Embracing the chaos, Collingwood prove they’re more than black and white contenders

No one saw Collingwood’s surge up the AFL ladder coming. But a new coach, deep belief and a perfectly imperfect playing style have the Magpies on song

This is becoming a joke now. Someone is having a lend. The fix is in, surely. Collingwood wasn’t supposed to be this good. They were supposed to be eating humble pie. They were supposed to be resetting. They started the season as a curiosity. They’re now a legitimate premiership contender. In so many ways, they don’t make sense. Their stats don’t make sense. Their percentage doesn’t make sense. All you can do is suspend your disbelief, and simply enjoy them.

It was all so different last year. At times, watching them play was like undergoing root canal work. Their President of more than two decades finally stepped down. His replacement lasted six months. The coach, a champion of the game, was let go. They’d completely botched the trade period. The head of football, list manager, several assistants, and a number of board members were all gone. Their most important player was arrested in his dressing gown. He was called a misogynist, a sex pest, ‘unrecruitable’ and ‘the dumbest footballer of his generation.’ The club was in disarray, and facing its biggest fear – irrelevance.

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