead in a grand final by a team which went on to lose the game in 1970 against Carlton;
- lost the 1977 grand final replay to North Melbourne after the first game was drawn; and
- lost the 1979, 1980 and 1981 grand finals to Carlton, Richmond and Carlton again.

Collingwood's win in 1990 was therefore greatly welcomed. It's been frustrating to have to wait another 20 years for another premiership.

[PeterB]

And for those who are fascinated by connections and coincidences...

Collingwood player Heath Shaw is the son and nephew, respectively, of former Collingwood players and brothers Ray and Tony Shaw. So what?

Well, obviously, Heath Shaw played in last week's drawn grand final.

Ray Shaw captained Collingwood in the 1977 drawn grand final; and

Tony Shaw captained Collingwood in both their last drawn finals match * and their last premiership, both in 1990.

* The drawn match occurred in the first week of the 1990 finals series. It resulted in a rule change providing for extra time to resolve draws on the day of the original match.