Colliwobbles
Encyclopedia
The Colliwobbles is a term used in the Australian Football League
to describe finals losses by the Collingwood Football Club
.
Most specifically, the Colliwobbles refers to the period of time between Collingwood's 1958
and 1990
premierships. During that time, Collingwood reached the Grand Final in eight seasons, and resulting in eight losses, plus one draw
(which resulted in a replay, which was lost). This era was dubbed as the Colliwobbles mainly because Collingwood were favoured in most of these Grand Finals, or simply by the fact that Collingwood lost by small margins; in this way, "Colliwobbles" is a specific term for choking
, when it is done by Collingwood.
The term is a play on the words "Collingwood" and "collywobbles", meaning a state of intestinal disorder, usually accompanied by a rumbling stomach. The term was coined by Lou Richards
.
The main period of Colliwobbles was ended in the 1990 AFL Grand Final
, when Collingwood beat Essendon. Nevertheless, the term remains in common usage to describe any upset
losses by Collingwood in finals.
Below are the results of Collingwood's Grand Final failures during the main "Colliwobbles" period:
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
to describe finals losses by the Collingwood Football Club
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
.
Most specifically, the Colliwobbles refers to the period of time between Collingwood's 1958
1958 VFL Grand Final
The 1958 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 20 September 1958. It was the 62nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the...
and 1990
1990 AFL Grand Final
The 1990 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and the Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 6 October 1990. It was the 94th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...
premierships. During that time, Collingwood reached the Grand Final in eight seasons, and resulting in eight losses, plus one draw
1977 VFL Grand Final
The 1977 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1977...
(which resulted in a replay, which was lost). This era was dubbed as the Colliwobbles mainly because Collingwood were favoured in most of these Grand Finals, or simply by the fact that Collingwood lost by small margins; in this way, "Colliwobbles" is a specific term for choking
Choke (sports)
In sports, a "choke" is the failure of an athlete or an athletic team to win a game or tournament when the player or team had been strongly favored to win or had squandered a large lead in the late stages of the event...
, when it is done by Collingwood.
The term is a play on the words "Collingwood" and "collywobbles", meaning a state of intestinal disorder, usually accompanied by a rumbling stomach. The term was coined by Lou Richards
Lou Richards
Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards is a retired Australian rules footballer, who played 250 games with the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1941 and 1955...
.
The main period of Colliwobbles was ended in the 1990 AFL Grand Final
1990 AFL Grand Final
The 1990 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and the Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 6 October 1990. It was the 94th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...
, when Collingwood beat Essendon. Nevertheless, the term remains in common usage to describe any upset
Upset
An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win , is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom...
losses by Collingwood in finals.
Below are the results of Collingwood's Grand Final failures during the main "Colliwobbles" period:
| Season | Premier | Runner-up | Score | Margin | Venue | Attendance |
| 1960 1960 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1960.-Premiership season:In 1960, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man... |
Melbourne Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria.... |
Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
8.14 (62) – 2.2 (14) | 48 | MCG Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... |
97,457 |
| 1964 1964 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1964.-Premiership season:In 1964, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man... |
Melbourne Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria.... |
Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
8.16 (64) – 8.12 (60) | 4 | MCG Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... |
102,469 |
| 1966 1966 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1966.-Premiership season:In 1966, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man... |
St Kilda | Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
10.14 (74) – 10.13 (73) | 1 | MCG Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... |
101,655 |
| 1970 1970 VFL season -Premiership season:In 1970, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man... |
Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
17.9 (111) – 14.17 (101) | 10 | MCG Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... |
121,696 |
| 1977 1977 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1977.-Grand final:North Melbourne drew with Collingwood 9.22 to 10.16 , in front of a crowd of 108244 people. A replay was held, and North Melbourne defeated Collingwood 21.25 to 19.10 in front of a crowd of 98366 people... |
North Melbourne North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world... |
Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
21.25 (151) – 19.10 (124) | 27 | MCG Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... |
98,366 |
| 1979 1979 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1979.-Grand final:Carlton defeated Collingwood 11.16 to 11.11 , in front of a crowd of 112845 people... |
Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
11.16 (82) – 11.11 (77) | 5 | MCG Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... |
113,545 |
| 1980 1980 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1980.-Grand final:Richmond defeated Collingwood 23.21 to 9.24 , in front of a crowd of 113,461 people... |
Richmond Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,... |
Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
23.21 (159) – 9.24 (78) | 81 | MCG Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... |
113,461 |
| 1981 1981 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1981.-Grand final:Carlton defeated Collingwood 12.20 to 10.12 , in front of a crowd of 112,964 people... |
Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
12.20 (92) – 10.12 (72) | 20 | MCG Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... |
112,964 |
Trivia and Statistics
- Three Grand Finals were lost by single-figure margins. This included a one-point loss in the 1966 VFL Grand Final1966 VFL Grand FinalThe 1966 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1966. It was the 70th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League , staged to...
to , which to date remains the Saints' only premiership. - Collingwood suffered its worst Grand Final loss in history in 19801980 VFL Grand FinalThe 1980 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1980. It was the 84th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to...
, losing to , which, at time time, was the worst of all time. - The highest attendance was 121,696 in the famous 1970 VFL Grand Final1970 VFL Grand FinalThe 1970 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1970. It was the 74th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...
against . The lowest was 97,457 for the 1960 VFL Grand Final1960 VFL Grand FinalThe 1960 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September of 1960 in extremely wet conditions due to persistent rain during the previous week...
against . - Collingwood's highest score was 19.10.(124) in the replay of the 1977 VFL Grand Final1977 VFL Grand FinalThe 1977 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1977...
against . Its lowest was 2.2.(14) against in 19601960 VFL Grand FinalThe 1960 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September of 1960 in extremely wet conditions due to persistent rain during the previous week...
. - The lowest score conceded by Collingwood was 8.14.(62) in the 1960 VFL Grand Final against Melbourne. The highest score conceded was 23.21.(159) in the 1980 VFL Grand Final against Richmond.