ever season, finishing last. Hickey defied the club's tradition against hiring an outsider as coach, appointing Hafey to coach the club for the 1977 season. Hafey was an instant success, taking the club from last to first in one year – the first time this had been achieved in the VFL. Collingwood had lost eleven of their last thirteen finals matches, many by slender margins, leading to the press to say the team was afflicted with a "disease" called "Colliwobbles". The disease appeared defeated when the team beat the favoured Hawthorn by two points in the semi-final. In the 1977 Grand Final, Collingwood led North Melbourne by 27 points at three quarter time. Trainers and committeemen began to celebrate early and North Melbourne fought back to a draw. In the replay the following week, Collingwood lost a high-scoring contest. Collingwood lost to North Melbourne in the 1978 Preliminary Final, leading to a number of personnel changes during the offseason. In 1979, the team returned to the 1979 Grand Final. After taking a second quarter led, Collingwood fell behind at the half. They ultimately lost by five points against Carlton. In the 1980 Grand Final, Hafey took on his old team of Richmond. Kevin Bartlett won the Norm Smith medal as the Tigers won by a record margin. The Magpies under Hafey again made the Grand Final in 1981 against Carlton. After holding a 21-point lead in the third, Collingwood gave up two late goals before the three quarter break. The resulting disharmony in the Magpie huddle allowed the Blues to dominate the fourth quarter and win the game. After years of disappointment players and fans began to criticise Hafey's methods. Several leading players said Hafey over-trained the team, particularly in the lead-up to finals matches. Others said Hafey was too slow to respond when the team was going under. During the 1982 season, a record losing streak of nine games sealed Hafey's fate and he was sacked mid-season. Geelong Hafey was given a three-year contract to coach Geelong in 1983. However, he was unable to engender the type of team spirit he created at Collingwood and Richmond, and the team did not make the finals during his tenure. During 1985, it became clear that Hafey's contract would not be renewed. Sydney Swans During the 1985 season, the VFL had sold the Sydney Swans to controversial medical entrepreneur Geoffrey Edelsten to