Jordan De Goey opens up to Collingwood teammate Tyson Goldsack about life and footy
Most footballers are renowned for sticking to a tight training regimen during the byes. Jordan De Goey kept in shape by training with an Indonesian football club. FULL TYSON GOLDSACK Q&A.
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Collingwood’s Jordan De Goey is one of the AFL’s biggest emerging stars and yet we don’t hear much from him outside the odd post-game interview on the footy field.
Until now.
He sat down for an exclusive one-on-one chat with Sunday Herald Sun columnist and teammate TYSON GOLDSACK to talk about his life, his love of motorbikes, footy, growing up quickly, the pain of losing last year’s Grand Final and more.
Read the full Q&A with De Goey below.
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FAMILY
TYSON GOLDSACK: What sort of influence was your dad, Roger, on your career?
JORDAN DE GOEY: He had a couple of games with Essendon reserves. He was there at a s*** time because the team was really good and he couldn’t get a game. He had a few injuries and had to find a way to make some money. So he joined the fire brigade and he’s still there.
TG: You dabbled in some rugby in high school, didn’t you?
JDG: Going to St Kevin’s, it was their big sport. I was like, ‘I’ll give it a go’. I also played a bit of tennis and basketball.
LIFE IN THE FAST LANE
TG: You love motorbikes, talk us through that.
JDG: I’ve got a Harley, recently purchased. I’m still on my Ps. I’m 23, but unfortunately I’ve lost my licence as a youngster. That comes back to bite when you get a bit older and you start seeing nice cars and stuff.
TG: How often do you ride?
JDG: Whenever I can. I grew up racing dirt bikes, that was my main passion as a kid. Me and my old man would go all around Victoria to race. It was just a natural progression to get a Harley.
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TG: There’s a Youtube video of you backflipping a BMX, isn’t there?
JDG: Yeah. I do love life in the fast lane. I taught myself to backflip at a young age. Then I got a pushie and thought it might work on a BMX. I actually want to flip my dirt bike … it’s going to be interesting … maybe I will have to wait until I have retired.
TG: Tell us about your mid-season break in Bali?
JDG: I did some training with the Bali Geckos, the local team. You just go out there and muck around with the blokes who love their footy. You can go anywhere in Australia, but the culture is the same. But when you go to Bali, the people are different, the smells are different, everything’s different.
GROWING UP
TG: We were struggling a bit as a team when you got to Collingwood. Who did you learn from in your first few years?
JDG: I was more of a midfielder than a forward when I got drafted, so it was ‘Pendles’. He has always been there guiding me a bit. I was keen to make an impact. I was young and dumb at the time, nothing really fazed me. Then I had a couple of indiscretions and a couple of wake-ups calls.
TG: How tough was it getting through those off-field ‘situations’?
JDG: You don’t realise how big the scrutiny is until you’re in that situation. You can’t watch the TV or listen to radio because all you hear is your name and people questioning whether you are going to be good enough, or whether you are a good kid, and stuff like that when, really, they don’t know anything about me.
TG: Who did you turn to?
JDG: I got a lot closer to my family, because they stuck by me. I was always a kid who kind of made mistakes and learnt from those mistakes.
TG: Chelsea (Goldsack’s wife) was speaking to your mum at that time and your mum joked: ‘He’s just a kid who does stupid things.’ Chels said back to her: ‘Yeah, but he’s got a heart of gold.’
JDG: (laughs) I am all go, go, go. When I get injured or hurt someone else, or stuff up, it is kind of like ‘Oh, s***, what were you doing?’ But that’s kind of the way I have lived my life a bit. At times it is good, you kind of do stuff and say, ‘That was unreal, I’m glad I did that’. But sometimes I’m not too happy (with what happened).
TG: Do you think more about the game a bit more now, too?
JDG: Definitely. When you are young, everything goes so fast. I love my footy now, but it is also a lot easier when the team is playing good.
TG: You did some work with the Salvation Army and Major Brendan Nottle. Tell us what you learnt?
JDG: Brendan is a great role model. When the s*** hits the fan, you go into there and realise there are a lot of people in worse situations than you. It’s almost a reality check and puts it into perspective. It shows it is not the end of the world when things go wrong in your life. It comes back to what you do next and who you have around you. I have so much respect for what they do.
TG: Was playing footy a bit of a release at times?
JDG: That was my opportunity to stick it up everybody — just playing footy.
TG: Have those experiences made you a more mature person?
JDG: When you were young all you had to do was play footy, I didn’t have to care about too much else. (Maturity) comes with age, responsibility, appreciation for what you have, the support you have.
TG: You did it the right way. You turned towards the players for support and didn’t try to do it all on your own.
JDG: The club was really good. They gave me a whack and gave me my punishment. But it wasn’t like I was (excluded). Everyone was helping me.
GRAND FINAL FLASHBACKS
TG: Do you think about the Grand Final much?
JDG: You do; but you don’t. It happens at weird times. You might be in the car and it might just pop into your head. It is frustrating because you think about how close you were. At the same time you think, ‘How many people get the chance to play in a Grand Final, how many people get to play on the biggest day of the year?’
TG: Were the last few minutes a blur?
JDG: When he (Dom Sheed) kicked that goal … it was so frustrating. We played three quarters of good footy and it is hard being a player when you see them starting to edge their way back in it. You could see the momentum starting to shift.
TG: Do you feel as if the club has improved again this year?
JDG: We have become a bit more settled. We’ve been able to grind a lot of games out. Two years ago, we might’ve lost those games. We might be down by a few goals or whatever at times, but we know we can do it.
BOOTS AND ALL
TG: Is it true you put some of your recent wayward snaps down to your boots?
JDG: Yeah! Ha ha. I was looking at what I had changed, what I had done differently. When I was younger, I used to take a mark and would think, ‘This is going through’. Then when you start missing, you kind of start questioning everything. It is all about what makes you comfortable.
TG: Do you love kicking snaps or long goals more?
JDG: Probably the snaps, because they are more technical and you are closer to the crowd. I like being doubted, almost. It’s hard because it ebbs and flows. Your confidence peaks for snaps and then it goes, and it is good for drop punts. You have to ride those waves.
TG: On the boot choice, are you superstitious like that?
JDG: Not at all. The only one would be that I always wear the same jocks — for comfort reasons.
TG: You do a lot of work with ‘Sando’ (assistant coach Brenton Sanderson). There’s a fair amount of love going on isn’t there?
JDG: We have nicknames for each other, which I would prefer not to put in the paper. We’re pretty close. He puts a lot of trust in me, he doesn’t want to overcoach me. I’m more of an instinctive player, he allows me that freedom.
TG: Do you use that instinctive excuse when you are caught out of position?
JDG: Yep. It’s hard with positioning because I kind of see the game a bit differently. I will pull back to allow someone in front of me to take that space, which keeps me closer to goal and makes it easier for me with my kicking. Then I get told I am stretching the ground too far. But if it pays off, you don’t hear about it.
MILLION DOLLAR OFFER
TG: You signed a two-year-deal to stay at Collingwood (until the end of 2020), but (apparently) knocked back a very big offer (from North Melbourne). What was your mindset?
JDG: It was interesting hearing that … a million bucks (a year) for five years as a 21 or 22-year-old.
TG: I think I got a million bucks over five years. You are staying at Collingwood beyond that, aren’t you?
JDG: Yeah, I’m staying. That’s the plan.
BACKING BUCKS, STEVO AND BROWNLOW NIGHT
TG: What’s your relationship like with ‘Bucks’?
JDG: We have different personalities, but we embrace each other. He is not overly impressed by how I act sometimes, but that’s OK. That’s me. He has been unreal. It’s the same with ‘Sando’. They understand what I am like as a player. I can’t deal with too much of ‘do this, do that’, ‘be here, be there’. He has made a massive change, allowing people to be themselves.
TG: You must feel for Stevo (Jaidyn Stephenson) with his 10-match suspension (for gambling)?
JDG: You feel bad for him. No one wants to see that happen to any young kid. You are young … you make mistakes sometimes.
TG: You polled 12 Brownlow Medal votes last year, which is 12 more than I have polled across my career.
JDG: In fairness, it’s harder as a backman. But you played up forward a bit, too.
TG: Now I understand you may not have a date. So if you score a Brownlow invite, can I be your plus-one?
JDG: (laughs). I don’t think I am going to be anywhere near it.
TEAMMATES AND TATTS
TG: Are ‘Crock’ (Ben Crocker) and ‘Bruz’ (Brayden Maynard) your closest mates here?
JDG: Yeah. Crock brings fun to it. We talk that much s*** it is not funny.
TG: Is it fair to say you aren’t solving the problems of the world?
JDG: We’re probably making more problems for it, if anything. I enjoy coming to work. Crock always does something funny, or dances stupid, or says something he shouldn’t say.
TG: Will you continue to grow your artwork?
JDG: Yes, but it is a slow process.
TG: I got a tattoo on my foot for the 2010 premiership. It’s unfinished because it hurt so much. I guess I’ll get it finished one day. Do your tattoos mean anything?
JDG: Nah. These do (points to his hands). They are my grandparents’ birthdays. I accidentally stuffed up and put my postcode on my wedding ring finger.
TG: What happens if you move?
JDG: I’ll have to keep collecting them, I guess.
TG: What trips do you have planned for the end of the season?
JDG: We’re going to America. Me and Crock are going to go. Brayden will already be over there with his girlfriend. We are going to New York, LA, Vegas, San Fran. I’m going with Crock so I doubt he will want to spend too much money, so it could be a cheap trip.
OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE
TG: What are your interests outside footy?
JDG: I’m doing my carpentry apprenticeship. I’d love to get my nose into a business with a few people and just kind of learn the ropes while I am in footy and take a bigger role after it.
TG: Can you see yourself staying in footy?
JDG: When they are younger, people say they don’t want to stay in footy, and I’m a bit like that at the moment. I just think I’ll have my time and then disappear.
TG: Do you take in what people outside the club say about you?
JDG: I couldn’t care less. I am lucky I can take (criticism). But some people can’t cope and it affects them more. That’s why mental health is a big issue.
TG: Now is your chance to say something nice about me?
JDG: You are one of the best I’ve ever played with.
TG: And I’m your Brownlow date this year?
JDG: I’ve got to get an invite first.
TG: Have you got anything special you want me to wear?
JDG: Something tight.
TG: Let’s not go there.
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