Jumper clash between Collingwood and Carlton ticked off pre-game by AFL
Carlton and Collingwood’s uniform clash once saw Eddie McGuire demand change. But tradition has won out. Here’s who to blame for the growing cause for concern of jumper clashes.
Potential jumper clashes are nutted out in pre-season and the AFL ticks off outfits for each game but home team preferences and tradition can stand in the way of viewers.
Traditional rivals Collingwood and Carlton met last Friday with the home side Magpies wearing a black-based jumper and black shorts, while the Blues wore a navy blue jumper and white shorts.
That uniform combination caused former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire to declare in 2018 that he was going to commission a new Magpies jumper “to avoid the clash”.
Some fans bemoaned a similar clash in round 18 when Fremantle played in a purple jumper and white shorts against Collingwood’s black outfit, instead of the usual white clash strip the Dockers have worn in visits to play the Pies over recent years.
Collingwood was also involved in a clash with Essendon when both clubs wore themed jumpers on Anzac Day, while Carlton and Richmond both donned traditional, predominantly dark outfits in round 1.
Early in the week before each round, clubs are sent emails from the AFL with match day information including what each team will wear, down to the socks.
It is usually up to the home team to decide which jumper it will wear, in dialogue with the AFL and the AFL’s football department ticks off each game.
The higher-ranked side retains the rights of a home team in finals and it is likely Port Adelaide would wear its white clash outfit against Collingwood if the Power slip to fourth ahead of an MCG qualifying final.
The weekly outfit conflicts are mapped out within the AFL over the summer months before the season, which includes themed guernseys, such as for Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
While Collingwood prefers to wear its black outfit in most home games, Geelong has eschewed tradition in recent years and chosen to wear white shorts at home against almost all opponents, outside of red-based sides Sydney and Gold Coast.
One club involved in a recent clash said players had no issues during play with clashes seen as more of a concern for those watching on TV rather than at the ground.
While every team has away and clash strips, clubs suggested tradition plays a key part in jumper issues, with Melbourne teams keen to wear historical outfits each week.
Younger clubs such as GWS are willing to play around with uniforms.
The Giants will don ‘charcoal’ in the Sydney Derby against the Swans on Saturday – a strip the club trumpeted as “the best jumper in the competition” – even though GWS is the home side.
Clashes are not always limited to old-school clubs, with GWS’ predominantly orange kit bleeding significantly into Hawthorn’s brown and yellow during Gather Round in round 5.
Richmond and West Coast – two clubs with prominent yellow on their strips – faced off in May with umpires also wearing yellow.
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