The Collingwood Football Club has unveiled three members of its 2010 premiership team and a club Patron as its 2016 Life Members.

Mick Malthouse, Chris Dawes, Alan Toovey and John Laidlaw were recognised for their outstanding contribution to the Magpies at the club’s Annual General Meeting held at the Glasshouse this evening.

Arriving at the end of 1999, Malthouse took the reins of a team languishing at the bottom of the ladder. He wasted little time turning around the club’s fortunes, coaching his side to seven finals series and five Grand Finals in the space of 11 years.

His greatest success came in 2010, when he ended the club’s 20-year premiership drought with a 56-point win over St Kilda in the historic Grand Final Replay.

Malthouse coached Collingwood in 286 games, recording a winning percentage of 57, and will be remembered for pioneering the increased use of interchange rotations, revolutionising the way the game was played and coached for years to come.

Two contributors to Malthouse’s premiership success will stand side by side with him in Life Membership.

Dawes, at the age of 22, spearheaded the Pies’ front line in 2010 and was one of five Magpies to kick two goals on that sunny October afternoon, a tally that took him to a career-high 30 for the season.

Arriving at the Holden Centre via the 28th overall selection in the 2006 National Draft, Dawes overcame a knee reconstruction in his first year to debut in the back half of the 2008 season.

From then on the forward strung together 71 games, including 12 finals, and kicked 83 goals before being traded to Melbourne at the end of 2012.

Down the other end of the field, Toovey quietly became a vital cog in Collingwood’s backline and a fan favourite who inspired the chant ‘Toooooovs’ each time he ran off half back with the ball in hand.

Toovey’s football journey began via the 2006 Rookie Draft and finished with 159 games over a decade, including the 2010 flag. At the height of his career, Toovey shut down some of the games’ greatest small forwards.

The West Australian won the highly-regarded Darren Millane award as Best Clubman in 2012.


Off the field, club Patron John Laidlaw has made an extraordinary contribution to the Collingwood Football Club over 40 years.

One of Australia’s most successful businessmen and greatest philanthropists, Laidlaw has been a driving force behind the Collingwood Football Club Foundation and the development of both the Barrawarn and Magpie Nest programs, which support hundreds of Victorians each year.

Collingwood also recognised the tireless work of two of its longest serving scouts with Special Service Awards.

Michael Armfield and Frank Johnson have both been involved in the search for the next Magpie superstar for more than two decades, spending countless hours at football games across the country.