Until now.
Michael Malthouse’s appointment as Carlton Senior Coach is, given his Collingwood tenure, unprecedented in 115 seasons of VFL/AFL competition. In fact, one has to hark back to the VFA days of the late 19th century to source anything remotely resembling it. It happened in 1893, when the black and whites convinced Bill Strickland to head to Lulie Street six seasons after he’d captained Carlton to the association premiership.
Strickland’s much-heralded arrival at Victoria Park was the catalyst for Collingwood’s early success, for under his captaincy the black and whites took out their only VFA Grand Final victory, over South Melbourne in 1896.
Then there was Harry Curtis, who was moved on by the old dark Navy Blues after just two senior appearances. At Collingwood, Harry found his niche, not only representing the Magpies in 122 matches including the 1917 and ’19 premierships as a ruckman/centre half-forward, but also captaining the club and serving as President from 1924 to 1950.
Dan Minogue, Carlton’s Senior Coach in 117 matches from 1929-34, formerly represented Collingwood, but only as a footballer, earning a handsome reputation as an uncompromising centre half-back. It was Minogue who famously played out the game after sustaining a broken collarbone in the opening minute of the 1911 Grand Final.
It’s worth noting here that only one Collingwood coach can lay claim to Premiership honours over Carlton - the Collingwood captain-coach George Whitfield Angus.
Angus, who had put his life on the line in the Boer War, was a member of Collingwood’s back-to-back premiership outfits of 1902 and ’03, and in 1910 was appointed captain-coach.
Old George made an immediate impression in 1910, leading his team to Grand Final victory that season. But that was 102 years and 13 premierships ago - five of them at Collingwood’s expense in Carlton teams coached by Norman “Hackenschmidt” Clark, Brighton Diggins, Ron Barassi, Alex Jesaulenko and David Parkin.
