Post Grand Final. Sweet 16. All comments.

[Jezza]

It’s been three weeks, but Fly’s post-match presser transcript will be coming soon

[orie]

You can tell which house is mine..
Tried to put attachment..Damn.

[Piesnchess]

SO, chaps, how many times have YOU watched the GF replay now ? I am up to number 3. Will watch all our Finals again, over the cricket season.

I think I’ve watched it about four times now,Piesnchess^.I must say I never get tired of looking at it.

[Raw Hammer]

Pendlebury is now the number one player in Collingwood's (modern) history, no question.

And I'm a Daicos and Buckley fanboy.

[jonmac1954]

Pendlebury is now the number one player in Collingwood's (modern) history, no question.

And I'm a Daicos and Buckley fanboy.

Yep Daicos was more explosive and spectacular and could mark better but for all round talent, knowledge of the game, bringing his mates into the game and leadership no on comes close.

I was privileged to see Bobby Rose play when I was very young and he was close.

Carman was astounding but a true meat head with no self control.

Greening would have been an all time hall of famer but we lost something precious when a certain coach set ODay onto him and destroyed his career, almost killing him in the process.

[lazzadesilva]

Pendlebury is now the number one player in Collingwood's (modern) history, no question.

And I'm a Daicos and Buckley fanboy.

Yes, after much thought I have to agree. My trepidation was trying to rate Greening as a comparison to Pendles but Pendles having a full career got his nose in front. And my all time favourite Collingwood player Carman being a head case solved that problem.

[jonmac1954]

Pendlebury is now the number one player in Collingwood's (modern) history, no question.

And I'm a Daicos and Buckley fanboy.

Yes, after much thought I have to agree. My trepidation was trying to rate Greening as a comparison to Pendles but Pendles having a full career got his nose in front. And my all time favourite Collingwood player Carman being a head case solved that problem.

Total agreement lazza - sadly for Collingwood's case - probably cost us 3 flags.

[Piesnchess]

Pendles defintiely steered the Collingwood ship in that last , frantic, unreal last quarter, his Leadership was just superb. He was, the difference, in the end, I reckon, after watching that final quarter four times. ! Oh and of course Sideys long goal, was magnificent, he gave us that viltal 4 point leeway.

[jonmac1954]

Pendles defintiely steered the Collingwood ship in that last , frantic, unreal last quarter, his Leadership was just superb. He was, the difference, in the end, I reckon, after watching that final quarter four times. ! Oh and of course Sideys long goal, was magnificent, he gave us that viltal 4 point leeway.

Experience at the pointy end of the season is just invaluable.

[K]

It’s been three weeks, but Fly’s post-match presser transcript will be coming soon

Dunno how ya do it, Jezza. Would take me forever to transcribe!

[The Black and White Lion]

Pendles defintiely steered the Collingwood ship in that last , frantic, unreal last quarter, his Leadership was just superb. He was, the difference, in the end, I reckon, after watching that final quarter four times. ! Oh and of course Sideys long goal, was magnificent, he gave us that viltal 4 point leeway.

Along with his match winning long bomb goal, Sidey’s efforts a couple of times getting back and clearing the last line of defence in the last quarter were super.

Pendles was definitively a general out there. Just outstanding in so many facets. How blessed we are to have a functionally fit team at the business end of the season

[Fatui Attata]

This Grand Final was a super example of the old adage

"A champion team will always beat a team of champions"

Our synergy and belief in the WHOLE team is what this team epitomises beyond reproach.

As Fly has repeatedly said..."We have no ceiling to our improvement. We'll keep getting better"

This could well be a great era....A Dynasty!!

GO WOODSMEN!!!

[MagpieWhisperer35]

Pendlebury is now the number one player in Collingwood's (modern) history, no question.

And I'm a Daicos and Buckley fanboy.

Likewise and 100% agree. Amazing player.

[Magpietothemax]

Yes Pendlebury has now become the greatest player who has ever played for the Pies.
As others have said, it is not just due to his mercurial talents and skills on the field.
It is due as well to the example he sets for the entire team, and for the extraordinary leadership he provides on the field, his calmness under enormous pressure which replenishes the entire team's belief, in the most desperate situations, and creates a bridge to victory where it did not seem possible. As well, his amazing understanding of the game, and ability to direct players when the game is on the line. His last two years of leadership have been extraordinary....this year, he has not been captain, but he has been in some ways even above captain: a spiritual presence which has allowed Darcy Moore to exercise his leadership in the most optimal circumstances.
I will also add that Steele Sidebottom has also contributed to this extraordinary aura of leadership which truly lifted the entire team this year to Premiership glory.

[Jezza]

Fly's presser

Bobby Hill was also present in the press conference as the Norm Smith Medallist, but only including Fly's comments here.

Congratulations, what do you think got you over the line today?

"Probably two years of good habits and acting like winners every day and trying to improve ourselves. Not standing still in what we're trying to do and then in the end it was an incredible management of moments. That's probably the storyline for this team. They know how to manage minutes better than anyone I've ever seen in the game".

Proud Dad and Premiership Coach. Can you differentiate between the two at the moment?

"It's so different. I'm going to be a Dad for the rest of my life, and maybe a Premiership coach now too. This is a moment in time in my life coaching Collingwood and I'm so grateful for it but my purpose in life is to be a father and be a great husband so that's where I'm going to live in my space".

Have you had a day of emotion like this?

"No, like the tears flowing this morning at quarter to 8. My wife's been remarkable. She went in labour and went to the hospital with her sister without me and let me sleep in. I had no idea what's going on and then she's just so amazing I'm going to make me cry, just so proud of her. I'm going to have a time out on that, so you can speak to Bobby".

Do you remember that meeting with Bobby Hill? Was he the sort of player you envisaged you would see today?

"Yeah, Bobby had his own struggles last year and they've been well documented and the resilience shown by him to overcome that and obviously wanted a change. Sometimes we all need a change at times and we were there with open arms. Funnily enough I was texting Bobby the year before at the end of the year that we had an interest in him and couldn't quite get that over the line, but even text him when it didn't happen because we saw the potential in this young lad. He chose us and that's a choice that will live with him forever, and we're really grateful for. I just love seeing young men grow up. Young men get opportunities to be themselves and express themselves. The reason why we're here today is not only his performance, but just the resilience shown over a number of years. We are a family club and we love you very much, Bobby and your family".

You were looking for more goals today. How important was it to get 4 goals from Bobby Hill?

"Clearly, we moved the ball differently. That was our whole theme of the week. Let's not do what we did the week before where we didn't look to change the angles and didn't look to bring the ball in the corridor, didn't look to switch off from turnovers. We showed all the footage of it. We knew what we had to fix because it was right in front of us. Credit to all of our coaches, Leppa, Bolts, Skip, Scoot and the others that coached right down to the detail. Then we train it, reinforce it and we get the benefit. We moved the ball with angles, we got weapons and Bobby was on the end of it because he's running those patterns. He was running the same patterns last week and we just didn't kick it to him and we didn't get the ball in position to kick it to him. He was there waiting for it and credit to him he plays his role and the ball comes to him and then he expresses himself and does his brilliant stuff. Our coaches had an incredible season and I'm very lucky to have great support around me".

Did you think Steele Sidebottom would make the distance?

"Well, that's a big moment isn't it. I'm looking forward to watching the red wine replay this one because that's one of the big moments in the Grand Final. There was many, but that was certainly one of them".

Speaking of Sidebottom, did you think these conditions might cause Pendles and him to struggle because of their age. The poise of these two players in the second half was amazing. What were your thoughts on it?

"Again, I'm going to look forward to watching it but Pendles' last quarter was something else and his composure when everyone else is starting to get a little bit fatigued. What you guys do see or don't see is the organisation. When we get behind on the scoreboard with about 5 minutes to go, we flick a switch and go into a phase of our ball movement that we need to take more risk and he just orchestrates it and then within a minute we get a goal; or less than that and then we wanted to stay in that mode for a bit longer because I knew if we get another one this game's over. Didn't quite get it but then we flick the switch straight back to that mode of kill the game and Pendles again orchestrating everything. You can't buy experience on Grand Final day. Those two in particular have been remarkable for our group. They got PBs during the week. Pendles has done three PBs in the gym three weeks in a row. Talk about getting better every day. Our oldest players are getting better every day and it's just an incredible role model for the rest of us".

You must have felt for Nathan Murphy during the moment he went down?

"Yeah, he walked past me and I asked 'are you right' he said 'I'm right' and then he got some symptoms. There's always a story on Grand Final day. What about Tay [Adams]? What about Dan McStay? What about Johnny Noble? We're not here without those guys. The work that they put in. They train and be there and these medals and these memories as much there's ere as ours and the game doesn't recognise that, but we do".

Brisbane put in work to stop Darcy Moore from intercepting, but Billy Frampton did a great job in nullifying Harris Andrews despite not having many touches. How important was he?

"Yeah, he was close to having some really big moments but didn't quite capture them. He was significant because we didn't want to get marked in that part of the game. Harris Andrews had an amazing last quarter though didn't he. You can't keep good players down all day and I thought Darcy's [Moore] second half was way better than his first half and important because Daniher and Hipwood had a real presence and if they didn't mark it, it was soft drop. I know I said it outside but can I just want to show respect to the opposition. This is one of the best games of footy I've ever been involved in. On Grand Final day it'll be a spectacle for others to watch and judge and you can have your own take on it but Brisbane have had an incredible year this year and Fages and the players; there's only small margins between this result so I want to pay my respect towards them".

What about the performance of Tom Mitchell? You recruited him for a specific need and he's received criticism through the year but his performance today was great.

"He's so important to us. So important. Again, you can't buy experience on this day. A 30-year old that just knows how to win the ball and knows how to play a system. He just won so much tough ball for us and got the ball with momentum. The acquisition of Wrighty's in the room; Bobby and Billy and those guys they just made us better. We knew we had to get better. You lose a Prelim Final by a point, but you just have to get better. The competition's already improving but we had to bring more depth into our list and the work done in the off season is ultimately the reason why we're sitting here".

Was experience the difference?

"I'm not sure, I'll have to look back on it. Again, games come down to moments. I said minute by minute, moment by moment. These guys just go into this and they know what to do. 30 seconds to go, I don't have to say anything. They practice it and they do it and they coach each other out there. Then the opposition do things to us and they just got the ability to just make decisions out there. Checkers goes behind the ball with a minute to go. Just little things that win big games and this has been our story".

Reflecting on this year, how much of is it building team memory. There's been so many close games, is that a part of building the team?

"I know last year everyone thought it was a bit of a fluke. There's some bounces of the ball and hit the post there. We get that, we're not trying to say that this is a complete perfect science. There's starting to be a bit of a trend now don't you think? We're pretty good at these clutch moments and sometimes you shut the clock down for 4 or 5 minutes. Some teams might want to still score. That's why it's close. We could go 'oh no, let's go for it and we'll kick a goal and there's 10 points' and maybe that's something we can get better at. We've got such belief in that last 4 minutes that no one's scoring; not us or the opposition. So maybe that's tends towards a closer outcome".

In that same sense, is that the ultimate validation for you as a coach? In the rooms before the game, there were laughs. There was very much everything that you've maintained throughout the year, with everything being the same today and knowing as a coach that in those moments they'll do what they know?

"Yeah, and you create habits for these moments. I'm not going to take all the credit because that's just unrealistic. Our coaching group, support staff, everyone; we set these players up so well. We rock up here on a match day with so much trust and belief in the group because we've set them up really well. Then you just go and play. We've got so many so much. Justin Leppitsch and all these experience. Grand Final day is enough. You don't have to give the players more. Relax, the game is not played until today. Yesterday, enjoy yourself. The day before, train hard. The game is played on this day and not before in our group. We've created habits around that all year".

How influential have the Collingwood supporters been with record membership and record attendance?

"Incredible. Our theme, I'm going to give it out now has been 'we're the frontline of the Magpie Army'. 106,000 members and there's a record crowd here today. I don't think there was a seat in the house. My wife didn't come, so there might have been one more. We just know how significant they can be and we wanted to take them on every path of our journey and we started that two years ago. Post Covid was hard for all of us and our supporter base paid a lot of money to not watch any footy for two years in a row. We were determined to bring them back to the club and we want to put on a good brand. We want to be fun to watch and we want to entertain them. I remember some sections of the media, I don't know in the room but we beat St Kilda in the very first game that I coached and we got excited for the crowd and that was the start of it. You can judge us for whatever, but our journey was to bring the fans along for the ride and this is the ultimate success".

You've won 16 flags as a club. What does that mean to the club and all the history around that?

"We've created a path from our meeting room that you go out to training and there's an image of the 16th that goes here and all the past greats. We've been lucky enough to bring them all in. We had the 2010 Premiership group in during the week on Thursday to tell their stories, and we've had 1990. We've had so many great past players that have come back to the club. We're bringing all the players and staff back to the club that have tread a path for us to follow. I'll have some reflection time individually on what that means, but this means a lot to a lot of people".

Can we put your picture on the wall in your office now?

"No, we've got Leigh [Matthews] and Mick [Malthouse]. I hope when I go on holidays, I come back and it's not there. I'll be moving office [if that happens]".

What about the red wine replay?

"I've got a really nice bottle of red too".

I was going to say it's not going to be one of those horrible cups of hospital apple juice, is it? How will you sort of split your time?

"Well, I think might do it with the coaches. I'd like to share a nice bottle of [red]. We might get together at the right time as coaches and have that moment of quietness and just watch the game and appreciate it for the work that it was because on reflection it is one of the best games I've ever been involved with".

You were allowed a sleep in. How did you find out about your newborn?

"Quarter to six, my wife rang me. She said, 'you better get to the hospital, this baby is ready to go'. Thanks to everyone at St Vincent's [Hospital] for making my wife really comfortable and I'm coming tonight. I'm going to steal that cup, and I'm going to go home and get a photo with my gorgeous little girl, Maggie and my wife with the cup".

What time did you leave the hospital or did you go home first?

"I came straight to the game. Traffic was good actually, it's only around the corner".

What time did you leave if you can remember?

"About 12, because I didn't bring my shoes. I left my shoes at home. I had to go run off and get a new pair but it is what it is. It's a story to be told and a special day".

Where did you get your shoes from?

"Men's club. Shoutout to Marco who did a great job. He gave me two sizes too big. My brother-in-law went and pick them up and then I got to put them on and I said 'I can't wear this, you know, they're two sizes too big'. Then I had to run down and get them changed over and thanks Marco you're a good man".

You won 3 Premierships as a player, how does this compare to being a coach today?

"It doesn't compare. Leigh [Matthews] said to me after the game, I had a moment with Leigh and thanked him. It just doesn't compare this because this is not about me. It's about 106,000 members. This is about the players and their stories. It's about all our staff. Craig Kelly comes in and does an incredible job for our footy club. Jeff Browne has been remarkable. The trust that everyone's shown in me to do the job. I'm just the face of it. I'm wearing the colours proudly thanks to our sponsors and everyone, like I'm the face of it but as a player you're not that. This doesn't compare".

Jack Ginnivan was the sub in the two finals, you had the faith to start him today. He said in the rooms before that he thought he might not get back into the team. Can you delve into a little bit of further detail in that?

"Yeah, it's the resilience that he's [Bobby] shown that Jack's starting to live. You got to make mistakes and learn from them and grow and get better. There's so many stories. Look at Oleg Markov. We've got so many stories to be told in this, and Jack's growing up. Is he the youngest player in our team? I think he could be. There's going to be so much he learns from today and don't go to the races the day before would be".

Were you happy about Ginnivan going to the races?

"Read the room, Jack. You got to grow up, but you got to make mistakes to learn from them. Again, he's the youngest player in the room and he's got great role models and resilience shown here [referring to Bobby] is a great role model for him. We'll keep trying to educate. We're not finished. We are nowhere near finished. We'll grow and make more mistakes and then try to get better".

Is this a start of a dynasty?

"No, it's just today and we're enjoying today and it's a really special day for the footy club".

https://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/video/ ... 6067038001