When Collingwood officially promoted rookie Nick Maxwell to its senior list on 29 October, it was a just reward for the defender who managed to play 10 matches in 2004, despite the fact he entered his second year at the club on the Magpies' rookie list.

The 21-year-old, who was overlooked in two National Bank's AFL Drafts, was told his career was over, even before he had got an opportunity.

Winding back to 2001 after he played with the Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup, Maxwell was told by Port Adelaide that he had osteitis pubis, when he thought he was playing with just a 'groin' injury in the under-18 competition.

The Power had invited him over to undertake a pre-season with the club, after he was overlooked in the 2001 National Bank's AFL Draft, but he quickly returned home, after finding out about his injury.

Although eight AFL clubs contacted him after his disappointment of being bypassed in the November draft, he believed he was set to be drafted by Hawthorn in the December rookie draft.

"They (Hawthorn) said if (John) Baird went to North (Melbourne), then they'd pick Nick Stone and myself. They picked Nick Stone and then they ended up not picking me and they chose (Michael) Georgiadis (instead), which was a bit of a kick in the guts," Maxwell told Sportal.

He then reassessed his situation and spent 2002 with North Ballarat in the VFL. He was then sounded out by Geelong at the end of that season.

"At the end of the year, (recruiting manager) Stephen Wells from Geelong contacted me and said - 'We want you to come and train with us', so I went and trained with them for three weeks," Maxwell said.

"After the last day, (Geelong coach) Mark Thompson called me in for a meeting and said - 'We're not going to draft you and we're not going to rookie you' and I said - 'What have I been doing (here) the last three weeks training?'

"He said - 'We want you to play on the top up list with the VFL', which means you might get a game one week otherwise you're playing local footy for the majority of it, so I said - 'Why would I do that when I can go to North Ballarat and get picked every week in the first team and I've got three jobs up there and my uni?'.

"He said to me - 'Well, if you leave, that's it. If you don't take up this opportunity, that's the end of your AFL dream' and I said - 'I'll have to prove you wrong then'.

"I was pretty dejected at that stage."

But later on that week, back in December 2002, he attended his father's end-of-year work Christmas party, only to find out his fortunes had changed.

"I got a message (while I was at the party) from Ken Gannon, the boss of the VFL, from his son Ryan, who I am mates with and he said - 'Well done on getting drafted' and I had no idea, so I rang him up and said - 'Was that supposed to go to me?' and he said - 'Yeah, Collingwood just got you'.

From there, Maxwell became a premiership player with Williamstown in the VFL in 2003, made his AFL debut in round nine against Adelaide this year, while he is now determined to cement his position in 2005.

"That was part of my motivation, to prove people wrong. It's hard when people say to you - 'You're not good enough', but it makes you want it even more. I'm really happy with the way it's going now and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here," Maxwell said.

"I'm really excited about it now because they've (Collingwood) offered me a two-year contract now and I've got that stability behind me, which I haven't had for that last couple of years."

Already, as Collingwood prepares for a two-week break in its new-look pre-season campaign, Maxwell has added six kilograms to his frame and is modeling his game on 2004 Copeland Trophy winner James Clement.

"When (Collingwood coach) Mick (Malthouse) spoke to me at the start of last year, he said - 'We see you as someone who can (play on taller and smaller players), like Jimmy Clement. If you can mould yourself on that, you're going to be a lot more valuable to us'," he said.

Thanks CFC for that

Collingwood forward Anthony Rocca is up and running again after late-season surgery to repair an injured ankle.

The 27-year-old Rocca is set for a solid pre-season campaign and has commenced twice-weekly running sessions in a bid to be fully fit for round one 2005.

"He's progressing really well," David Buttifant, the club's fitness and conditioning coach said on Thursday.

Also on the mend are key-position defenders Simon Prestigiacomo and Shane Wakelin, both of whom also failed to see out 2004.

Prestigiacomo's dislocated shoulder and Wakelin's broken arm have fully healed and the two players are in full training.

Buttifant says the club's decision to split the players' off-season into blocks of six and two weeks was a bit 'left field' but believes it will help keep them fresher during what promises to be a gruelling fitness program heading into the new season.

"It is a little bit different to what other AFL clubs are doing but we're trying to present a more professional approach.

"If went consecutive eight weeks, by the time we get to January they could be a little bit flat mentally and physically."

"They are full-time footballers and when you look at some other sports, they don't have six or eight weeks off," Buttifant said, citing tennis players in particular.

- tasmanian tall timber 

By C.P Johnston

(richie_cole#13)

Tom Davidson and Billy Morrison are two crucial young players to Collingwood’s future success. As Anthony Rocca, Collingwood’s current centre half forward, gets older and his body deteriorates someone will need to replace him. While he is still playing, the Tasmanian duo of Davidson and Morrison need to play under Rocca to be able to learn from him.

Both players have mental and physical barriers to overcome if they are to succeed in AFL. football. Moving interstate to play football is tough for anyone and both boys will struggle with homesickness. Although the job should be easier for Davidson as his father is a Geelong Football Club board member. 

The good thing for Collingwood is that they have experience in not only dealing with interstate players but also Tasmanians, like former Collingwood champion Graham Wright who even went home to Tasmania for a stint before returning to Collingwood and coming second in the 1990 Brownlow Medal.

Besides not being in their home state to play football both players will have to overcome serious injury worries. Morrison, after shooting into the footballing worlds spotlight by kicking nine goals on debut as a fourteen year old for Hobart seniors, missed the last season of his under eighteen junior career after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction due to injuring it while playing international rules for Australia. 

Davidson also has injury worries despite an injury free junior career. At the start of his second season Davidson required a knee reconstruction, which meant he couldn’t play for a year. At the resumption of his career he injured his good knee in his debut game and required another reconstruction.

Another good thing for Collingwood is that Davidson and Morrison have two perfect role models to look up to. While not key position players, Paul Licuria and Tarkyn Lockyer are key players to Collingwood’s success. Both are midfielders and both had to overcome serious injuries to make their football careers a success. 

As a junior, Licuria had to undergo a knee reconstruction on each knee before he had turned sixteen. Licuria used extreme patience and determination to make his career a success and has been rewarded with two Copeland Trophies. Lockyer not only overcame a knee reconstruction during his sixth year of AFL, but also had a broken foot and stress fractures to overcome during his rehabilitation.

Both have made their careers a success with each playing a crucial role in one of the strongest midfields in the AFL. If Morrison and Davidson can follow these examples then both players should have long careers and hopefully form a Tasmanian Tall Timber forward line for a Collingwood bid at Grand Final success.

- morrison's wish comes true

Friday 8th October, 2004

West Coast defender/midfielder Chad Morrison's wish to come to Collingwood has been granted, as the Pies secured a deal just before the deadline on friday.

In a complicated deal, the Pies traded pick 7 and youngster Bo Nixon to Hawthorn, who gave picks 10 and 37 back. Pick 37 was then on-traded by the Pies to West Coast, in return for Morrison.

A Collingwood supporter as a boy, Morrison will walk straight into the Pies line-up, following up from a terrific finish to 2004.

Morrison has played 148 games since his debut in 1996 - a year where he earned a rising star nomination.

- clement takes out first copeland

Sunday 3rd October, 2004

Gun defender James Clement has taken out his first ever Copeland Trophy, winning the award ahead of Ben Johnson, Shane Woewodin and Paul Licuria who all finished in second place.

Clement finished on 50 votes, while Johnson, Woewodin and Licuria all gathered 45, ahead of much improved onballer Brodie Holland who finished in 5th position with 40 votes.

Other award winners include Guy Richards (Best 1st Year Player), Scott Burns (Darren Millane award - Best Clubman) and Chris Tarrant (Goal Kicking award).

Thanks to the magpies nest for the news

Please go to http://themagpiesnest.4t.com

Adrian Fletcher has returned to Collingwood after a year away to become an assistant coach of the club under Mick Malthouse.

Fletcher was with Geelong in 2004 as an assistant to Mark Thompson but was a development coach with the Magpies the two years before that while playing VFL football for Williamstown.

He was an integral part of the 2003 Williamstown premiership team.

Fletcher played for 231 games for Geelong, St Kilda, Brisbane and Fremantle between 1989 and 2001. He won Fremantle’s best and fairest in 1999 and captained the club in 2000 and 2001.

“We are delighted to have Adrian back at the club, he has a very strong knowledge of the game and has worked extremely well with our players in the past. Both the players and coaches are looking forward to working with him again," said football manager Neil Balme.

He replaces Michael Broadbridge, who heads back to Western Australia to work with Fremantle and joins Bradley Gotch, Gavin Brown and Guy McKenna as the other assistant coaches.

Courstesy Collingwoodfc.com

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