考林伍德足球队在1990年澳式足球联赛大奖赛中以48分的优势击败埃森顿队，终于打破了长达32年的无冠魔咒[1]。自1958年赢得上一个冠军以来，考林伍德在32年间参加了9次大奖赛却全部失利，这段黑暗时期被球迷称为"Colliwobbles"魔咒[1]。主教练利·马修斯在这场胜利中获得了职业生涯的首个教练冠军，而队长托尼·肖则获得诺姆·史密斯奖章并被评为全场最佳球员[1]。肖曾在1980年和1981年参加过两场失利的大奖赛，如今终于在球队的复兴中扮演关键角色[1]。
埃森顿队在1990赛季战绩为17胜5负，排名榜首，是当年实力最强的球队[1]。然而，考林伍德与西海岸队在资格赛中打成平手，导致埃森顿因此休息了三周，失去了比赛节奏[1]。到了9月23日与考林伍德的半决赛前，埃森顿已经休息了22天，这个长假期最终影响了他们的表现[1]。比赛结束后不久，考林伍德在维多利亚公园举办了一场葬礼仪式，象征性地埋葬了"Colliwobbles"魔咒，吸引了10,000名球迷出席庆祝这一历史性时刻[1]。
Collingwood Football Club claimed its first premiership in 32 years by defeating Essendon in the 1990 Australian Football League Grand Final, breaking a curse that had haunted the club since its last championship in 1958 [1]. The decisive victory, achieved with a 48-point margin, ended an era marked by nine failed Grand Final appearances over three decades, a period fans had come to know as the "Colliwobbles" [1].
The Grand Final victory proved particularly significant for team captain Tony Shaw, who received the Norm Smith Medal as best-on-ground after having previously played in two losing Grand Finals in 1980 and 1981 [1]. Coach Leigh Matthews also secured his first premiership as a senior coach through the triumph [1]. Essendon, which had finished the regular season with a 17-5 record as the competition's leading team, arrived at the Grand Final on 29 September following an extended break of 22 days that disrupted the team's momentum [1]. The leading team had been forced into this layoff after Collingwood drew with West Coast in a qualifying final, necessitating a replay that caused fixture delays [1].
The significance of Collingwood's breakthrough extended beyond the field. Several weeks after claiming the premiership, the club organized a ceremonial burial at Victoria Park, where approximately 10,000 supporters gathered to symbolically inter the "Colliwobbles" curse [1].