Magpies' theme at dogs

The Collingwood Cup will be run on Wednesday, August 12, as part of a meeting in which the greyhound racing club is hosting the Bendigo Collingwood Supporters Group.

Adding to the Collingwood flavour of the meeting, the Collingwood Cup (430m) will be open to only white greyhounds with black markings.

The meeting will also feature several match races, hopefully pitting the likes of Collingwood-inspired greyhounds named Joffa, Dids, Uno Pies, Leica Magpie, Shaw Can Run, Neon Leon Boy, Didak and Brad Dick against each other.

Among the attractions at the meeting will be Collingwood’s 1990 premiership cup and flag on display, in which people can have their photos taken with.

On hand at yesterday’s launch of the Collingwood Cup at Lord’s Raceway was well-known Magpies supporter Jeff “Joffa’’ Corfe.

“I remember at last year’s Collingwood night at the greyhounds in Bendigo it was a fantastic night . . . all the kids had a great time,’’ Joffa said.

“Hopefully, this year we can build on the crowd we had last year and have a bigger turn out.’’

Joffa will again attend the night, and bring with him his trademark - his gold jacket he proudly dons to celebrate each Collingwood victory.

“The gold jacket has been very good for me,’’ Joffa said.

“The story behind it is Eddie (McGuire, Collingwood president) gave it to me from the Channel Nine wardrobe nearly 10 years ago.

“It started off as a gimmick, but the fact we have been able to keep it going for 10 years means we’ve done something right.

“When we saw that this thing was developing a cult following and the kids were loving it, I had to change the way I behaved for it to work.

“A ratbag running around the football wouldn’t have lasted four weeks with the jacket, so we’ve really put a lot into making sure it works.

“The whole ethos behind the gold jacket is that it’s everybody’s gold jacket.

“And I think too that after a while, people have seen that, `okay, this bloke is a Collingwood nut, but away from that, he’s just a passionate supporter like everyone else who loves football and meeting people’.’’

Away from football - where he is arguably the game’s most recognisable supporter - Joffa is an after-hours welfare worker for the Salvation Army at the Anchorage Men’s Hostel in Abbotsford.

“That’s something I really enjoy doing, and there are many other things I do in the community, which keep me busy,’’ Joffa said.

“I’m the sort of person who needs to be kept busy.
With Norma Peter and Shayne