2006 Collingwood Football Club season

This article covers the 2006 season of the Collingwood Football Club AFL team.

News

Pre-Season

• Shane Woewodin is delisted by Collingwood. Woewodin was a former Brownlow Medallist in 2000 whilst playing for Melbourne. He was not picked up by a club in the Pre-Season draft.
• Collingwood attends a high-altitude training camp in Arizona, United States for two weeks.
• Dale Thomas is picked up by Collingwood at No. 2 in the 2005 NAB Draft.

February

• President Eddie McGuire has been appointed CEO of the Nine Network. He had to give up as host on several TV shows, but remained as president of the club, despite having to live in Sydney.
• Sean Rusling injures his shoulder on the Community Camp in Northern Sydney. He is expected to miss around 2 months of action.
• Collingwood wins first game of the NAB Cup against St Kilda in fine style, winning in extra time. Fraser Gehrig missed a shot on goal after the siren to draw the match, therefore, as a knockout competition winner was decided in extra time.

March

• Captain Nathan Buckley plays his first game of the year during a NAB Challenge match played at Princes Park.
• Rookie Harry O'Brien is promoted to the senior list for the injured Sean Rusling
• Six players were inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. They were Charlie Pannam, Darren Millane, Harold Rumney, Des Healy, Billy Picken and Mick McGuane.

April

• No. 2 draft pick Dale Thomas makes his debut against Adelaide at Telstra Dome. Collingwood lose by 34 points.
• Collingwood win their first game of the year in Round 2 against Hawthorn.
• Dale Thomas receives the Round 2 AFL Rising Star nomination.
• Collingwood defeat Essendon in the annual ANZAC Day clash, in front of more than 92,000 fans in the return to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
• Ben Johnson wins the ANZAC Day Medal for best on ground.
• Chad Morrison was fined $20,000 by the club for drink driving, where the club's sponsorship with the TAC came under fire.

May

• Heath Shaw receives the Round 5 AFL Rising Star nomination.
• Collingwood sit first on the ladder after a Round 6 victory over Carlton.
• The club is fined a massive $200,000 by the TAC after the Morrison incident
• Collingwood beat Geelong by 102 points in Round 8 at the MCG.
• Rhyce Shaw makes his comeback to the side after his season ending knee injury in 2005.

June

• Scott Pendlebury makes his debut against the Brisbane Lions at the MCG.
• Blake Caracella suffers a career-ending neck injury, sustained in a clash with Brisbane Lions player Tim Notting. Experts said he was lucky not to become a quadriplegic.
• Collingwood beat reigning premiers Sydney at Telstra Stadium. It would be the first of a current 10-match winning streak against them.

July

• Dual best and fairest Paul Licuria is 'rested' for the match against West Coast. Collingwood wins convincingly, avenging defeat in Round 7.
• Goal-sneak Leon Davis fractures his left ankle.
• Chris Tarrant and Ben Johnson involved in brawl outside a Port Melbourne hotel, leaving one man in injured.

August

• Chris Tarrant and Ben Johnson are fined $5000 by the club for breaking team rules.
• Blake Caracella announces his retirement, coming after his neck injury sustained in Round 10.
• Sam Iles makes his debut against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium
• Collingwood loses against Essendon in Round 19 – thus giving them the ignominy of being the only Victorian team to lose to the Bombers during the 2006 season. This loss would cost Collingwood a top four position at the end of the season. Collingwood had already won the earlier ANZAC Day match.
• A bronze statue in the honour of Bob Rose is revealed outside the Lexus Centre.
• Forward Alan Didak receives excess media attention, after he was kicked out of a club for a dispute with his girlfriend.
• Alan Didak kicks the winning goal with seconds remaining against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.
• Alan Didak makes a controversial bump on former team-mate Heath Scotland. The tribunal throws the case out.
• Chad Morrison retires.

September

• Heath Shaw finishes third in the AFL Rising Star.
• Collingwood finish 7th, after being defeated by the Western Bulldogs in the first elimination final.
• Brodie Holland is suspended for 6 weeks after a hit on Brett Montgomery in the elimination final. Holland's appeal fails.
• Alan Didak wins his first All-Australian selection.

October

• Alan Didak wins the Copeland Trophy from James Clement and Ben Johnson, coming sooner than 24 hours after he was involved in an incident with a taxi driver.
• Collingwood trades Chris Tarrant to Fremantle in exchange for Paul Medhurst and a first-round draft pick.
• Collingwood delist Cameron Cloke, Jason Cloke, David Fanning, Brent Hall, Adam Iacobucci and Julian Rowe.

November

• The club re-visits Arizona for another pre-season high-altitude camp.
• Tristen Walker is delisted by the club, the seventh player chopped.

Playing List 2006

Nathan Buckley will be the 2006 captain, this being his 7th season as the skipper of the Pies. Collingwood had delisted several players last season, including Brownlow Medallist Shane Woewodin, and traded Richard Cole to Essendon. They had picked up several young players, including priority/first round draftees Dale Thomas and Scott Pendlebury in the 2005 NAB Draft. With the high amount of senior players departed in 2005, both Ben Davies and David Fanning got elevated to the Senior List.

Squad

Senior list

Rookie List

Arrivals

• Rookie elevation

1. Ben Davies
2. David Fanning

• 2005 NAB Draft

1. Jack Anthony
2. Ryan Cook
3. Scott Pendlebury
4. Danny Stanley
5. Dale Thomas

• NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft

1. Sam Iles

Departures

• Traded

1. Richard Cole (to Essendon)

• Delisted

1. Tom Davidson
2. David King
3. Matthew Lokan
4. Billy Morrison
5. Brayden Shaw
6. Andrew Williams
7. Shane Woewodin

2006 Fixtures

With the 2006 Commonwealth Games being hosted by Melbourne, Australia, The M.C.G. will be the main venue, dis-allowing games for AFL Football. Collingwood plays its first three games at the Telstra Dome, before being playing the traditional ANZAC Day clash against Essendon in what will be the return to the MCG, as the Games will have been concluded. This is fixtured, however, the venue may not be ready for hosting an AFL match in time.

Collingwood travels 4 times, twice to Adelaide, in a 3-week period late in the season. They also travel to Perth and Sydney during the season.

Pre-Season

NAB Cup

NAB Challenge

Home and Away

For results, see 2006 Australian Football League season

Finals

For results, see 2006 AFL finals series

References