CSM: Chapter 9.
9. Good old Collingwood. It’s worth mentioning that Collingwood was eliminated from the 1981 Escort Cup by North Melbourne in a quarter-final. However, there was a vast indifference to the result – even the club itself seemed ambivalent, as if the tragedy (yes, it was a tragedy, damnit!) in the 1980 Grand Final had tarnished Collingwood’s approach to the night competition. Although there were some rough years which followed for the club, they didn’t seem to take the competition seriously again for another twenty years, by which time it was fast evolving into the spectacle of practise games it would become. So now it was only the real stuff, and…
CSM: Chapter 8.
8. Cause and effect. Going into any new season, there’s always a sense of optimism. Even if you’re the worst possible team, you can always hope that things will get better. That mightn’t actually be the case, or the season might quickly disabuse you of that notion, but initially your expectations are pristine. When you’re a grand finalist – even a pummelled grand finalist – the hope burgeons. (Well, usually.) You know you’re thereabouts. But for a bit more luck, an absence of injuries, younger players improving, and an injection of new talent, you have all the ingredients which suggest that perhaps, just perhaps, you might be able to go…