Grand Final #13- 1977 Replay

[Harrysz]

[Pies4shaw]

An embarrassing outcome. I can still remember Peter Knights’ post-second-semi interview, talking about the coming rematch with Collingwood in the Grand Final. North did us a favour by knocking off the competition but somehow, Collingwood’s star-studded lineup fired blanks. As with a number of Collingwood’s more disappointing GF efforts over the years, they lost to a team that really shouldn’t have been playing in that game. Shameful.

[Damien]

Instigated by our great President, Eddie McGuire, who had read Barassi’s book ‘the coach’; in 2010, after the drawn GF, we had a very light week on the track before the replay, which we obviously dominated. Barassi did the same between GF’s in ‘77, unlike Hafey who trained our guys full on. At least we got something out of Barassi, who was without peer as a Collingwood hater.

Phil Carman, of all the blokes to belt, one of the nicest, quietest blokes in footy, Michael Tuck. Any sentence more than a week didn’t seem to matter as he was missing the GF. As it turned out he missed two. I’m old enough to know; We win it if he plays, simple as that. The Pies invent Another way to lose a Grand Final. At least 2023 eases some of that pain. 2024 could erase it forever.

[Boot]

Tommy Hafey did a terrific job getting the 1977 team to the top of the ladder and into the Grand Final, however he stuffed up the Grand Final and was out coached by Barassi.
For some reason Hafey was reluctant to make positional moves and whilst that may have made it easier for players to master their role in the team, it was a big mistake to play 6'3" Wayne Gordon on the wing on Stan Alves who ran amuck and 5'10" Phil Manassa on the back flank on Arnold Briedis who luckily kicked inaccurately for drawn grand final but was better in the replay.
The players were mentally shattered after the drawn grand final after being 27 points up at 3/4 time and Hafey wasn't able to instill the winning belief in the team for the replay.
Of course the unavailability of Phil Carman didn't help the cause, but such was Collingwoods fate. Luckily this years result was not a close loss in another Grand Final!!

[Pies4shaw]

^ So that we appreciate the enormity of that choke in the draw, one has to understand the context. At 3/4 time, Collingwood was 27 points up against a side that had kicked just 4 goals in 3 quarters and hadn't goaled for about 70 minutes of playing time. Collingwood outscored North 8.11 to 0.11 in the second and third quarters.

Yes, it was a shame Carman didn't play - but it was an even greater shame that Hafey pointed the blowtorch at Carman, rather than at the 20 guys who didn't get it done in the first 1977 Grand Final. I think it softened the blow too much and let people off the hook when they should have shouldered resposnibility for an occasion of abject failure.

Really, it shouldn't have been too much for the 20 players there that day to get the job done. This was in the days when only the top team got the week's rest - twice, in our case (while 2nd played 3rd and then while the loser of the second-semi played the winner of the first semi to see who would have a crack at us in the Grand Final). That final 5 system favoured the team that finished top so much that there was constant whingeing. Yet, even with that unfair advantage, they still rolled over to North in the last quarter.

[VicParkTragic]

I went to this game. My memory of it is of a game that we were never really in it. We were behind all day and played catch up. Stan Alves had a great game. North assembled a great team of star players and I resented that.
Pretty crap day!!

[Quincy]

Peter Moore said a few years ago that we were as flat as a tack after Hafey had trained them into the ground on the Thursday prior to the replay saying they were never a chance of winning after that. He also remarked that we would have won the first match had Carman have played.

[stui magpie]

^

It's valid to say we would have one the first one if Carmen had played, it's also valid as P4S says to say we really should have won it without him.

I watched that game on a black and white TV in Toc in between serving customers in mums Milk Bar. People complaining about jumper clashes now days with giant 4k colour TV's and pristine playing surfaces have NFI.

[Piethagoras' Theorem]

The 1st time I cried for Collingwood. I was 7 years old and the only thing I can remember from both games is Twiggy Dunne's mark. I remember thinking, how the hell did he end up with it, there must've been at least 6 hands on the ball?

[lazzadesilva]

Sad day for Collingwood but I still think that should have appealed the decision to suspend Carman for 2 weeks. At worst they should have taken the decision to court and had it adjourned for a couple of weeks so that Carman could have played in the GF replay a la Barry Hall but not many clubs thought outside the square in those days and stupidly were scared of upsetting the all mighty VFL. Sad days when we all did what we were told even if it wasn’t what we wanted to do

[Pies4shaw]

The 1st time I cried for Collingwood. I was 7 years old and the only thing I can remember from both games is Twiggy Dunne's mark. I remember thinking, how the hell did he end up with it, there must've been at least 6 hands on the ball?

It was a magnificent mark - my recollection (from watching at the ground) is that Moore helped by cradling Twiggy from behind.

[Piethagoras' Theorem]

^ Yep, it appears so (found some footage on youtube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMIR_NutMoI

and selecting the torpedo from 20 odd out, to equal the scores, in a GF 's dying seconds would seem like utter madness today

Didn't think much of it at the time - it was all we kicked in the playground

[stui magpie]

^

I think that was what they called a flat punt. Peter Hudson used them all the time instead of drop punts, it's like a mong torpedo.

[Bruce Gonsalves]

[quote

and selecting the torpedo from 20 odd out, to equal the scores, in a GF 's dying seconds would seem like utter madness today

Didn't think much of it at the time - it was all we kicked in the playground [/quote]

As a devotee of Macka, I only kicked the drop punt in the playground, but failed miserably...

[Bruce Gonsalves]

Sad day for Collingwood but I still think that should have appealed the decision to suspend Carman for 2 weeks.

I recall media and the Club at the time saying Carman should be allowed to play in the replay arguing because of the weeks rest after Hawthorn , followed by the draw, he had served his two weeks. Also arguing he was in fact suspended for 2 grand finals which in any terms was a horrendous suspension.