The Raging Bull 1965-1991

Born: 9th August 1965
188cm, 89kgs
Collingwood 1984 – 1991 (147 games, 78 goals)
Copeland trophy winner 1987
Best first year player 1984
Most improved player 1986
Most courageous player 1990
Collingwood Hall of Fame
Collingwood Team of the Century - Wing
Victorian representative 1986, 1988, 1989

It is one of the most treasured images in Collingwood's history, Darren Millane throwing the ball into the air at the end of the 1990 grand final, signalling that, at last, the Premiership flag was coming back to Victoria Park.  It was, we thought, an image that could never bring Collingwood people anything but happiness, yet one year later that same image had assumed such an air of poignancy that it was impossible to view without having to choke back the tears.

When Darren Millane died in a car accident in the early hours of 7 October 1991, all at Collingwood were numbed.The rest of the football world was similarly shattered, not just because of the loss of a great footballer and great clubman, but because it challenged the notions of our heroes as being indestructible. We thought the man, like that final 1990 Premiership image, would endure forever.

For many it was impossible to comprehend. A year earlier, almost to the day, it was Millane who has appropriately held centre stage when Collingwood's 32 year premiership drought ended. Now the same flag which he had done so much to bring to Victoria Park was being lowered half mast in his honour. Millane the man frequently touted as the club's next captain, the seemingly indestructible young bull had been cut down in his prime. He was just 26.

What made it harder to accept was that Millane had always played his football, and indeed lived his life, as if nothing could stop him. He was one of that select band of footballers whose impact on a game extended far beyond the many kicks, marks and handballs that he gathered. He added to the Collingwood team a physical dimension that made opponents tread wearily and team mates walk more confidently, while at the same time, he made the impossible seem probable.

Millane was one of those players who could lift a team not by just what he did, but by the way he did it. He kicked goals after bursting through tackles, cleared a path for others by busting up packs, and took marks by wrenching the ball from the hands of opponents. It was more than just spectacular, it was artistry with muscle. That physical element, that presence, is not something that can be learned or manufactured. Rather it is something inherent in the player himself.

Certainly it was always part of Millane's approach to the game.

'I've always gone in pretty hard, straight at the ball' he said in 1991. " I think you have to now. It's one way where I can protect, if you like, lighter players. There's probably only a handful of players who are built physically strong enough to do it, and it's very important for a team to have that kind of player, because you can put other players ( opponents ) off their game.

To understand Millane's importance to Collingwood, you need only look as far as his team mates' assesssments. 'I have seen him do some remarkable things', wrote Peter Daicos in his 1991 autiobiography. 'He is genuinely tough, there is no bravado in the way he approaches his football. He actually loves and thrives on the hard things, he has lifted Collingwood out of  despair on numerous occasions'. Both Gavin Brown and Dennis Banks rated him simply the best player in the league. He was good to have around because he was so aggressive' says Brown. He made the opposition a bit timid, and gave his own team mates confidence. You always knew he was there.

Off the field Darren Millane was one of Collingwood's great characters. He was confident, outgoing, almost brash at times--all qualities that were reflected in his game. He attacked his social life with the same gusto as he did in his football. As Daicos wrote in Collingwood and me.'Darren Millane is one guy who has packed 15 years of living into his six or seven years at the club. Pants has an active social life, loves a beer, is popular with the girls and amazes us all with his ability to combine his social activities with football.  The nickname 'Pants' incidentally, came from a couple of especially garish pairs he wore during his early days at the club.

Winning that flag was said to have made Millane and his team mates immortal. What happened a year later shattered that illusion, at least in a physical sense. But at Collingwood Millane will live on, in memories and in his influence on others. Those who saw him will never forget his play, those who played with him will forever draw inspiration from his example. As a player and a clubman, Darren Millane did much to inspire Collingwood to that 1990 Premiership, in the years to come his memory may yet inspire another.

It was simply a thrill to watch Millane, his courage, his never say die attitude, to watch him play the 1990 finals series with a broken hand will be something we'll never ever forget. I also suspect we have never fully recovered since we tragically lost Millane or if we have, it took a long time, we need a toughnut with class unfortunately the likes of  Millane dont come around often enough.