Collingwood’s $2m free-agency plunge for Fremantle’s Chris Mayne looms as a bust
COLLINGWOOD went hard to sign Chris Mayne in a mega deal, yet eight rounds into the season the former Docker has mainly languished in the VFL.
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CHRIS Mayne was close to tears when he trudged off Subiaco Oval in Round 23 last year.
Fremantle had hammered the premiership-bound Western Bulldogs by 20 points, but Mayne knew he would never play for the Purple Haze again.
The unrestricted free agent had been linked to a move to Victoria for months.
“I’ve been told Chris Mayne to North Melbourne is done,” SEN breakfast host Tim Watson declared on August 25.
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Fremantle also suspected the Kangaroos were closing in on Mayne when talks with his manager, Colin Young, went cold early in the season.
The Dockers had set their sights on homesick Hawthorn speedster Bradley Hill and quietly hoped North Melbourne’s contract offer for Mayne would be enough to secure a second-round compensation pick they could then send to the Hawks.
But the plan went pear-shaped when North Melbourne’s season collapsed and the Roos ended the careers of Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie, Nick Dal Santo and Michael Firrito.
North’s sudden change of direction meant Mayne, a 172-game, nine-year veteran, had no chance of lobbing at Arden St.
Panic in the Mayne camp turned to surprise when a cashed-up Collingwood entered the fray in late September.
Graeme “Gubby” Allan had been parachuted into the top job in the Magpies football department over the top of Neil Balme and was a key driver behind the Mayne deal.
The paperwork that sent him to the Holden Centre was lodged six weeks later, just before the 5pm deadline on October 12.
Fremantle pocketed pick 23 — flicked to Hawthorn the next day for Hill — and Mayne was guaranteed $500,000 a season for four years.
Collingwood and Young dismiss speculation that the $2 million deal was struck by Allan behind the back of coach Nathan Buckley and list boss Derek Hine.
The Pies say it was ticked off by the list management committee, which includes Buckley, who met with Mayne in Melbourne before the transaction was approved.
Young told the Herald Sun this week: “It was my understanding that the deal was approved by the club, not just Graeme Allan.”
Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert said last month: “We have a list management group and every single player being viewed, who leaves or is brought into the club, that is unanimously decided by that group.”
Mayne, 28, played the season-opener against the Western Bulldogs and the next two matches before dumped to the VFL in Round 4. He is yet to return and was again overlooked for selection for Saturday’s crucial clash with Hawthorn.
One observer said the Magpies’ slow-movement game plan and poor entries inside 50m could be a contributing factor behind Mayne’s failure to perform.
David Cloke said the same thing about his son Travis’ dramatic fall from grace under Buckley.
Whatever the reason for Mayne’s early-season failure, the big-bucks gamble is shaping as a bust and adds another layer of pressure to a club under siege.
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