Lance Collins
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Lance Kitchener Collins (19 June 1916 – 3 January 1988) was a leading
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
er of the 1940s, playing for
Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...
in the
Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFL). Born in Beulah, Victoria, Collins joined
Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFA) club
Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...
in 1935 and played 98 games for them, kicking 432 goals (including 116 goals in 1936), a club goal kicking record.''Blueseum'', "Lance Collins", http://www.blueseum.org/tiki-index.php?page=Lance+Collins Accessed 30 May 2012 Called "a fine athlete with a big leap and strong hands... a precise kick for goal, and a deadly snapshot on the run", Collins spurned offers from numerous VFL clubs and was appointed captain-coach of Coburg in 1940. He led Coburg to the 1941 VFA Grand Final where they lost to
Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Port Phillip, Port Phillip Local government ...
by 19 points. Coburg went into recess in 1942 due to
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and Carlton recruited Collins.Shaw, p. 143 Wearing guernsey number four, Collins made his VFL debut in Round three
1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
against
Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...
at Windy Hill, kicking one goal. Collins played nine games in 1942, kicking 13 goals, and had played a further seven games, kicking 16 goals in
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 †...
before enlisting in the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
on 22 June 1943. Collins was posted to 53 Australian Bulk Issues Petroleum and Oil Depot Platoon, gaining the rank of Staff Sergeant."Collins, Lance Kitchener", ''Australian War Memorial'', http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?ServiceId=A&VeteranId=527827 Accessed 16 January 2009 Initially based in
Buna, Papua New Guinea Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna–Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with an airstrip. Buna was the trailhead to the Ko ...
the 53rd BIPOD Platoon was part of the 4th Base Sub Area, supporting the Bougainville campaign. Returning to Australia in 1945, Collins sought to continue playing for Carlton in the
1945 VFL season The 1945 VFL season was the 49th season of the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 21 A ...
rather than return to Coburg, which Coburg initially refused and it was not until well into the season, after intense negotiations, that Coburg granted a transfer, and Collins was immediately named in the centre in Carlton's league side. Collins kicked six goals in their Round 10 match against
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
, which was said to "galvanise the side" and led ultimately to the 1945 premiership. Collins continued to play well throughout the season in either the forward line or on the ball and, known as a big game player, Collins was particularly important for Carlton in the 1945 finals series. He kicked eight goals in the first Semi-Final against
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
(garnering the praise "His pace and anticipation in the final was electric") and four goals in the Preliminary Final against Collingwood. Collins lined up on a half forward flank for Carlton's victory in the 1945 VFL Grand Final but tore tendons in his ankle early in the first quarter and, although he remained on the ground with his ankle strapped, played little further part in the match before being replaced at half-time. Club leading goalkicker in 1945 with 49 goals, Collins retired from VFL football to accept a coaching position with
Tasmanian Football League The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), was the highest-level Australian rules football competition in the state of Tasmania. It disbanded following the end of the 2024 TSL season, 2024 season ...
side Sandy Bay, which he took to a premiership in 1946. He later accepted a coaching position with
Ballarat Football League The Ballarat Football League (BFL) is an Australian rules football competition that operates in the Ballarat region of Victoria (state), Victoria. The competition formed in 1893 as the Ballarat Football Association and was renamed Ballarat F ...
side
Golden Point Football Club The Golden Point Football Club was an Australian rules football club which competed in the Ballarat Football League from 1905 to 2000. Golden Point was based in the Ballarat suburb of the same name. They merged with East Ballarat in 2001 to ...
. At Golden Point there is evidence that Collins invented the
checkside punt The punt kick is a common style of kicking in Australian rules football. It is a kick where the ball is dropped from the players' hands and kicked slightly off the longer centre line of the ball before it hits the ground. It is the primary me ...
during the late 1940s, two decades before it was first used in the VFL. Collins was named vice-captain in Coburg's Team of the Century.Devaney, J. "Coburg 'Official Team of the Century'", ''Full Points Footy'' http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/all_star_teams.htm#Coburg Accessed 17 January 2009


References

* Shaw, I. (2006) ''Bloodbath'', Scribe, Melbourne. .


Footnotes and citations


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Lance 1916 births 1988 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Carlton Football Club players Carlton Football Club premiership players Sandy Bay Football Club players Coburg Football Club players Coburg Football Club coaches Golden Point Football Club players Golden Point Football Club coaches Sandy Bay Football Club coaches Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers VFL/AFL premiership players Military personnel from Victoria (state)