BrownDog2
Team Captain
WITHIN hours of Collingwood's grand final humiliation last year, coach Mick Malthouse promised that not one of his players who took the field that day would be traded to another club.
A month later, Malthouse remained true to his word. With the trading period complete, only Heath Scotland had left to join Carlton, but then only at his own insistence.
Collingwood held firm and kept its team together.
With the grand finalist of the past two years sitting 15th on the ladder with the worst percentage in the competition, Collingwood supporters are starting to realise at what cost.
Nick Stevens could have been playing for Collingwood against Fremantle last Sunday, if Malthouse had been prepared to part with any of Alan Didak, Ryan Lonie, Simon Prestigiacomo or Richard Cole.
Any of these players plus Collingwood's first pick in the national draft would have satisfied Port Adelaide's terms for Stevens.
By the second day of trading, club president Eddie McGuire could have been hosting a packed media conference to welcome one of the elite midfielders in the competition.
Instead, Collingwood tried to get Stevens for less. Didak said he didn't want to go and Collingwood refused to forcibly expatriate any of the nominated quartet.
The club tried to secure another first-round draft pick from a third club to sweeten the deal but only offered fringe players like Scotland, Leon Davis, Steve McKee and Mark McGough to a sceptical market.
With 15 minutes to go in trading, Collingwood came up with its best offer: a first and second round pick. Port refused to discount its terms and Stevens ended up in the pre-season draft.
If it were a one-off, Collingwood could attribute the Stevens fiasco to the vagaries of trading or the stubbornness of Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams, who preferred to let Stevens go for nothing than allow him to go to Collingwood for a song.
The problem for Collingwood is that this was not a one-off.
At the end of the 2001 season, Essendon was prepared to trade Joe Misiti to Collingwood in exchange for pick No.11 in the national draft. With the knowledge that Essendon had to trade senior players because of salary cap pressure, Collingwood held out for a better deal. It never came and Collingwood missed the deadline.
At the end of the 2000 season, Fraser Gehrig wanted to leave West Coast to return to Melbourne. His first preference was Collingwood but St Kilda was also interested. The Eagles told both clubs that they were keen to strike a deal. St Kilda got in first and Collingwood was left at the altar.
Malthouse considers himself a development coach and has a strong belief in building teams from the best teenage talent. But at a time when Malthouse is having to work with, in his own words, a "very, very thin" list, it is Collingwood's refusal to trade which has added to the skinny appearance.
Since Collingwood emerged as a finals contender in the 2001 season, Shane Woewodin is the only player to arrive from another AFL club and become a permanent member of the senior team.
Malthouse says the salary cap has been unkind to Collingwood but with Woewodin, a highly-paid player forced out of Melbourne for financial reasons, it was very kind indeed.
So what really happened with Stevens?
Truth in player trading is elusive at the best of times and last year's Stevens debacle is a hotly debated case in point.
Collingwood remains dumbfounded that Port allowed its best midfielder to go for no return. Port Adelaide remains convinced that the Magpies were in cahoots with Stevens' management.
The view of Stevens' management is that the bad blood between Collingwood and Port Adelaide made a deal nigh on impossible from the start.
But all parties agree that the first meeting between Port and Collingwood officials on the opening day of trading left both clubs hopeful a deal would be done.
The next day Malthouse flew in from London and Didak was immediately taken off the table. From that point, a deal never got close.
On Monday Collingwood defended the way it had handled negotiations. As one official put it, if the club's worst crime was to be loyal to players like Didak and Lonie, it is criticism they will happily wear.
The question is whether Collingwood supporters, smarting from the loss of two grand finals, will wear it quite so happily.
A month later, Malthouse remained true to his word. With the trading period complete, only Heath Scotland had left to join Carlton, but then only at his own insistence.
Collingwood held firm and kept its team together.
With the grand finalist of the past two years sitting 15th on the ladder with the worst percentage in the competition, Collingwood supporters are starting to realise at what cost.
Nick Stevens could have been playing for Collingwood against Fremantle last Sunday, if Malthouse had been prepared to part with any of Alan Didak, Ryan Lonie, Simon Prestigiacomo or Richard Cole.
Any of these players plus Collingwood's first pick in the national draft would have satisfied Port Adelaide's terms for Stevens.
By the second day of trading, club president Eddie McGuire could have been hosting a packed media conference to welcome one of the elite midfielders in the competition.
Instead, Collingwood tried to get Stevens for less. Didak said he didn't want to go and Collingwood refused to forcibly expatriate any of the nominated quartet.
The club tried to secure another first-round draft pick from a third club to sweeten the deal but only offered fringe players like Scotland, Leon Davis, Steve McKee and Mark McGough to a sceptical market.
With 15 minutes to go in trading, Collingwood came up with its best offer: a first and second round pick. Port refused to discount its terms and Stevens ended up in the pre-season draft.
If it were a one-off, Collingwood could attribute the Stevens fiasco to the vagaries of trading or the stubbornness of Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams, who preferred to let Stevens go for nothing than allow him to go to Collingwood for a song.
The problem for Collingwood is that this was not a one-off.
At the end of the 2001 season, Essendon was prepared to trade Joe Misiti to Collingwood in exchange for pick No.11 in the national draft. With the knowledge that Essendon had to trade senior players because of salary cap pressure, Collingwood held out for a better deal. It never came and Collingwood missed the deadline.
At the end of the 2000 season, Fraser Gehrig wanted to leave West Coast to return to Melbourne. His first preference was Collingwood but St Kilda was also interested. The Eagles told both clubs that they were keen to strike a deal. St Kilda got in first and Collingwood was left at the altar.
Malthouse considers himself a development coach and has a strong belief in building teams from the best teenage talent. But at a time when Malthouse is having to work with, in his own words, a "very, very thin" list, it is Collingwood's refusal to trade which has added to the skinny appearance.
Since Collingwood emerged as a finals contender in the 2001 season, Shane Woewodin is the only player to arrive from another AFL club and become a permanent member of the senior team.
Malthouse says the salary cap has been unkind to Collingwood but with Woewodin, a highly-paid player forced out of Melbourne for financial reasons, it was very kind indeed.
So what really happened with Stevens?
Truth in player trading is elusive at the best of times and last year's Stevens debacle is a hotly debated case in point.
Collingwood remains dumbfounded that Port allowed its best midfielder to go for no return. Port Adelaide remains convinced that the Magpies were in cahoots with Stevens' management.
The view of Stevens' management is that the bad blood between Collingwood and Port Adelaide made a deal nigh on impossible from the start.
But all parties agree that the first meeting between Port and Collingwood officials on the opening day of trading left both clubs hopeful a deal would be done.
The next day Malthouse flew in from London and Didak was immediately taken off the table. From that point, a deal never got close.
On Monday Collingwood defended the way it had handled negotiations. As one official put it, if the club's worst crime was to be loyal to players like Didak and Lonie, it is criticism they will happily wear.
The question is whether Collingwood supporters, smarting from the loss of two grand finals, will wear it quite so happily.
