Collingwood stars sprung by changeroom vision: ‘Clear rule breach’

Collingwood duo Jordan De Goey and Jeremy Howe are in hot water after cameras captured them breaking AFL rules on Friday night.

Injured Magpies stars Jordan De Goey and Jeremy Howe could have a little less spending money during their stints on the sidelines after being sprung breaching AFL rules around mobile phone usage during Friday night’s game against the Eagles.

Both players were ruled out of Collingwood’s ANZAC Day clash against Essendon next Sunday after De Goey broke his nose and was concussed and Howe injured his hamstring.

They played no further part in the Magpies’ 27-point loss after exiting the game during the first half, but were later captured by TV cameras in the changerooms.

De Goey was seen retrieving both players’ mobile phones from a valuables box before switching on his own handset and handing Howe his.

SEN’s Sam Edmunds tweeted: “The AFL integrity department will seek answers from Collingwood over why Jordan De Goey and Jeremy Howe accessed their phone during the loss to West Coast. Pies could yet be fined for a clear rule breach given players are banned from using phones in rooms from siren to siren.”

Edmunds told SEN each AFL club has an approved list of 10 staff members who can use their phone during games but players aren’t allowed.

“Not a hanging offence at this stage, but the AFL are going to ask the question and it could in fact lead to a financial sanction for the club,” he said. “I don’t think the league would have liked the look of it on prime time television, the players going to grab their mobile phones.”

The seriousness of the action escaped the Channel 7 broadcast, as Brian Taylor highlighted what De Goey was doing without any reference to it being a breach of the rules.

Jordan De Goey takes the phones from a box containing the team’s mobiles.

Jordan De Goey switches on his phone.

Jordan De Goey hands Jeremy Howe his phone.

Former Melbourne strategy coach Craig Jennings said he expected a sanction for the Pies given the seriousness with which the league takes such matters.

“The moment you walk into the footy club on game day, your phone goes in a box and you don’t see it again to until post game. In the end, I just didn’t even take my phone to the game, I just left it at work,” he said.

“What’s really interesting is through the AFL level four (coaching) program, which we’re in our third year now, a lot of the first year was really around sports ethics and gambling and risks and all those sorts of things.

“I’m really surprised that the players have done this. I’ve got a feeling the AFL won’t be pleased and I can see a bit of a sanction coming.”

Carlton AFLW runner Andy Maher noted that, for the Blues, “the protocols are absolutely strict and strictly enforced. There’s no grey about mobile phone usage on game day.”

Former Richmond assistant coach Justin Leppitsch was also shocked De Goey and Howe were able to access their phones given the security process surrounding the devices.

“I’m not sure how they got their phones to be honest, because it goes into your own little pencil case almost and then into a bigger box and I assume that’s been locked, it gets locked up by an integrity person,” he said.

“So I don’t know how that box got unlocked or unless it just stayed open.”

— with foxsports.com.au