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'Good kid' De Goey will learn from AFL ban: Buckley

Jordan de Goey of the Magpies celebrates his goal with team mate Taylor Adams during the Round 20 AFL match between the Sydney Swans and the Collingwood Magpies at the SCG in Sydney, Friday, Aug. 14, 2015. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
24th March, 2017
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Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says Jordan De Goey is a “good kid” but will learn a valuable lesson from his club-imposed AFL suspension.

The 21-year-old landed himself in hot water when he invented an excuse for his broken hand, only to come clean when rumours began to circulate about the true cause of the injury.

De Goey initially claimed he had caught his hand on the edge of a door while throwing a toy for his pet dog – an explanation publicly repeated by Buckley.

But he admitted to club officials late on Monday that he had in fact been in a fight at a bar in St Kilda over the weekend.

Collingwood came down hard on De Goey, fining him $5000, ordering him to undertake community service and slapping him with a three-match suspension.

The ban will take effect once De Goey is fully recovered, meaning he will miss about a third of the season.

Speaking publicly about the saga for the first time, Buckley said he hoped the third-year midfielder would be a better player for it.

“He’s a young kid who made a couple of errors in judgement,” Buckley said after the Magpies’ 14-point loss to the Western Bulldogs on Friday night.

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“He’ll learn from it.

“He’s a good kid and he made bad decisions. We’ve got a plan in place for him and it’s an opportunity for him to grow and to learn.

“We’ll keep providing that for all of our players and staff, not just ‘Jordy’. But he’s said himself he’s got a little bit of ground to make up for the decisions that he made.”

The Magpies midfield put up a valiant fight against the Bulldogs, smashing the reigning premiers in two of their strongest areas: contested possessions and clearances.

Scott Pendlebury, Adam Treloar, Taylor Adams, Tom Phillips and Steele Sidebottom were all impressive and gave Collingwood every chance of stealing an upset victory.

But Buckley said the Magpies would be a much better side once they regained the services of star recruit Daniel Wells (calf), Levi Greenwood (hip) and De Goey.

“We went in a little skinner through the midfield then we think we’re going to for the most part of the year,” he said.

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“We need to keep developing that. De Goey, Greenwood will make a difference, Wells will make a difference.

“Those boys are clearly on their own path, and we need to get them back as soon as possible because we’re not going to be relying on five blokes to do that work.”

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