Lynden Dunn signs with Collingwood as a rookie for 2020
Collingwood has signed veteran defender Lynden Dunn, who was delisted at the end of last year, for the 2020 season as he continues his comeback from a second torn ACL. Meanwhile, three young guns have inked new deals.
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Veteran defender Lynden Dunn is officially a Collingwood player again after being signed as a rookie for the 2020 season.
The Magpies have also re-signed youngsters Callum Brown, Tyler Brown and Nathan Murphy until the end of 2022.
Dunn, who is recovering from a knee reconstruction suffered in March last year, was told on Sunday night he had been signed under the AFL’s pre-season supplemental period rules.
The 32-year-old has been training with the Magpies over the pre-season, with the club telling him to take a methodical approach to his return rather than taking risks to show he’s capable of playing in 2020.
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He was delisted at the end of last season after suffering a second torn anterior cruciate ligament in 12 months.
The popular clubman will add valuable depth to the Magpies’ defensive stocks behind young star Darcy Moore and Jordan Roughead.
Dunn was Collingwood’s No.1 defender in 2018 as he revived his career as a reliable full back who can play on the opposition’s best forward, while his long kicking out of defence was one of the Magpies’ weapons.
He’s played 196 career games but hasn’t featured at AFL level since first tearing his ACL against Gold Coast in Round 15 2018.
Dunn’s signing becomes even more critical given the uncertainty around Tom Langdon’s playing future.
Langdon’s career could be cut short by what coach Nathan Buckley last week described as “a degenerative injury”.
The 25-year-old, who hasn’t played since Round 9 last year, revealed he has considered pulling the pin on his 89-game career.
“It’s an option (to retire), absolutely,” Langdon told Channel 7.
“It’s been a tough eight months to be honest, to wrap my head around that being an option.
“Being 25, young and reasonably healthy, that’s been a hard reality to come to terms with.”
Collingwood has high hopes for newly re-signed trio the Brown brothers and Murphy.
“The future is theirs to write but right now Cal, Tyler and Nathan are seen as important to what is next for Collingwood,” Magpies list boss Ned Guy said.
“They have cut their teeth and, to a degree, the improvement we need to find as a side in 2020 will come from the players who have now got some experience in the system and are ready to flourish.”
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Originally published as Lynden Dunn signs with Collingwood as a rookie for 2020