Grand Final #11A - 2011

[Harrysz]

[Presti35]

2011 was the best Collingwood team I have seen. We'd also added Krakouer and brought home Tarrant. Sadly, for me, Presti decided not to go around again.

Something happened late in the season. We were pumping sides. Then we struggled to get over the line, but still won late in the year. Then Geelong absolutely murdered us.

We had the chance to equal Essendon's season in 2000. An umpiring mistake cost us the first game against Geelong. Then they murdered us in the second game. Then in the GF... well we played injured players.

The PF had a classic finish though.

This was also the first GF i was able to attend.

[Jezza]

Collingwood's 2011 team could blow away most sides within the space of 30 minutes if it wanted to. Still the most talented Collingwood side I've ever seen, but certain forces went against it.

[*] Lost momentum at the wrong time of the year. We peaked too early, and it can sometimes be forgotten that we also won the NAB Cup so we were hitting our straps very early.

[*] The speculation of the coaching handover, and the questions around Malthouse's future (would he stay or leave) were very destabilising.

[*] Underdone players in the Grand Final. Jolly, Reid and Didak all come to mind.

[*] Geelong defeated us on multiple occasions. One by less than a kick due to a controversial disallowed goal against Pendles, and the other by 96 points in the final round which still remains bizarre after more than a decade.

[*] The top sides had ridiculously strong W-L H&A records. Collingwood was 20-2, Geelong 19-3, Hawthorn 18-4, West Coast 17-5. Nowadays, any team with that W-L record would usually be the minor premiers.

[*] Our finals campaign was poor. Struggled in the QF against West Coast and limped over the line against Hawthorn after a strong final quarter. Ironically, I think we played better finals football in the Grand Final for the first three quarters, but we ran out of steam against a Geelong side who peaked at the right time of the year.

[Jezza]

Before the final round match against Geelong, our H&A % was 181.7.

It went down to 167.7% after Geelong smashed us. Still a crazy high number after all those years.

For context, our % this year was 127.0%.

[Harrysz]

Jezza, you make some good points but I'm not sure about your argument that we "peaked too early" in 2011. This year when we lost to Carlton and then Hawthorn late in the year, some pundits said that we'd peaked too early, but we re-peaked (ok there's no such word but stay with me on this) during the finals.

In the piece that I wrote about the 2011 Grand Final I listed some things that went wrong towards the end of the season, which I believe derailed the year.

[piffdog]

Geelong was our kryptonite. We were very good and as some have said maybe in a generation.

I didnt think we could beat geelong going into that GF and always wondered what kind of psychological edge they had over us.

[Piethagoras' Theorem]

Same as Presti35, I thought 2011 was the greatest Collingwood team I'd ever seen (I was 40 odd at the time). Took me a while to get over it, I had a planned week off work and didn't leave the house or speak to anyone for that whole time. As good as Geelong were, I still thought we were better, last round notwithstanding.

I didn't think so at the time but upon reflection (soon after), it became apparent that teams had figured out Mick's 'press', and he didn't have much else up his sleeve. We were unimpressive in the 1st final against WCE and if not for some individual brilliance in the Prelim against Hawthorn, we were pretty much gone. That was a brutal affair and I have no doubt also had a major impact on our fitness levels for the GF.

I think too much is made of the noise surrounding the coaching handover. Sure, it would've been on their minds, some more so than others but the job of winning a Premiership, I believe, would've been 1st and foremost.

[Presti35]

And we still made the PF in 2012.

Can't help but wonder what could of been if the handover wasnt a thing.

[Jezza]

Jezza, you make some good points but I'm not sure about your argument that we "peaked too early" in 2011. This year when we lost to Carlton and then Hawthorn late in the year, some pundits said that we'd peaked too early, but we re-peaked (ok there's no such word but stay with me on this) during the finals.

In the piece that I wrote about the 2011 Grand Final I listed some things that went wrong towards the end of the season, which I believe derailed the year.

You raise good points. We were flying up to Round 23 so we hit the wall late.

A lot of us (including myself) naively thought the 96 point loss to Geelong was a dead rubber and we could just flick a switch come the finals, but I do think it psychologically damaged us and gave Geelong an edge.

With respect to 2023, we had a slump around late July/early August so we still had time to overcome it and regain our mojo before the finals commenced.

[warburton lad]

A few points to ponder:

* we picked two players who were clearly not fit (Reid and Jolley)
* Geelong got off to a flyer but we led by 21 points in the second quarter
* After Krakouer put us 21 points up, Podsiadly left the ground with a dislocated shoulder- this meant that our back half was top-heavy
* Steve Johnson made a remarkable recovery from a Prelim knee injury
* A bullshit free to Bartel against Reid (for a deliberate out of bounds) led to a late goal in the second which gave Geelong momentum.
* Ling played a brilliant tagging game on Swan and should have got the Norm Smith Medal
* the 'will-he, won't he' speculation around Malthouse staying on was a huge and unnecessary distraction.

I believe if Nathan Buckley had come out a few weeks before the finals and stated that the succession plan would be put back 12 months, it would have united the group who would have responded positively to a selfless act in the mode of Prestigiacomo 12 months earlier.

Just my two-bobs worth.

[RudeBoy]

Malthouse coached abysmally on the day too. Leaving the injured Reid on Hawkins, instead of moving Tarrant on to him was a match losing move imo.

[Cuthbert Collingwood]

The hubris of Eddie's succession plan, the stubbornness of Buckley, and the close-to-insane state of mind that Malthouse was in put paid to any faint chance of winning after limping to the line.

I mainly blame Eddie, it all started with his stupid plan

[Pies4shaw]

And we still made the PF in 2012.

Can't help but wonder what could of been if the handover wasnt a thing.

Yes. Stupidest decision by a football administration, ever. I wonder if New England has a handover arrangement with Bill Belichick?

I believe if Nathan Buckley had come out a few weeks before the finals and stated that the succession plan would be put back 12 months, it would have united the group who would have responded positively to a selfless act in the mode of Prestigiacomo 12 months earlier.

Yes. Nathan was and is a great Collingwood figure - but pressing on in those circumstances was not a good call by him. On a happier note, I think Mick has stopped being angry about the Dismissal and is just sad about the ending, now - he was plainly barracking for Collingwood in this year's Grand Final. His special comments on the ABC coverage about Collingwood, generally, and Pendlebury and Sidebottom, in particular, in the last quarter and immediately post-game showed that he still loves the Club - and those two, especially.

Then again, who doesn't love the two best-performed Collingwood players of the last 65 years?

[Pies4shaw]

I guess that all begs the real question - two years in, what's the succession plan for Fly? It must be getting near time. These are the things you ask yourself straight after a Flag, aren't they?

[lazzadesilva]

And we still made the PF in 2012.

Can't help but wonder what could of been if the handover wasnt a thing.

Yes. Stupidest decision by a football administration, ever. I wonder if New England has a handover arrangement with Bill Belichick?

I believe if Nathan Buckley had come out a few weeks before the finals and stated that the succession plan would be put back 12 months, it would have united the group who would have responded positively to a selfless act in the mode of Prestigiacomo 12 months earlier.

Yes. Nathan was and is a great Collingwood figure - but pressing on in those circumstances was not a good call by him. On a happier note, I think Mick has stopped being angry about the Dismissal and is just sad about the ending, now - he was plainly barracking for Collingwood in this year's Grand Final. His special comments on the ABC coverage about Collingwood, generally, and Pendlebury and Sidebottom, in particular, in the last quarter and immediately post-game showed that he still loves the Club - and those two, especially.

Then again, who doesn't love the two best-performed Collingwood players of the last 65 years?

I think it’s always very easy to blame Bucks in hindsight. Many of us at the time, me included, fully supported the takeover idea and thought that MM’s health was not the best to coach Collingwood. MM’s reported ill health was a huge concern and factor for me although later this whole issue was somehow minimised. So it was a very complicated situation with many areas of concern and to blame only Bucks is not the right thing to do, even in hindsight.