Round 5 – Carlton v Collingwood: Salut Mick

Collingwood set up the future whilst honouring the past – David Enticott remembers Mick’s time at the Pies fondly even as his side utterly destroys the party.

AFL Round 17 – Gold Coast v Collingwood: Saturday Matineé

What has happened to the Pies, asks David Enticott. Two years ago they were a quarter away from back-to-back flags, now they look like they would struggle against a bunch of 40-year-old veterans.

AFL Round 4 – Richmond v Collingwood: Mordor on the march

Whenever David Enticott thinks of Richmond he is reminded of Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tiger supporters are like a giant orc army heading out from Mordor across the Dead Marshes.

AFL Round 2 – Collingwood v Carlton: On grace and gratitude

David Enticott hates Carlton more than ever. The problem with this is that he is employed as a Baptist minister who is meant to love everyone- even Carlton supporters.

Best Night Ever.

A few years ago we met a family from Zimbabwe who had started going to our church at Rosanna. The father, MT, was studying at Latrobe University. MT and Rhee, like us, have three young kids and so we invited them over for a meal. Our three children James, Thomas and Ben loved running around [Read more]

Grand Final Replay: Nothing to Worry About

THERE IS NO WAY TO DESCRIBE THIS. My cousin Steve and I are consoling a guy who has slumped in his seat. His shoulders are down; he is weeping openly. A Saints cap sits on his head; a red, white and black scalf is draped around his sagging shoulders. Eventually Steve and I grab one [Read more]

Suffering in Silence at the Bowl.

TO FOLLOW COLLINGWOOD IS TO SUFFER; it is to make friends with a person who keeps on letting you down; it is to have grief as a constant companion. All week I repeat the same mantra to my wife Melissa the Saint- “If we win it will be by a lot, if you win it [Read more]

The Unwelcome Guest

You don’t barrack for Collingwood; you ache for them. Following the Pies is an illness, a lifelong disease with no apparent cure. I go to Etihad then on a bleak winter’s night with few hopes of anything good and the expectation that afterwards I might need a panadol or two. It’s been a tough weekend. [Read more]

A Pie feast on several levels

The pre-season has brought many good things to Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs. For the Pies the acquisition of Jolly and Ball will give further grunt and skill to an already accomplished midfield. For the Dogs the NAB Cup gave them some long-awaited silverware, while the recruitment of Barry Hall was an inspired choice. On [Read more]

NAB Challenge: Point-fest at Visy Park

by David Enticott I like pre-season games. They tend to be played at traditional, old VFL venues that give spectators a much closer view of the action. This match against Richmond at Visy Park also offers the chance to see a few young players for each team and to look at the tactics that will [Read more]

AFL Semi-Finals: Words of joy in the unfamiliar month of September

Here’s the thing . . .  for 36 years of my life barracking for Collingwood has been a poisoned chalice. From an early age mythical losses have been chiseled into my mind. What hurts more than anything is that many of these tragic events could be described in just one or two words: Froggy’s goal, [Read more]

AFL Round 22: We are Collingwood

The equation for this game was incredibly simple, even for Collingwood. All we had to do was not lose by more than twenty-two points. A loss by less than this amount would give us a game against the Cats next week (possibly minus Chapman and S. Johnson) and would also mean that we avoided Adelaide’s [Read more]

AFL Round 21: Walk across half-back upholds the Magpie name

There have been many great football monikers down through the years, from the Flying Doormat to Plugger and the Galloping Gasometer. My favourite football name is fictional. It was the thinly veiled title given to the suburb of Collingwood by the writer Frank Hardy in his novel Pride Without Glory . . . Carringbush.

AFL Round 14: Collingwood v Essendon: Tangents provide food for thought

By David Enticott It has been a long day. At 6.29pm I am running to catch the train at Boronia station, having briefly popped in to a family dinner (making the briefest of cameo appearances). I guzzle down the ribs and then race for the train to Richmond station. As I sit down I wonder [Read more]

AFL Round 10: Pies and Power spark thoughts of AC/DC

By David Enticott There is nothing better than hearing AC/DC on the radio. In the midst of countless tiresome oldies their music stands out like granite in a swampy morass of easy listening. AC/DC reminds me of factories near my childhood home in Cheltenham in the 1970s- all grease and sweat and industry. These were [Read more]

AFL Round 7: Saints pound Pies as stricken sinners suffer

by David Enticott It has been a horrible week. We’ve been locked up inside with gastro for four days straight. Our three boys have had it, Melissa and I have it and now our cat and two dogs are starting to show signs of being seriously unwell. Heaven help us if swine flu ever hits- [Read more]

Vintage Cheese: a tribute to Shane O’Bree.

First half:  Cheesed off. A strange thing happened between Collingwood and Brisbane in the nineties and the noughties—it was the AFL’s equivalent of Sliding Doors or Trading Places. While one group of players and staff became the victors (Leigh Matthews, Gubby Allan, Mal Michael), the others became the vanquished (Jarrod Molloy, Nathan Buckley). Another to [Read more]

Four Quarters of Psychosis by David Enticott

First Quarter. Transference, n. “Unconscious transferring of one’s hopes, desires, fears etc. from one person to another” (The Chambers Dictionary). Thomas has been looking forward to the game all week. At five years of age he is making his AFL debut. Like all good Enticotts he barracks for Collingwood. The morning starts with Auskick where [Read more]