Collingwood Football Club

Formation and early years

The Collingwood team that won the VFA premiership in 1896.

The Collingwood Football Club was established on 12 February 1892.^[3][4]

^[5] Collingwood played its first game in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) against Carlton on 7 May 1892.^[6] The club won the VFA Premiership in 1896.

In 1897, Collingwood, along with fellow VFA clubs Fitzroy, Melbourne, St Kilda, Carlton, Essendon, South Melbourne and Geelong split from the VFA and formed the Victorian Football League (VFL). Collingwood won its first premiership in 1902, defeating Essendon by 33 points.

1920s and 1930s: Four consecutive premierships

Jock McHale coached the club to four consecutive Grand Final victories.

Collingwood was the most successful club of the 1920s and 1930s, appearing in 13 out of a possible 20 Grand Finals during the period. Collingwood were premiers six times during this time, including four consecutive premierships between 1927 and 1930, a VFL/AFL record, and two consecutive premierships in 1935 and 1936. The club's coach during this period was Jock McHale, who served as coach from 1912 to 1949. Collingwood also had three Brownlow Medallists during the period, with Syd Coventry winning in 1927, Albert Collier in 1929 and Harry Collier in 1930

1950s: Melbourne rivalry

In the 1950s, rival club Melbourne enjoyed an era of unprecedented success, winning five premierships in six years (the last coming in 1960, and having been runner up in 1954). Collingwood lost two Grand Finals to Melbourne in this decade, but bounced back to win premierships in 1953 and 1958. Collingwood's 1958 premiership is much cherished by the club as it prevented Melbourne from equalling Collingwood's record four premierships in a row.

The 1958 premiership was however to be Collingwood's last for 32 years, as the club was to suffer a string of Grand Final defeats in coming decades.

1959–89: "Colliwobbles"

A string of eight Grand Final losses, often by narrow margins, between 1960 and 1981 gave rise to a perception that the club was prone to "choking", a phenomenon wittily dubbed "Colliwobbles".^[7][8][9] Whether this perception is accurate remains a subject of debate;^[10] however, the club's record in recent years has been much improved, having won two and drawn one of its last six Grand Finals. Lou Richards ceremoniously buried the Colliwobbles at Victoria Park after the club's 1990 premiership.^[11][12]

1990–present

Nathan Buckley captained Collingwood between 1999 and 2007, and has served as the club's senior coach since 2012.

The 1990 premiership team, coached by Leigh Matthews and captained by Tony Shaw, had a one-sided grand final win against Essendon, the Magpies recording a 48-point victory and ending a 32-year premiership drought which included eight grand final losses and one draw.

After this, however, the club lapsed into a state of decline. The club ultimately received a second wooden spoon in 1999. Within a few years, with a change of coach, playing list and club president, Collingwood reached and lost consecutive grand finals in 2002 and 2003, both to the Brisbane Lions.

Following those Grand Final losses, Collingwood struggled for the next two years, finishing 13th in 2004 and second-last in 2005; the latter meant Collingwood was eligible for a priority pick which the club used to recruit Dale Thomas. Collingwood made a return to the finals in 2006, finishing fifth, but were defeated by the Western Bulldogs by 41 points in its elimination final. A loss to Essendon late in the season was to cost them the double chance.^[13][14] The 2007 season saw them finish sixth on the ladder at season's conclusion, and in the finals they knocked out the grand finalists of the past two years, Sydney, in the elimination final and then West Coast in overtime at Subiaco Oval in the semi-final. Having earned a preliminary final against Geelong, Collingwood lost to the eventual premiers, by five points. Nathan Buckley would announce his retirement at season's end after playing just five games in 2007 due to injury.

Collingwood finished eighth in 2008 and were assigned an away final against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. After at one point trailing in the match, Collingwood went on to end Adelaide's season and earn a semi-final meeting against St Kilda. Having defeated the Saints in both their regular season meetings, Collingwood lost convincingly, ending their 2008 season. The 2009 season saw Collingwood finish inside the top-four for the first time since 2003, but in the qualifying final were beaten by minor premiers St Kilda convincingly. Having won a second chance, Collingwood struggled against Adelaide for the second year in a row before John Anthony kicked the match-winning goal with a minute left to send them into another preliminary final meeting with Geelong. But the season ended abruptly for the Magpies, with a 73-point loss to Geelong.

In 2010, Collingwood finished as minor premiers, and after wins in the qualifying and preliminary finals, reached the first Grand Final against St Kilda. The match finished as a draw, forcing the first grand final replay in 33 years. Collingwood won the replay by 56 points. The club won a second consecutive minor premiership in 2011, and qualified for the Grand Final after a three-point victory against Hawthorn in the preliminary final. However, Collingwood was then beaten by Geelong by 38 points in the decider, after trailing by seven points at three-quarter time. Following the Grand Final loss, which also marked the end of the club's 2011 AFL season, then coach Mick Malthouse left Collingwood after deciding not to stay on as "director of coaching".^[15] Star midfielder Dane Swan won the 2011 Brownlow medal with a then record 34 votes.

In 2012, Collingwood once again finished in the top-four but in their first final they were convincingly defeated by Hawthorn forcing them to play in the next week against West Coast, winning by 13 points. The next week they were beaten by eventual premiers Sydney at ANZ Stadium, the first time the Swans had defeated the Magpies since 2005. The 2013 season was a mixed one for Collingwood, losing to Gold Coast and suffering a fifth consecutive loss to Hawthorn in Round 21, before being knocked out of the finals series by Port Adelaide at the MCG in the first week. Coach Nathan Buckley delisted several high-profile older players at the end of the season, including Alan Didak, Darren Jolly and Heath Shaw.^[16]

Over the next two seasons, Collingwood would start the years with win-loss records of 8–3, but finished those seasons poorly and missed the finals. 2014 was the first season since 2005 where they did not make finals. In both 2016 and 2017, Collingwood missed the finals again, though extended the contract of senior men's coach Nathan Buckley an additional two years.

In 2017, the club made significant on-field and administrative changes, creating a senior women's football team and senior women's netball team in the AFL Women's and National Netball League respectively, as well as revealing a new club logo for the first time in many years.^[17]

In 2018 Collingwood made the finals for the first time since 2013, finishing in third place behind West Coast and Richmond. Losing the Second Qualifying Final to West Coast, they went on to beat GWS and the reigning premiers Richmond to reach the 2018 Grand Final, where they were defeated 79-74 by the West Coast Eagles.

Guernsey

Collingwood's logo (in use from 2004–2017), featuring the Australian magpie

Throughout the club's history, Collingwood has worn a guernsey of black and white vertical stripes. The all white jumper, with the three black vertical stripes is the iconic strip that the club is most associated with. The current incarnation of the guernsey is mostly black, with white stripes on the front and lower half of the back, and white numbers. The main clash guernsey is the reverse of this: mostly white, with black stripes and black numbers, worn in away matches against clubs with a predominantly dark guernsey such as Fremantle Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club. A secondary clash guernsey was introduced in 2011 and is used only in matches against North Melbourne due to similarity between the two uniforms. The alternate uniform is black with only two white stripes on each side instead of three.

Traditionally, Collingwood has worn a white guernsey with black stripes. The club switched to the black guernsey with white stripes in 2001.^[18]

Song

Collingwood player Tom Nelson wrote the lyrics to "Good Old Collingwood Forever" in 1906.

"Good Old Collingwood Forever" is the team song of the Collingwood Football Club. The lyrics were written by player Tom Nelson during Collingwood's 1906 tour of Tasmania, making it the oldest of the team songs currently used in the AFL. It is sung to the tune of "Goodbye, Dolly Gray", originally a song written in connection with the Spanish–American War, then a popular Boer War and First World War anthem. It is the only AFL team song to reference the barracker, an Australian rules football term for fan.^[19]

The current version of the song played at the ground during game day was recorded in 1972 by the Fable Singers.^[20] The lyrics are as follows:

Good old Collingwood forever,

They know how to play the game.

Side by side, they stick together,

To uphold the Magpies name.

See, the barrackers are shouting,

As all barrackers should.

Oh, the premiership's a cakewalk,

For the good old Collingwood.

Rivalries

• Carlton – The Carlton Blues are considered to be the club's most bitter arch-rival (for full details see Carlton–Collingwood AFL rivalry), with Richmond, Brisbane and Essendon close behind.^[21] The old rivalry with Melbourne has faded in recent decades because Melbourne have not enjoyed on-field success at the same time; this rivalry also remains strong however and is an annual event on the Queens Birthday public holiday. Collingwood's two opponents in the themed Rivalry Rounds staged to date have been Carlton (2005–2006, 2009) and Richmond (2007–2008).
• Brisbane – The first signs of a Collingwood/Brisbane rivalry originated in 1999, when Brisbane comprehensively beat the Magpies in the last ever AFL match at Victoria Park. In Round 8 2002 Collingwood beat Brisbane by three points in a tense match in front of 46,279 people at Colonial Stadium. This victory over the reigning premier took the Magpies to equal top of the league table (2nd on percentage) with Brisbane. The rivalry grew with the 2002 Grand Final when Brisbane beat Collingwood by nine points. The rivalry grew again in 2003 when the two clubs clashed on four occasions. The Lions defeated the Magpies at The Gabba in Round 4 before thrashing them in Heritage Round — Round 19 at the MCG. Collingwood then defeated Brisbane in the Qualifying Final with Alan Didak ensuring victory late in the final quarter, with two goals from the boundary line. The rivalry peaked in the 2003 Grand Final with Brisbane easily defeating Collingwood to win the premiership.^[22] The rivalry cooled off to a degree in the period following Brisbane's loss in the 2004 Grand Final due a sustained period of success at Collingwood and a string of poor seasons at Brisbane, however Dayne Beams recent defection to the Lions has seemingly reignited the rivalry.^[23][24] Despite Brisbane's string of poor seasons, the rivalry remains ignited due to many Collingwood supporters remaining bitter about the two grand final losses and the fact that the Brisbane Lions will forever be the last team to win a VFL/AFL match at Victoria Park.^[25]
• Melbourne – The rivalry between Collingwood and Melbourne was at its peak between 1955 and 1964, when the two played off in the grand final on five occasions. This included the 1958 Grand Final where Collingwood's victory prevented Melbourne from equalling Collingwood's record of four premierships in succession (1927–1930).
• Essendon – Collingwood's rivalry with Essendon has become more significant since 1995, when the first ANZAC Day clash took place. After the 2015 match, Collingwood have won this contest 12 times and Essendon 8 times, with the first match being drawn.
• Port Adelaide – The rivalry with Port Adelaide stems from the Power being known as the Magpies in their local SANFL competition before switching to the Power when entering the League in 1997. Feelings were heightened when Port midfielder Kane Cornes 'flipped the bird' at Nick Davis following the Power's five-point victory over the Magpies at AAMI Stadium in Round 9, 2002, only moments after Anthony Rocca had missed the opportunity to tie the scores. Jarrod Molloy and Brodie Holland remonstrated with Cornes after the match, with a feeling of hostility lingering after the two sides had left the field. Collingwood unexpectedly beat the Power in the Qualifying Final that season, also at AAMI stadium. Collingwood again defeated Port Adelaide in the 2003 Preliminary Final at the MCG. This added to the ‘choking’ phenomenon directed at the Power. The off-field battle over Port's desire to wear its black and white "prison bar" guernsey has been a major talking point, especially between 2002 and 2007, which added to the rivalry. A resolution was reached in favour of Collingwood.
• Geelong – Games between Collingwood and Geelong have become highly anticipated since 2007. In Round 15 Geelong beat Collingwood by 16 points in a high-quality match. In the Preliminary final Collingwood surprised many when they came within 5 points of the eventual premiers. In 2008 Collingwood thrashed Geelong by 86 points—20.14 (134)- 7.6 (48) causing Geelong's only loss of the year. In 2009, the sides again met in the preliminary final, but despite high hopes the Cats, who would again win the premiership, won by 73 points in front of another massive crowd of 87,258.^[26] In 2010, the two sides emerged as the favourites for the flag and twice met in front of blockbuster crowds at the MCG when they were placed 1st and 2nd on the ladder—with the results evenly split. They again met in a Preliminary final, this time a resounding win to Collingwood by 41 points. In 2011, both teams were undefeated going into their round eight 'blockbuster' at the 'G. Geelong won by three points, after a controversial advantage was not paid to Magpie Scott Pendlebury in the dying minutes. Pendlebury kicked a goal and would have put the Pies in front, but the free kick was contentiously called back and Geelong managed to whisk the ball away. In the round 24 match, Geelong thumped the Magpies by a record margin of 96 points, which was also Collingwood's biggest ever loss at the MCG. The 2011 Grand Final against the Cats concluded with a 38-point loss for the Pies.

Supporters

Collingwood Magpies mascot

Collingwood is a working-class suburb and the Collingwood Football Club supporter base traditionally came from the working class (though its supporter base today goes far beyond). Many of the club's supporters who regularly attend games still come from the working class or from lower socio-economic groups, leading to jokes from supporters of other clubs which typically stereotype their Collingwood counterparts as poor, crude and ignorant.^[27]

Collingwood is traditionally reviled by non-Collingwood supporters ("You either love 'em or you hate 'em"). The dislike of the club by outsiders is said to have originated during the 1920s and 1930s, a period of great success for the club which drew the envy and resentment of other clubs. In this period, Collingwood was also perceived as a Catholic and Irish club, at a time when these groups were looked down upon by the rest of Australian society and subjected to a considerable degree of social exclusion.^[28][29]

Until recent years, racial vilification of opposition players in VFL/AFL games was not uncommon. According to a 2001 study, Collingwood's old home ground of Victoria Park had a reputation as one of the worst venues for such vilification, though it has also been said that the problem was similar at all grounds.^[30] Collingwood has however been involved in several high-profile incidents of this type, such as those involving indigenous players Nicky Winmar in 1993 and Adam Goodes in 2013.^[31] Michael Long's accusation of racial vilification against Collingwood ruckman Damian Monkhorst in 1995 also led directly to the establishment of the AFL's racial vilification regulations.^[32] Collingwood club president Eddie McGuire has been credited for taking a stand against racial vilification by club supporters and for harshly dealing with offenders.^[33]

Membership

Collingwood Membership 1984–present^[34]

Year	Members	Position	%
1984	16,313	3rd	—
1985	16,857	7th	3.28%
1986	13,971	6th	20.65%
1987	9,500	12th	47.06%
1988	11,985	4th	20.73%
1989	13,620	5th	12.00%
1990	14,808	1st	8.02%
1991	18,469	7th	19.82%
1992	18,921	5th	2.38%
1993	21,882	8th	13.53%
1994	20,843	8th	4.98%
1995	22,543	10th	7.54%
1996	20,752	11th	8.63%
1997	22,761	10th	8.82%
1998	27,099	14th	16.00%
1999	32,358	16th	16.25%
2000	28,932	15th	11.84%
2001	31,455	9th	8.02%
2002	32,549	4th	3.36%
2003	40,445	2nd	19.54%
2004	41,128	13th	1.66%
2005	38,612	15th	6.51%
2006	38,038	7th	1.50%
2007	38,587	4th	1.42%
2008	26,320	6th	46.60%
2009	45,972	4th	42.74%
2010	57,617	1st	20.21
2011	71,271[35]	1st	19.15%
2012	72,688[36]	4th	1.94%
2013	80,000[37]	6th	9.14%
2014	80,793[38]	11th	0.98%
2015	76,497[39]	12th	5.61%
2016	74,643[40]	12th	2.48%
2017	75,879[41]	13th	1.62%
2018	75,507[42]	3rd	0.49%
2019	To be confirmed

[* Accurate as of August 29th 2018]

In 2011 Collingwood reached 70,000 members for the first time creating a new AFL record, beating the previous AFL record of 58,249 set by Collingwood in 2010,.^[43][44]

The club's membership base leads to large crowd pulling power which has caused the AFL to be accused of favouring Collingwood when scheduling to maximise the league's attendance figures.^[45][46][47] However the AFL states that this is due to other clubs requesting home games at the MCG against Collingwood.

Off field

Collingwood was one of the last clubs to abandon its traditional stadium, the famous inner-city Victoria Park. Collingwood now plays home games at the MCG. It now also has its headquarters situated in the former Glasshouse Entertainment Centre. Due to a sponsorship deal, this facility is known as 'The Holden Centre'.

Collingwood continues to be financially viable through the loyal support of its huge following and numerous sponsors. After finishing 2nd in 2002 and 2003 the team fell to 13th and 15th (out of 16) in 2004 and 2005 respectively. This trend has plagued the club since the glory days of pre-World War II VFL football. Since 1958, the club has won only two VFL/AFL Premiership (the inaugural AFL Premiership in 1990, and in 2010). Despite this, the club still has won more individual games, more finals and made more grand final appearances than any other club.

On 9 March 2007, former Collingwood and Fitzroy defender Gary Pert was appointed the Magpies' CEO, seven weeks after Greg Swann departed for Carlton. In accepting the key Magpie post, Pert quit as a club director and as managing director of Channel 9 in Melbourne. In a press conference, it was stated that Collingwood has budgeted to turn over about $50 million this year. McGuire hopes the new administration will soon double that figure. "A finance administration review has come up with how we are going to turn Collingwood in to its next phase of its life", McGuire said. "What do we do to make ourselves go from a $45 million a year turnover business to a $100 million turnover business? "They sound like big figures but in 1999 we turned over $13 million, so that is where we are heading as a football club."

The club made an operating profit of $5.23 million for the 2013 season, revenue increased from $2.6 million to more than $75 million.^[48]

On 24 July 2017, Pert resigned from his position as CEO of the club, with Peter Murphy replacing him as an interim CEO.^[49]

Sponsorship

The Collingwood guernsey is the most valuable sports sponsorship in Australia.^[50] Collingwood has different guernsey sponsors for home and away matches, generating an estimated $6.3 million worth of media exposure for the primary sponsor and $5.7 million for the secondary sponsor. These sponsorships are ranked first and second in Australia.^[50] High-profile sponsors include Emirates, Holden, CGU Insurance and Westpac.

Records- Senior Level

• Victorian/Australian Football League
  • Premiers (15): 1902, 1903, 1910, 1917, 1919, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1935, 1936, 1953, 1958, 1990, 2010
  • Runners-up (27): 1901, 1905, 1911, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 2002, 2003, 2011, 2018
• Victorian Football Association/League (1): 1896
• Championship of Australia (1): 1896
• Pre-Season/Night Series Premierships (2): 1979, 2011
• Lightning Premierships (2): 1941, 1951
• Minor premierships (19): 1902, 1903, 1905, 1915, 1917, 1919, 1922, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1977, 2010, 2011
• McClelland Trophy (8): 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1970, 2010, 2011
• Drawn Grand Finals (2): 1977, 2010
• Wooden Spoons (2): 1976, 1999
• Undefeated in the Home and Away season: 1929 *18 Rounds

Records—other levels

Premierships

• Reserves (7): 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925, 1940, 1965, 1976
• Under 19s (4): 1960, 1965, 1974, 1986

Head-to-head results

Played:2,518 Won: 1,527 Drawn:27 Lost: 973 (Last updated – Round 23 2018)

Team of the Century

Collingwood announced its team of the century on 14 June 1997, celebrating 100 years since the beginning of the VFL. Gavin Brown was added as the fourth interchange player in 2002, when the team was named in 1997 only three interchange players were permitted on a team.^[51]

Captains

This list comprises every captain of the club. This list does not include deputy captains filling in due to an injury to the named captain, but does include captains named after a player retires or steps down during the season.

Current playing list

Current coaching staff

• Senior coach: Nathan Buckley
• Assistant coaches:
  • Robert Harvey
  • Justin Longmuir
  • Brenton Sanderson
  • Garry Hocking
• Development coaches:
  • Tarkyn Lockyer
  • Nick Maxwell
• VFL coach: Jared Rivers

Season summaries

Source for coaches, captains and summaries: Collingwood Football Club VFL Honour Roll

Current squad

Season summaries

Best and Fairest

Brownlow Medal winners

• Syd Coventry (1927)
• Albert Collier (1929)
• Harry Collier (1930 tied)
• Marcus Whelan (1939)
• Des Fothergill (1940 tied)
• Len Thompson (1972)
• Peter Moore (1979)
• Nathan Buckley (2003 tied)
• Dane Swan (2011)

Leigh Matthews Trophy winners

• Darren Millane (1990)
• Dane Swan (2010)

Coleman Medal winners

Gordon Coventry led the VFL in goal kicking six times.

Instituted in 1981, retrospective awards were dated back to 1955; prior to that, the League awarded the Leading Goalkicker Medal

• Ian Brewer (1958)
• Peter McKenna (1972, 1973)
• Brian Taylor (1986)

Leading Goal Kicker Medal Winners

• Archie Smith 1898
• Teddy Lockwood 1900 (tied), 1903
• Charlie Pannam 1905
• Dick Lee 1907, 1908, 1909, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1919
• Gordon Coventry 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933
• Ron Todd 1938, 1939
• Des Fothergill 1946

Norm Smith Medal winners

Scott Pendlebury, winner of the 2010 Norm Smith Medal

• Tony Shaw (1990)
• Nathan Buckley (2002)
• Scott Pendlebury (2010)

E. J. Whitten Medalists

• Gavin Brown (1989, 1997)

Mark of the Year winners

• Alan Atkinson (1973)
• Billy Picken (1974)
• Billy Picken (1976)
• Peter Daicos (1980)
• Denis Banks (1984)
• Chris Tarrant (2003)
• Andrew Krakouer (2011)
• Jamie Elliott (2013)

Goal of the Year winners

• Phil Manassa (1977)
• Peter Daicos (1991)
• Mick McGuane (1994)
• Leon Davis (2008)

Anzac Day Medal winners

• Saverio Rocca (1995, 1998) ^
• Scott Russell (1996) ^
• Damien Monkhorst (1997) ^
• Chris Tarrant (2001)
• Mark McGough (2002)
• Ben Johnson (2006)
• Heath Shaw (2007)
• Paul Medhurst (2008)
• Scott Pendlebury (2010, 2011)
• Dane Swan (2012, 2014)
• Paul Seedsman (2015)
• Steele Sidebottom (2016)
• Adam Treloar (2018)

^ Awarded retrospectively in 2011

Neale Daniher Trophy winners

• Travis Cloke (2015)
• Mason Cox (2018)

Bob Rose-Charlie Sutton Medal winners

• Ben Johnson (2008)
• Dane Swan (2009)
• Scott Pendlebury (2010, 2012, 2017)
• Heath Shaw (2011, 2013)
• Tom Phillips (2018)

Richard Pratt Medal winners

• Dane Swan (2013)
• Tom Langdon (2014)
• Scott Pendlebury (2015)
• Steele Sidebottom (2018)

Jason McCartney Medal winners

• Anthony Rocca (2003)
• Ben Johnson (2004)
• Chris Tarrant (2006)
• James Clement (2007)
• Tarkyn Lockyer (2009)
• Scott Pendlebury (2013)

Not awarded since 2013

All Australian Team

• Dayne Beams (2012)
• Gavin Brown (1991, 1994)
• Nathan Buckley (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003)
• James Clement (2004, 2005)
• Travis Cloke (2011, 2013)
• Leon Davis (2009, 2011)
• Alan Didak (2006, 2010)
• Tony Francis (1991)
• Brody Grundy (2018)
• Des Healey (1953)
• Nick Maxwell (2009)
• Mick McGuane (1992)
• Peter McKenna (1972)
• Paul Medhurst (2008)
• Peter Moore (1979)
• Harry O'Brien (2010)
• Scott Pendlebury (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
• Geoff Raines (1985)
• Ben Reid (2011)
• Michael Richardson (1983)
• Bob Rose (1953)
• Steele Sidebottom (2018)
• Dane Swan (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
• Chris Tarrant (2003)
• Dale Thomas (2011)
• Len Thompson (1972)
• Terry Waters (1969)
• Ricky Watt (1969)

International rules representatives

• Gavin Brown (1990)
• Nathan Buckley (1998), (1999 – captain)
• James Clement (2002)
• Alan Didak (2004)
• Scott Pendlebury (2008), (2017)
• Dale Thomas (2008)
• Dane Swan (2010)
• Tyson Goldsack (2010)

Michael Tuck Medal winners

• Heath Shaw (2011)

Jim Stynes Medal winners

• Dane Swan (2010)

Records set by players

• Most matches: Tony Shaw – 313 (1978–1994)
• Most consecutive matches: Jock McHale – 191 (1906–1917) – VFL record until 1943
• Most goals kicked in a match: Gordon Coventry – 17 goals 4 behinds (R12, 1930, VP) – VFL record until 1947
• Most Best & Fairests: Nathan Buckley – 6 (1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003)
• Most matches as coach: Jock McHale – 713 (1912–1949) – VFL/AFL record until 2015 (Remains a record for the most matches as coach at one club.)
• Most matches as captain/acting captain: Nathan Buckley – 162 (1999–2006)
• Most goals in a season: Peter McKenna – 143 (1970)
• Most career goals: Gordon Coventry – 1299 (1920–1937) – VFL/AFL record until 1999 (Remains a record for the most career goals at one club.)