As a decade concludes there is always a new candidate for the greatest team of all time.
As is the case, the latest team is always the forerunner for the title of being the best.
But while we recall the achievements of the latest team, we forget the accomplishments of the teams from yesteryear.
In the AFL there is always the argument of who is the best team of all time.
But after 120 years of VFL/AFL football how can we possibly have a clear winner in the discussion of the greatest team in history?
How can anyone compare to the modern Richmond team to 'The Machine' that was the Collingwood team that won four flags between 1927-1930 when modern footballers are fully professional athletes who spend their lives focussed on fitness and have facilities that are second to none?
An easier way to determine football's greatest teams is by splitting the VFL and AFL era’s.
This two-part series will look at the teams that dominated the VFL era (1896-1989) and then the AFL era (1990–present). This series will not determine who is the best team in each era, instead, it will reflect on the feats of the teams and provide the reader insight into what these teams achieved in their heyday.
1. Collingwood 1927-1930
No other team from the early 20th century receives as much attention in modern analogy as the Collingwood team in the late 1920s and early 1930s. ‘The Machine’ as the football public referred to them won four consecutive premierships between 1927–30, albeit with the help of the Argus system.
The Argus system allowed the team who finished as minor premiers the right to challenge a result in the finals.
In 1929, Collingwood finished the home and away season undefeated but was beaten by Richmond by 62 points in the second semi-final. Under the Argus system, Collingwood had the opportunity to challenge the winner of Richmond vs Carlton in the Grand Final.
As fate would have it, Collingwood met Richmond in the Grand Final and avenged their semi-final defeat by beating the Tigers by 29 points.
The Magpies would do the same in 1930, losing to Geelong in the preliminary final, but challenged the result and beat the Cats in the Grand Final.
Though the Magpies were aided by a ludicrous system, the facts are that 'The Machine' will still go down as one of the best sides ever assembled.
Of the 82 games played between 1927–1930, the Magpies won 70.
Five players from that generation are in Collingwood's Team of the Century, including Gordon Coventry, who was the first player to play 300 games and kicked 1299 goals, a record which stood until Tony Lockett broke it in 1999.
