In the second part of this exclusive interview, Collingwood great Peter McKenna gives his views on the modern-day and past Magpie champions, and his favourite moments as a longtime Channel 7 commentator.
Howard Kotton: What are your greatest memories of those years as a commentator with Channel 7? Who are the people who stood out?
Peter McKenna: Ex-footballer Ian Robertson was a great caller. I called with Bruce McAvaney, Dennis Cometti, Drew Morphett, Peter Landy, and Sandy Roberts, and then we had the ex-footballers such as Ross Glendinning, Bernie Quinlan, Gerard Healy, Don Scott, and many others who were the expert commentators.
It was terrific to call with these great callers. They were all very different, but all very eloquent. On Sunday, Sandy, ‘Scotty' and I would call the Army Reserve Cup down at South Melbourne. (Station manager) Ron Casey would tell us to concentrate on the football because we would muck around so much. Sandy has a great sense of humour. ‘Scotty' was bombastic, and he and I would disagree on everything - I was looking for skilful players, and he was looking for players who would run through blokes.
It was such a thrill to be on the footy panel on World of Sport with Lou (Richards), Jack (Dyer), and Bob Davis. I used to watch them when I was a teenager, and here I am on the panel. They never had a meeting before the show - it was all ad lib.
Among the more memorable incidents you were involved in was the Army Reserve Cup game in which Collingwood's John Bourke went berserk.
Don Scott had gone to Adelaide, and we had Ray ‘Slug' Jordon on with us. John Bourke didn't kick the umpire, he tripped him up and pushed him over, then he jumped the fence.
I got to know John really well over the years, and I thought he was really poorly treated by the League. He became a junior footy coach around the northern suburbs, and played at Heidelberg in the Diamond Valley League. I see John a lot, and he's a fantastic guy.
Then there was the fiery clash between Hawthorn and Geelong in 1985, in which Leigh Matthews flattened Neville Bruns behind play. And the aftermath of that incident played out the next day on World of Sport when you interviewed Hawks coach, Allan Jeans.
I was calling the game with Jack Edwards and saw it happen. The ball had gone down to the Hawthorn forward line, and Neville Bruns ran past Leigh Matthews, and whack!
Then Steve Hocking came in, punched Leigh, and broke his nose.
I got to World of Sport the next day, and at the start of the show, each panellist would comment on the game they were assigned for about two minutes. I said that in no circumstances did I condone thuggery, and then Sam Newman, who was also part of the footy panel, said he wanted to congratulate Steve Hocking for breaking Leigh's nose.
Just after that, Allan Jeans came in and verbally abused me for what I'd said about Leigh. In the back of my mind was that Allan was coach of St Kilda in 1972, when Johnny Greening was belted and had his football career and life ruined in that incident down at Moorabbin.
As you get older and think about it all, it's so unimportant in life, but at the time, it was really tense. It was all quiet in the World of Sport studio, they knew it was going to be on. Lou and Jack were hovering around. I get pulled over so many times by people who saw the interview on the Club Corner with Allan Jeans and thought it was unbelievable.
After that, Jeans would ignore me at football functions, but a few years later I was invited to speak at Hawthorn Football Club on a Sunday morning, and you wouldn't believe who I sat next to - Allan Jeans and his wife Mary. She was delightful, and we talked as if nothing had ever happened. It was all forgotten, and away we went in life. We didn't actually talk about the incident, but we talked at that breakfast.
Any other incidents or funny moments you recall?
It wasn't funny at the time, but we were playing Melbourne at the MCG, and I was playing on Ray Biffin.
I was normally a quiet sort of guy, but I couldn't help myself. As we were walking down to take our positions, I said to Ray, "They've put the seconds blokes on me again, another dozen coming up."
He belted me in the guts before the ball was bounced to start the game. There was an all-in brawl in the goalsquare. We had a little bloke playing for us called Henry Coles, who eventually played for Melbourne, and he decked a couple of players. Ray wasn't reported, but he belted me because I opened my big mouth.
There were a lot of funny times commentating with Sandy Roberts. He would come with a Footy Record and a pen, and he was brilliant with the ad-lib.
What about the standard of commentary today? I know there are certain things you don't like.
I wouldn't allow anyone on TV who can't speak English. My wife says I've got to grow up, but I cannot stand the way commentators say ‘dee-fence'. The rugby league players say defence. In St Kilda Rd, it's the Department of Defence. It drives me nuts.
We called football for all those years when the word defence was used, and I can't stand watching it - I turn the commentary off. There is no ‘ee' in defence.
I hate the use of American terms, such as "He is playing like a quarterback."
I know I'm getting old and cranky, but I can't stand when they say "in front of the ball" or "behind the ball." Any chance we've got a forward line or a backline?
I think Brian Taylor and Matt Hill are good commentators. I think the special commentators talk too much. In my day, the expert commentator would not talk over the main caller - he would talk in the gaps in play. Now, sometimes the play is going on, and the expert commentator is yapping on, so you're not hearing who's got the ball. I think the commentary was much better in the old days.
How many games do you attend these days?
I go to every Collingwood home game. My wife and I have been going for 11 years with the Woodsmen, the main supporter group. There is about 200 of them, they are the nicest people, and they've all become close friends. Kim Long, who is the Woodsmen secretary, is good enough to be running the whole Collingwood Football Club. They're so one-eyed, the other team is not allowed to have a free kick.
When I watch football, I look at it from a commentator's point of view, and I'm unbiased. I can see what's right and what's wrong. We've been very privileged to be with them for so long. All of the money they've raised goes to the past players.
How do you think Collingwood is going this year?
They are a gutsy side. They are well coached under Craig McRae, and thank god for Nick Daicos - he's worth three or four players. He is outstanding, and I would hate him to be injured because it would make a big difference. They're a terrific side. They give their all every week.
They're not the best side in the competition, but they won a premiership by being gutsy and winning all of those close games.
What do you think about the Wildcard Round?
I'm not excited because I don't believe in this Wildcard Round. I think it's a load of rubbish to have 10 out of 18 teams playing finals. We don't need that - and don't start me on the rules. I'll be here for half an hour.
I can't stand the stand rule - they're like tin soldiers standing out there. And the bloke who's got the ball with a free kick or a mark, he's gaining five metres because the bloke on the mark is petrified to move a muscle. Kevin Bartlett and plenty of other former players agree with me and are totally opposed to it.
Otherwise, they're great athletes, and the skills on both sides of the body are better.
I'm also finding the overuse of handball is difficult to watch. We were taught as kids that when you're under pressure, you get your boot on the ball and get it going down your way. What they do these days is handball to the bloke who is a metre away. When they break clear on their own, and no one is near them, they handball to another player 10 metres away, who is often covered.
I was sitting with Peter Hudson during the Hawthorn-Collingwood game recently, and we couldn't get over the number of times players broke away and didn't kick down to the goalsquare, instead of handballing forward to blokes who are covered. All it does is create a pack.
The one good thing is I'm glad they've got rid of the bounce. The umpires are finding it easier - it's too hard to bounce a football. But I still enjoy watching football.
Who are the greatest players you've seen for Collingwood?
The best players I played with at Collingwood were Barry Price, Wayne Richardson, Len Thompson and ‘Tuddy'.
‘Tuddy' was a fantastic captain to play under. He was tough and hard - he had a few opposition players looking around. He was on the half-forward line when I was full-forward.
John Greening had the greatest ability of any player I played with. We had a great centre half-back in Teddy Potter - he played on all the champions and beat most of them. Nick Daicos is one out of the box. I probably haven't seen a better Collingwood player than Nick - he is a superstar.
There were some other great players in between. Gavin Brown was tough and hard. On the other wing, there was Darren Millane, and of course, Peter Daicos - his skills and goalkicking ability made him one out of the box too. I love telling Peter now that he's no longer the No. 1 Daicos.
What about Terry Waters, Billy Picken, and Peter Moore?
Terry was a magnificent mark. He could mark a ball on a wet day like it was dry. He passed away a few years back, and I loved his dry sense of humour. I miss him at Collingwood functions such as the Copeland Trophy night. He would come with his brother Bryan, who won a Liston Trophy with Dandenong in the VFA in 1959.
Billy Picken used to talk to himself out on the ground - here comes Billy!
I played briefly with Billy. Guys such as him, Paul Vander Haar, Peter Knights, and Jeremy Howe have that natural spring to be able to jump high. I had no spring at all, but those guys could leap three or four feet in the air from a standing jump.
I played with Peter Moore in his first season in 1974 when I was near the end of my time with Collingwood. He was only 17 and was a great athlete. He was very quick for a guy who was 198cm, and he developed into a great ruckman and forward. I know Pete well, and his son Darcy has been a great captain for Collingwood. Darcy is an outstanding person.
I remember Pete got me to go down to Collingwood training for an hour one day with Darcy when it appeared he was going to become a forward and help him with his kicking.
What about your coach, Bob Rose?
I had a phone call the other day from his son Peter, who is a great journalist and wrote a book on the Rose boys, to tell me that his mum, Elsie, would've been 100. She passed away in 2022.
We would always sing songs at Collingwood functions, and Elsie would be there listening to us ratbags sing songs. She was a sensational professional singer. She was known as the Judy Garland of Melbourne, and in the old days, she would sing at restaurants. She had a beautiful voice.
But Bobby is regarded by all of the old-timers, people from the 1940s and ‘50s, as the best player who played at Collingwood. He was a wonderful bloke. I just wish that we could've won a flag for him.
Just before he died, Len Thompson, ‘Tuddy' and I went to see him. I'll never forget, as he was in a rehabilitation place, and he died not long after that. He told us he wanted to apologise he couldn't get us a premiership, that's how humble he was. We couldn't believe we were hearing it, and we all said, ‘Bob, it's the other way around mate, we let you down. We didn't get you a premiership.' It's an amazing story.
And a couple of modern-day greats, Steele Sidebottom and Scott Pendlebury?
They've had outstanding careers, and both are Collingwood champions.
Sidebottom has decided to retire, and I'm hoping Scott will retire too. I don't think he should play on next year. He's had a wonderful career and has been a superstar for Collingwood. But there are a lot of young players they are finding in the seconds at Collingwood. I don't think it should be his choice or that you earn the right about whether you should play on, or not. The club should make the decision.
Over such a distinguished career, what were your highlights? Where would the honour of presenting the 2010 premiership cup to Mick Malthouse and Nick Maxwell rank?
The highlight was playing in that Grand Final in 1970, to play in front of more than 121,000 people. It was a highlight and a lowlight - because we lost after being 44 points in front at half-time, but having a concussion for that second half really hurt.
The lowlight was being left out of that preliminary final in 1973. To be honest, I don't think I really got over it until 2010. I was driving in the car, the phone rang, and it was Eddie McGuire. He told me that the board has decided that if we win the flag this year, that we want you to present the premiership cup. I nearly ran off the road. Going out onto that ground and presenting the cup to Nick Maxwell and Mick Malthouse made up for the disappointment in 1973.
I'm indebted to Eddie. He assured me it was a committee decision, but Eddie used to wear my number as a little boy, so I'm sure he had a lot to do with it.
