St Kilda Saints v Collingwood Magpies, scores, results, fixtures, teams, tips, games, how to watch, opening round

Some reading for you while we wait for the teams to run out. This one, thanks to chief sports columnist Greg Baum.

Last week was not the first time the Swans have spoiled a Collingwood flag unfurling. In 1958, the Magpies won a famous premiership, but in round one the next year, South Melbourne beat them at Victoria Park and captain-coach Ron Clegg was so excited he ordered 20-year-old Bob Skilton to pull down the newly raised pennant. And he did.

At 0-2, Collingwood’s latest flag again hangs limply at half-mast. It means everyone is on their case. Is it hubris or happenstance? Is it chronic or curable? Is it a hangover?

It’s true that as the last team to finish last year and one of the first to start this early-starting year, the Magpies had a short, hectic off-season. The sheer volume of demands on the club would have been both distracting and exhausting. The church-state divide between the footy and marketing departments would have been blurrier than usual.

No one begrudged influential footy manager Graham Wright his sabbatical, but it will have stretched resources. There’s always more to any footy job than meets the eye. This week, another mid-level footy department executive, Clare Pettyfor, left.

On season’s eve, the Magpies released a film about their 2023 premiership, complete with gala launch. Last week, some players took a short timeout from their pre-match prep for the Swans to watch the elaborate flag unfurling.

Both these developments sat poorly with Leigh Matthews, who said it was one thing for fans to bask, another for players.

Read the full piece here.