They’ve always said ‘premierships are a cakewalk’ and now we truly get to see what it took for Collingwood to win their 16th AFL/VFL premiership.
The Collingwood Football Club announced on February 21 that their 13 year drought-breaking flag in 2023 has been made into a documentary that will detail the incredible journey through the Finals Series — something for both diehard members and all footy fans around the globe.
Titled ‘Take the Steps’, the 90-minute long film takes viewers behind the scenes of the team’s 2023 finals campaign, focusing on their program and integral players and staff.
The story follows the journey of four individuals; one of the best current AFL head coaches Craig McRae, club captain Darcy Moore, Scott Pendlebury and Nick Daicos.
‘Take the Steps’ is set to be premiered to an exclusive group of 400 people on February 28 at HOYTS Cinema at Melbourne Central, before being shown across the country.
It’s not every year supporters get a peep behind the curtain at how their club reached the ‘holy grail’, but luckily for Collingwood fans they get the perfect welcoming present to the 2024 season of reliving an incredible premiership run.
Collingwood documentary details
Release details
Thursday February 29, exclusively at HOYTS Cinema
Excitingly for Collingwood supporters, you don’t have to wait long to witness this upcoming with film, with the nationwide release set for Feb 29.
The 90-minute film will be shown exclusively at HOYTS Cinemas across the country in the weeks following the premiere on February 28 at Melbourne Central.
Is there a trailer?
Yes there is. Enjoy!
Why is it called ‘Take the Steps’?
According to Collingwood’s official press release on the documentary, the title ‘Take the Steps’ comes from the motivational phrase the team used throughout their finals campaign.
The playing group were challenged in the pre-season and climbed the steps of the MCG on the eve of their 28-week season. It became a metaphor of the hard work that was required to achieve the ultimate success of winning an AFL premiership for the first time since the ‘Rematch Grand Finals’ of 2010.
In the documentary, Craig McRae is quoted saying “There’s no lift to the top of the AFL. But if you take the stairs, there could be a premiership cup.”
What will the documentary show?
The entire documentary centres around Collingwood’s 2023 finals campaign, which included three matches across four weeks — all of which were decided by seven or less points.
Not only will it depict the process the club undertook to climb to the pinnacle of the game, it will also follow the journey of four individuals from the team, head coach Craig McRae, captain Darcy Moore, veteran legend Scott Pendlebury, and young gun Nick Daicos.
Whether it’s inside the three quarter-time huddle on Grand Final day, in the physio room during Nick Daicos’ rehab, or driving home with McRae following the prelim final, the film gives viewers the ultimate behind the scenes look at one of the greatest Septembers in Collingwood history.
It’s been a red hot start to top grade coaching for Craig McRae, who fell short of making the Grand Final in his first year, but bounced back in only his second year to become a premiership-winning coach. He’s only the sixth head coach to lead Collingwood to victory in their history.
Club captain Darcy Moore led the team for the first time as captain in 2023 and was determined to end his father’s premiership curse; Peter Moore lost four Grand Finals in his career.
As Scott Pendlebury reaches the end of his incredible time as a Magpie, the 35-year-old’s experience is shown in the documentary and how it helped the team have success once again.
And finally, Nick Daicos – the next best thing in the AFL – had an incredible season but was racing against the clock to return to the field from injury in the finals.
