Collingwood defender Lynden Dunn in career best form

LYNDEN Dunn arrived at Collingwood as backline insurance but the ex-Demon has become one of the game’s most reliable key defenders and will be assigned a crucial role against his former club.

Lynden Dunn was a bargain pick up for the Magpies. Picture: AAP

LYNDEN Dunn has cost Collingwood a bag of Twisties.

In terms of baseball’s money ball theory, which preaches bargain-based recruiting, the Dunn deal is seriously hard to beat.

Collingwood dropped only four places in the 2016 draft for Dunn, 29, swapping pick No.47 (Mitch Hannan) for No.51 (Kayle Kirby) to Melbourne in exchange for the defender.

It was thought at the time that Dunn was backline insurance, since he’d played only four senior games in his final year at Melbourne.

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But since crossing Swan St, 192cm Dunn has become a leader at Collingwood and has not missed a game since Round 6 last season.

He has become one of the game’s most reliable key defenders and often matched against bigger opponents.

In Monday’s Queen’s Birthday clash against his old team, the 31-year-old will again be assigned a crucial role, on the in-form Jesse Hogan.

Hogan is one of two highest-paid players at Melbourne after signing a lucrative deal to stay in October 2016. He had a nightmare 2017, but has since justified the big coin.

But if there is about $1 million worth of talent in the MCG goal square on Monday, it’s fair to say only about $150,000 to $180,000 of that can be apportioned to Dunn.

Collingwood’s Lynden Dunn has been great value for the Magpies. Picture: Michael Klein

There’s probably a few thousand dollars a game on top of that in match payments, but he probably missed bonuses for playing 18 games last season (he played 17) and finishing top-10 in the best-and- fairest (he was 11th). Ouch.

To put it all in context, Dunn has cost the Pies only about 1.5 per cent of their $12.45 million salary cap this year, while conceding only 11 goals in 11 games.

He will get a new deal next season, but Collingwood will prioritise the re-signing of Jordan De Goey, Darcy Moore and Jamie Elliott.

Dunn might be an old-fashioned, socks down, lock-down backman, but coach Nathan Buckley has great faith in him.

Since Round 6 last season, Dunn has ranked sixth of all key defenders for aerial contests, losing only 22 of his 99 battles, according to Champion Data.

Number 100 will be against his old teammates.

Buckley will expect, and will most likely receive, another big effort from the cut-price recruit.

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