Collingwood fans turn out to MCG in force to support petition to spill board

The numbers are in on a fan-driven petition calling for a spill of Collingwood’s board. Did it hit the mark?

Petition organiser David Hatley wants a board spill. Picture: Tony Gough

A petition for a spill of the Collingwood board has received almost twice the number of signatures required to force an extraordinary general meeting after “fed up” members turned out in force on Sunday.

Hundreds of club members arrived early at the MCG ahead of their side’s clash with Port Adelaide to sign a petition calling on Collingwood to convene an EGM and immediately declare all seven board positions vacant.

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Collingwood fans are agitating to overthrow the board. Picture: Tony Gough

Organisers confirmed to the Herald Sun on Sunday night that they would keep the petition open via the dedicated magpievoice.com website until next Saturday’s match against Geelong to give all members a chance to have their say, despite the already “overwhelming response”.

The petition required about 650 signatures from eligible members with voting rights to force an EGM.

The Herald Sun spoke to more than a dozen frustrated members who signed the petition, with most voicing their displeasure over the appointment of Dr Bridie O’Donnell to the board last week.

Dr O’Donnell has only been a Collingwood member since 2020, meaning she is ineligible to vote at board level given she has not served a mandatory 24 months as a paid-up member.

“She’s very, very smart and she knows what she’s doing but she’s not even a Collingwood supporter,” said 35-year Collingwood member Mark, who did not wish to give his surname.

“I’m not happy with the board, I’m not happy with the direction the club’s going – not only on the board but throughout the whole administration.

“I’m just really frustrated and annoyed with what’s going on at Collingwood.”

Petition organiser David Hatley wants a board spill. Picture: Tony Gough

Thirty-year member Grant Thorson said paid-up members deserved nothing less than to have the board positions taken to a vote.

“It’s time for change. It’s time to stop having people parachuted in and let us go back to having people voted in,” Thorson said.

“We believe in true governance of our club, which is having people elected by the members.”

Twenty-year member Mel Worrall said Dr O’Donnell’s appointment was the catalyst for her signing the petition.

“She’s not a Collingwood supporter, she’s not a long-time Collingwood member,” Worrall said.

“She’s a member now but she can’t make any decisions, she can’t vote on anything. So why have her on the board?”

Petition organiser David Hatley, a 40-year Collingwood member, said fans had voted with their pens in showing enormous support for the petition.

Hatley, who met with current Collingwood president Mark Korda on Friday, said the petition was not a personal attack at the current board but instead aimed to give members a voice they have not had for more than two decades.

“There hasn’t been a true election since 1998,” Hatley said.

“I actually said to Mark Korda, ‘It’s not about you, Mark’. If Eddie McGuire was sitting in that same spot on Friday night — and I know Eddie — we would have been doing the same thing.

“For us it’s not actually the candidates, it’s the principle.”

Collingwood president Mark Korda wants members to wait until season’s end to make a call on the club’s leadership.

KORDA’S PLEA TO MEMBERS

—Jay Clark

Collingwood president Mark Korda has urged members to wait until the end of the season to have their say on the club’s leadership in an attempt to defuse a potentially messy boardroom challenge.

The move is on to gain enough signatures to call an extraordinary general meeting in-season at Collingwood which could see influential lawyer Jeff Browne take on Korda for the Magpies’ presidency.

Passionate Collingwood fan David Hatley said he had already collected more than 300 signatures on paper and more than 100 online one hour before the start of the Collingwood and Port Adelaide clash at the MCG on Sunday.

Complicating the situation is the future of coach Nathan Buckley who said he will sit down with club chiefs in the back half of the season to discuss a contract extension.

Korda, who replaced Eddie McGuire as president, said members should wait until after the season to vote on the board, giving the club time to right the ship after a poor start to the season.

“There is a common misconception that the members don’t vote on elections (but) every board member has to be elected every three years,” Korda said at the Pies’ president’s function.

“Many of the times they are not contested, but you have to be elected every three years.

“We have an annual general meeting coming up at the end of this season where there are three people who have to be re-elected, Christine Holgate, Dr Bridie O’Donnell and Peter Murphy.

“That is the right time that we should get together and vote for our directors.

“I don’t think it is a good idea to have coups, Eddie (McGuire) doesn’t think it is a good idea to have coups.

“Hopefully we will get through the year. Hopefully our win-loss record will get better.

“We will make the right decisions on the coach, but your club is really, really working and is calm behind the scenes.”

Nathan Buckley talking to his players during the loss to Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

DEFIANT BUCKS: I HAVEN’T LOST THE PLAYERS

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has conceded the struggling club have hit the “reset” button, but says he is as energised as ever to lead the Magpies into the future.

Against a backdrop of board upheaval, intense pressure on his own position and only two wins from the first nine games, Buckley also dismissed reports he had lost a section of the playing group following the club’s miserable start to the season.

He said the club had spoken internally about the need to reset, but stressed he and the players were ready for the challenge ahead.

“I am energised for it … this is the challenge,” Buckley said ahead of Sunday’s clash with Port Adelaide at the MCG.

“You can either put the white flag up or dig in and have a real crack, and our conversations have been around doing that (having a crack).

“I am in the middle of it, mate.

Nathan Buckley insists he hasn’t lost the players. Picture: Getty Images

“This is a challenging circumstance, but we have a passion and perseverance towards a long-term goal. We are going to show that grit and determination and we hope the fans see that in the next couple of weeks.”

Asked about reports some of his players had begun to lose faith in his messaging, Buckley said: “I don’t read it; but I hear about it. My experience is that there is no evidence to support that.”

Less than a month ago, Collingwood president Mark Korda claimed finals were still on the club’s agenda for 2021.

But Buckley’s comments on Friday were the clearest indication yet that the Magpies had acknowledged the urgent need to regenerate.

“The message to Collingwood people would be … I think your expectations would be adjusted by now,” he said.

Nathan Buckley knows Collingwood has hit the reset button. Picture: Getty Images

“We have had three pretty good years in finals – to play in a Grand Final, a prelim and then finals (last year).

“We are resetting now. We believe that whilst we still have some experience in the side and we feel like we are underperforming in the short term, that we have the capacity to play better footy and that’s what we are looking to do.

“We have reset internally … making it simple, stripping it back and these are the things we want to see.”

He said the club’s senior players had been trying to carry too much of the load, and that he had told them to simplify things this week, which he believes could bring a spike in performance in the coming weeks.

The Magpies face a crucial month with games against Port Adelaide, Geelong, Adelaide (away) and Melbourne.