‘He was concussed’: Nathan Buckley defends players caught up in changeroom phones drama
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has explained why Jordan De Goey reached for two mobile phones in the changerooms mid-game as the club awaits a potential AFL penalty.
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Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has defended Jordan De Goey’s unauthorised phone use during last Friday night’s loss to West Coast, suggesting the forward was “not thinking straight” due to concussion.
The Magpies have been issued an official please explain over its unauthorised use of phones as it awaits a potential AFL penalty.
Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury said on Monday De Goey and Jeremy Howe had sent messages to loved ones to explain their injuries in the rooms after suffering injuries.
But he conceded the players had been educated on the integrity rules and were aware they should not have accessed their phones.
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On Monday night, Buckley said De Goey’s state of mind at the time of the incident also needed to be taken into account.
“All I know is the bloke we’re talking about that grabbed the phones had just been omitted from the game for concussion so he’s not thinking straight,” Buckley said on Fox Footy’s AFL360.
“We had a couple of injured players and the bloke who went and grabbed the phones, he wasn’t deemed well enough to continue a game of footy because of a knock to the head.
“So I don’t think he was thinking straight.
“We are humans and we do make blues and we’re assuming the worst here.
“We make all these rules and assumptions that someone is going to pick up a phone and ring somebody and say: ‘here look, put a million bucks on this.’
“We do (protect against the worst) and I understand that and we do as a club as well and we take full responsibility for this situation no doubt, but Jordie De Goey was concussed.”
Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury said on Monday Jeremy Howe and De Goey had sent messages to loved ones to explain their injuries in the rooms after suffering injuries.
But he conceded the players had been educated on the integrity rules and were aware they should not have accessed their phones.
Collingwood has already been in contact with the league over the weekend and issued an apology about the error.
The club’s COVID cuts meant all hands were on deck in match-day roles during the loss to West Coast, with the club’s box containing phones not locked until post-match as it should have been.
Pies issued ‘please explain’ over phone drama
Collingwood has been issued an official please explain over its unauthorised use of phones as it awaits a potential AFL penalty.
Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury said on Monday Jeremy Howe and Jordan De Goey had sent messages to loved ones to explain their injuries in the rooms after suffering injuries.
But he conceded the players had been educated on the integrity rules and were aware they should not have accessed their phones.
The Herald Sun understands the league has issued a please-explain and will now await the Pies’ response.
But Collingwood has already been in contact with the league over the weekend and issued an apology about the error.
The club’s COVID cuts meant all hands were on deck in match-day roles during the loss to West Coast, with the club’s box containing phones not locked until post-match as it should have been.
Pendlebury said the Pies would await the AFL’s potential sanction.
“I think if we get a warning it’s a little reminder but if we get a financial sanction it’s a fair warning we shouldn’t be doing that. I am not too sure what those guys did but they sent a text back home letting their family know they were OK. We know we are not able to do that and I dare say for the whole competition the box will be locked at the end.
“Maxy (Nick Maxwell, our operations manager, wasn’t allowed to go to Perth because he had been in Brisbane and the role got lost in translation but we know as players we shouldn’t be on them during the game. We get educated enough about it, it was just a slip-up.”
It comes after integrity experts warned AFL players detailing their injury concerns to family is no excuse for unauthorised use of mobile phones in change rooms.
Collingwood has already apologised for Howe and De Goey using phones in the Optus Stadium change rooms.
The club has conceded the incidents were a breach of match-day regulations.
But while players telling their families about the extent of their injuries would seem a legitimate excuse, the betting implications are significant.
Sporting codes have banned all but a limited number of phones because even individual information about player injuries can significantly affect a betting market.
In Howe’s case, he was clearly out with a bad hamstring given the ice applied to his leg.
But in theory, information about De Goey’s return to play has extreme value given his star power and his capacity to turn a game.
Even a player’s long-term injury prognosis has an impact on premiership and top-eight markets.
Collingwood’s players should have had their phones in a locked box but the Herald Sun has reported that box was open, allowing De Goey to retrieve phones.
As one industry expert said, the league must make a stance about its integrity rules.
“In this case it was blatantly obvious the Pies players weren’t going to return, but if it wasn’t known and you phoned a wife or girlfriend, in theory someone could bet on the other team,” he said.
“The legislation was brought in so you can’t provide people with information that could influence a betting outcome.
“In footy, it’s injuries, team selection.
“In cricket, it’s batting line-ups, who is bowling or batting in a particular order.”
Collingwood players should be particularly informed about the rules around sports betting given multiple recent instances.
Howe counselled Jaidyn Stephenson after he placed bets on himself in 2019 and encouraged him to go to football boss Geoff Walsh, with Stephenson banned for 22 games (12 suspended).
“This was a breach of match-day regulations that was quickly rectified and subsequently explained to the AFL. Collingwood will ensure such a mistake is not repeated,” the Magpies said on Saturday.
Clubs are allowed 10 “authorised device users” on game day.
Football managers, along with club doctors, are usually the first names to go on that list so that their phones can be used for emergencies.
Under that scenario, Howe and De Goey should’ve made their calls from Magpies football boss Graham Wright’s phone.
Players and officials are required to hand in their phones when they arrive at AFL grounds.
Officials from rival clubs were surprised that Howe and De Goey had access to their phones, given they are supposed to remain locked away until after the final siren.
The Magpies’ box was unlocked and open, with De Goey pictured retrieving two phones.
The worldwide tough stance on phones helps keep sport clean by countering threats of match-fixing.
In 2019, Cricket Australia banned Hobart Hurricanes keeper Emily Smith for 12 months (nine suspended) for posting her team’s line-up on Instagram an hour before it was scheduled for release.
Smith was poking fun at her lowly batting position. The game was abandoned due to a washout.
But with millions of dollars wagered on every women’s Big Bash match, and more than $100 million riding on some men’s games, the breach was taken extremely seriously.
The Herald Sun reported that eyebrows were raised earlier this month when multiple senior coaches were seen with their phones during games.
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley said it was unnecessary.
“My sort of need for Twitter and Instagram probably drops right off when I get to game time, but I suppose Wrighty would generally have a phone on him (and) if there’s anything that’s happened externally that we need to look at then we will,” Buckley said at the time.
“I don’t know what Leon (GWS coach Leon Cameron) was using it for.”
Sports Integrity Australia declined to comment on AFL coaches using their mobile phones during games.
Victoria Police said: “(We) continue to have a strong working relationship with the AFL Integrity Unit”.
Should injury-hit Pies keep Moore forward?
– Brad Elborough and Dan Batten
Darcy Moore will remain in attack for the next few rounds, at least, as Collingwood continues to search for its best forward-line combination.
The Magpies could be forced to bring Mason Cox straight back into the side for the ANZAC Day clash against Essendon next Sunday though, as they sweat on the fitness of Brody Mihocek.
Cox was left out against the Eagles, making way for Moore to go forward.
Mihocek finished Friday night’s loss against West Coast on the bench with ice on his shoulder, courtesy of ‘an AC stinger’.
Moore top-scored for the Magpies in their 27-point defeat at Optus Stadium on Friday night, kicking three goals – knocking through his first since Round 7, 2018.
Those three goals took his career tally to 64 from 95 games.
Friday was the sixth time he has booted three goals in a game and the second time against the Eagles. He also has a bag of five goals, against the Western Bulldogs in 2015.
Over the course of the night, Mihocek was the Magpies most dangerous forward and could have made the game a lot more interesting if he’d converted better than 2.5.
While the Magpies loss was their fourth of the season and third on the trot, coach Nathan Buckley said he would resist pushing Moore back into defence.
“Yeah, we need more than one week to go off and he looked dangerous at times,” he said.
“It’s gonna take him time to get a handle on it.
“Last time he played forward, the game was a little different.
“That’s gonna take time. We needed to change things up; we’re looking for better.”
It will be easier for Buckley to leave Moore inside their forward 50 if Mark Keane receives only a fine for his blatant trip on Eagles forward Josh Kennedy in the second quarter.
They will definitely be without Jeremy Howe and Jordan De Goey for the Round 6 clash against the Bombers with the pair joining Taylor Adams and Jamie Elliott on the sidelines.
De Goey didn’t return after quarter-time after failing a concussion test, while a hamstring injury forced Howe from the ground early in the second term.
The Eagles controlled scoring after the first change, kicking 13 goals to six in the last three quarters – handing the Magpies their third consecutive loss.
Collingwood led by 15 points after an impressive opening term and Buckley said losing after being in that position hurts.
“Everyone will have their opinion. When you lose a couple of games when you’re in winning positions, that hurts,” he said. “You’ve got to make the most of the positions you put yourself in – Round 3 (against Brisbane) and Round 4 (GWS) potentially.
“Win-loss is where it stops. At the end of home and away is where it counts.
“We have some wins to chase to put ourselves back to where we want to be.”
Match report: Pies sweat on stars as Eagles withstand visitors
For one quarter on Friday night it looked like Collingwood had found a way to answer the critics that went hard at Nathan Buckley and his men after their disappointing Round 4 loss to Greater Western Sydney.
At quarter-time, in front of the biggest AFL crowd of the season, 54,159 mostly hostile West Coast fans, the Magpies led by 15 points.
Buckley pulled the trigger and moved Darcy Moore into attack, leaving out Mason Cox. Moore kicked three goals. Darcy Cameron was brought in to help Brodie Grundy in the ruck.
Like they did in last season’s Elimination Final, the Magpies seemed to have found a way to engineer an upset victory over the Eagles on their home deck at Optus Stadium.
But with a point to prove themselves, after their own disappointing performance a week earlier against St Kilda, the Eagles took control.
They took advantage of early injuries to Magpies pair De Goey and Jeremy Howe and kicked 13 goals to six after quarter-time to win by 27 points – 16.7 (103) to 11.10 (76).
Cruelly, the game was taken out of the Magpies hands by Dom Sheed, who kicked three goals in three minutes just before the three-quarter-time siren, to take the margin to 41-points at the main break.
TARGET PRACTICE
Collingwood has had trouble finding targets inside 50 this season.
And with Jeremy McGovern taking intercept marks with the Magpies first two forward entries, they looked set for another tough night.
At quarter-time though, they had five goals on the board – four of them from set shots after marks in attack.
Collingwood had averaged just 48 inside 50s in its four previous games and just 7.75 marks inside that area.
By quarter-time on Friday night, they had 18 inside 50s (compared to the Eagles eight) and those four marks and led by 15 points.
As the Eagles took control, the marks in attack dried up for the Magpies. They managed only seven more for the game, despite having more inside 50s than the Eagles (50-42).
Dom Sheed just loves playing the Pies!#AFLEaglesPiespic.twitter.com/vJJFONBEMx
— AFL (@AFL) April 16, 2021
MAGPIES’ MASSIVE DOUBLE BLOW
Collingwood lost two of its biggest stars to in-game injuries, with Jeremy Howe and Jordan De Goey ruled out before halftime.
It was feared Howe had suffered a serious knee injury, walking off limping in the hands of trainers after landing awkwardly in a marking contest.
But cameras inside the Magpies’ rooms showed Howe with ice on his right hamstring — an injury that could still keep him sidelined for at least a month.
It’s the same leg that sidelined Howe from Round 4 last season with a PCL and medial ligament injury.
De Goey was also ruled out after copping a heavy knock to the face that broke his nose in the first quarter.
He returned to the field after the initial knock but was again taken from the field in the second term.
Collingwood medicos feared he had suffered further structural damage to his face.
He was then ruled out in the second term, sighted in the rooms with Howe.
Medical sub Brayden Sier was activated just before halftime
EAGLES ON A ROLL
Allen’s high mark and goal (one of five) also triggered a run of four consecutive goals by West Coast.
They went from trailing by 15 points to leading by 13 and took and 12-point advantage in to the second half.
Jack Darling (also five goals) kicked four of the Eagles six second-quarter goals, while Moore sat getting cold at the other end of the ground.
The Eagles dominated the second term, with 10 more inside 50s and they also started to dominate possession.
They had 48 more possessions than the Pies in the second quarter – a solid response of their own after a dismal second half against West Coast a week earlier.
OSCAR ALLEN 😵
— AFL (@AFL) April 16, 2021
That is an absolute screamer!#AFLEaglesPiespic.twitter.com/DCZHO5YziB
SCOREBOARD
EAGLES 3.1 9.5 14 6 16.7 (103)
MAGPIES 5.4 7.5 7.7 11.10 (76)
ELBOROUGH’S BEST:
Eagles: Redden, Duggan, Allen, Darling, Rotham, Witherden.
Magpies: Crisp, Grundy, Miochek, Maynard, Pendlebury, Greenwood.
GOALS
Eagles: Darling 5, Allen 5; Sheed 3; Brander, Kelly, Kennedy.
Magpies: Moore 3; Grundy 2, Miochek 2, McCreery 2; Brown, Cameron.
INJURIES
Eagles: Rotham (head), Cole (head).
Magpies: De Goey (face) replaced by Sier, Howe (hamstring), Miochek (shoulder).
UMPIRES Fisher, Dalgleish, Chamberlain.
VENUE Optus Stadium
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
BRAD ELBOROUGH VOTES
3 Redden (Eagles)
2 Duggan (Eagles)
1 Allen (Eagles)
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