Since its formation as a football club in 1892, Collingwood has seen its heartland – in terms of membership at least – drift to the city’s north-east, an area club historian Michael Roberts said had become the Magpies’ “rust belt”. Of the almost 65,000 Magpies members in 2018 only 83 live in the suburb of Collingwood. Credit:Craig Sillitoe Of the roughly 65,000 members in 2018, 582 live in Reservoir, 498 in Mill Park and 485 in Greensborough, making those the top three suburbs for Magpie members. The suburb of Richmond had 345 Collingwood members, taking it to 16th on the list, while the suburb of Collingwood itself was tied with Hughesdale and the south-west rural town of Hamilton at 201st on the list with just 83 members. Mr Roberts said not all fans were members, particularly the elderly. But the historian and Magpie fanatic said he was “emotionally but not intellectually” surprised by the membership figures.

“Initially you took your life in your hands if you lived in Collingwood and didn’t support Collingwood,” he said. “But Collingwood has changed demographically over the years, it’s now a young, inner-urban, almost hipster suburb – and that’s not your classic [Magpies’] demographic. “That’s certainly not the Collingwood of the 1920s and ‘30s.” As the city spread and inner-city real estate prices rose, Mr Roberts said the early Collingwood fans moved out along the Epping and Hurstbridge railway lines in search of bigger homes and backyards. The Tigers, in contrast, have managed to retain Richmond as the heartland of its membership. But they too have seen a drift to outwards within a geographically-confined area.

The reigning premiers became the first club to break the 100,000-member mark this year. Of those, 2552 live in the 3121 postcode, which encompasses Richmond as well as Burnley and Cremorne. The Cranbourne area had the second highest number with 1212 Tigers members living in the 3977 postcode. The Croydon area came in at third with 985 members. Richmond general manager Shane Dunne said the club had seen a multi-generational “migration” of its supporters within the “Richmond corridor”.