Collingwood ink recruit Jesse White joins proud club of Magpie tattoos

September 2024 · 4 minute read

COLLINGWOOD'S newest recruit Jesse White joins a proud club of tattooed Magpies. Where does he rank in the Pies' body art stakes?

White's arrival prompted Magpie fan Peter Hellier to kick-start a #moresleeves hashtag on Twitter that was quickly picked up by the club.

A key forward? Check. Sleeve tattoos? Check. He'll fit right in #gopies RT @pjhelliar Welcome to @CollingwoodFC Jesse White!! #moresleeves

— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) October 21, 2013

Collingwood says White will be a perfect fit on the field, but how will he fare when the players are fighting over who has the best tatts in the changerooms?

Who has the best (and worst) Magpie body art? Leave a comment below

Here's our countdown...

7. QUINTEN LYNCH

Has an Eagle tattooed on his side as a momento of his role in West Coast's 2006 premiership. Hardly trying.

6. JESSE WHITE

White's ink, which stretches down his left arm, appeared during the 2010 pre-season.

"It's a sign of new beginning in my life," he said at the time. "I started it halfway in the off-season and it's a bit of a work in progress.

"It's just a few personal things off the field and is new beginning in my life and it also can relate to my footy, it's a new beginning settling into the side and try to make a mark in the AFL for myself."

PIES LAND WHITE, PICK 6 IN TRADE COUP

The ink did the trick in 2010 - White played 20 matches that season, the best year of his six-year career so far. Perhaps some new ink is in order - his right arm is free.

5. JAMIE ELLIOTT/MARLEY WILLIAMS

Youngsters getting in on the sleeve craze at the Westpac Centre.

4. TRAVIS CLOKE

Cloke has adorned the top of his back with a giant pair of wings above the slogan "strength, determination, belief".

"I have thought about the sleeves, but Mum keeps saying, 'No, don't touch the arms. You can cover up now'," Cloke said in a 2011 interview.

"The way I see it, I can't see any of it now. I have got a few little ones with meanings and numbers and quotes - things that mean something to me and the writing on my back, which Cam has got as well."

3. HARRY O'BRIEN

Of all the tattoos now sported by AFL players, O'Brien without doubt has the most relevant and intriguing - a map of the African continent covers his back, surrounded by the words, in Brazil's native Portuguese: "I am a golden negro of mother Africa."

On his left arm is an image of the statue of Christ, arms outstretched, which dominates Rio de Janeiro's skyline.

"My whole life people have tried to label me," O'Brien says.

"They say, 'Oh, you are Brazilian, or you are this and you are that'.

"But labels just don't stick because I am multi-dimensional. I am everything. I am Australian. I am Brazilian. I am African. I am an AFL player.

2. DAYNE BEAMS

As well as extensive sleeve work, Beams has the motto of his junior footy club tattooed across his chest - Fortius Quo Fidelius, which means strength through loyalty, and also happens to be the motto of AFL rival St Kilda.

But he says not to read too much into that, or the "bad boy" image created by his ink.

''Some people get tattoos to tell a story. Me and 'Swanny' are the same, we've just got an interest in tattoos."

Which leads us to...

1. DANE SWAN

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The guy just loves tattoos. He has them on his arms, legs, chest, hands and the art includes his family motto, an ominous blue dragon, skulls and scripts.

This season Swan was involved in an elaborate prank for Channel 7 that removed all his tatts. But don't bank on that happening for real.

Talking about a new addition last year, Swan explained: "I had no room left on my arms, so I just thought I'd get the whole leg done this time.'' And he's not finished, either. "There are a few others I'd like to get. I want to get one inside my ear.''

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