Harold Rumney

Harold Rumney's journey to football immortality began with a false start at Carlton, where he played 15 games before being brutally discarded. The Blues administration famously told the teenager he was "too old, too weak and too gutless" to make it at VFL level, a misjudgement that would haunt them for a decade. A boyhood Collingwood supporter who had attended Collingwood Technical School, Rumney crossed to Victoria Park in 1927 and immediately proved his critics wrong. Under the tutelage of Jock McHale, he became an integral member of the legendary "Machine" team, playing in the club's record-breaking four consecutive premierships from 1927 to 1930.

Known affectionately as "Dasher," Rumney was a fearless and pacy half-back flanker who drove the side's transition from defence to attack. His speed and desperation made him one of the premier defenders of his era, though he was versatile enough to play as a ruck-rover or forward when required. His individual brilliance was confirmed in 1931 when he won the Copeland Trophy as Collingwood's Best and Fairest, becoming the only player outside the famous Collier and Coventry brothers to win the award in its first nine years. After a brief stint coaching Northcote in the VFA, he returned to the Magpies to add a fifth premiership in 1935, cementing his status as one of the club's most decorated players.