When Collingwood runs out for the fresh season in March next year and begins the new era under Craig McRae, its most dynamic player Jordan De Goey won’t be there.
By what means and how lasting that absence will be - that will play out over the coming weeks.
De Goey’s self-promotion tour of the US came to an abrupt halt in a New York court room on Sunday after a night in a Manhattan cell.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of forcible touching and assault in a drunken dance floor incident that led to his arrest I’ll leave you to read the particulars of groping a woman and punching and kicking her male companion.
He is at the mercy of the New York judicial system and that is an uncomfortable place to be. De Goey’s first and principle issue is whether he’ll be found guilty, convicted and serve jail time.
His second issue will be with the AFL Integrity Investigation, a process with which the 25-year-old is familiar with.
The third will be with his employer Collingwood.
De Goey has been to the brink with his club previously, but that was under a regime that protected the asset at all costs.
Collingwood has made a determined effort to change over recent months You’d say it has been in the midst of cultural upheaval. Through this episode we will learn how committed the club is to recast its values and standards.
Will Collingwood tear up De Goey’s contract?
For the player’s part, De Goey in recent days had spoken about understanding how significant the final year of his contract was.
They were just words.
The training boot camp and the fawning coverage that the penny had finally dropped seems sycophantic now.
Come Round 1, De Goey might still be in the hands of New York justice If he’s not, he’ll either be serving a lengthy suspension or he will have been sacked.
This incident is being used as the trigger to reignite the no fault stand policy. The AFL has resisted such an approached and it has proven vexed for the NRL.
It is a worthy and necessary debate, but just as was the case with the previous charges De Goey was facing before they were dropped, the threshold for such a policy would be higher than this current instance.
It wouldn’t apply to this case. It is a worthy and necessary debate, but ut not relevant in this particular instance.
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