Jordan De Goey lied to Collingwood about how he broke his hand

A COLLINGWOOD insider has revealed the damage Jordan De Goey’s injury lie will have on the club and on coach Nathan Buckley.

‘We’re not shying away from the fact that Nathan Buckley would feel embarrassed and betrayed.’

COLLINGWOOD has disciplined Jordan De Goey for lying to the club about how he injured his hand.

The midfielder told the Pies he broke his hand while playing with his dog, but it was revealed on Tuesday morning he did so after getting involved in an altercation while out celebrating his 21st birthday on Friday night, according to Fox Sports.

The club hit him with a $5000 fine and three-week suspension starting from the time his hand is fully healed.

De Goey apologised to Collingwood supporters via a video on the club website on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m really disappointed in my actions over the weekend,” De Goey said. “There’s two things I’m disappointed in, one being my actions and the other was making an excuse as to what really happened to me and letting down my teammates and pretty much everyone at the club.

“Understandably I’ve definitely lost some of the trust of the playing group, the coaching staff and everyone who works at the club here, so the next few months are going to be really important to me to put my best foot forward, making sure I do everything I can to regain that trust of the playing group and also everyone else who works at the club.

“Finally I’d just like to apologise to all the fans and supporters. Obviously the decision I made on the weekend is going to affect me playing for the next few weeks.

“I can’t wait to get out there once I put my best foot forward and regain the trust of my teammates and make it back to you guys, to all the fans out there as well.”

De Goey has found himself in the doghouse.

Coach Nathan Buckley was unaware of the real reason behind his player’s injury when he addressed the media on Monday, repeating the youngster’s tale to journalists.

“You won’t believe me ... he was playing with his dog,” Buckley said. “If we don’t laugh, we’ll cry about it — or I will, anyway.

“He was playing with his dog and he went to throw a toy — it wasn’t a frisbee. He caught his hand on the edge of a door, a door handle.”

Collingwood general manager Geoff Walsh said De Goey’s lie would have Buckley incredibly disappointed and apprehensive of putting faith in the 21-year-old in the future.

“We’re not shying away from the fact that Nathan Buckley would feel embarrassed and betrayed,” Walsh told SEN’s The Run Home.

“Nathan displays overt belief and trust in his playing group and to have that wilfully disregarded would strike at him.

“There was an erosion of trust and the erosion of people’s faith.

“Jordan certainly has a lot of work to do to make up the ground lost with his peers, coaches and others members of the football department.”

That De Goey was celebrating his 21st birthday over the weekend cast doubt over his initial explanation. Melbourne Demons legend Garry Lyon said on Tuesday before the news broke honesty was always the best policy, even if it involved misbehaviour on the player’s part.

“I’m 100 per cent convinced that’s what Bucks believes to be the case, and I’ve got no information to suggest otherwise,” Lyon said. “(But) if you’re the club, you must have an environment where that player comes up and says, ‘Listen, I was out last night (and) this happened, I was driving my car (and) this happened.’ You will not keep that stuff under wraps anymore.”

They proved to be prophetic words just hours before De Goey’s crime was made public knowledge.

Sports broadcaster Francis Leach said the decision to lie was just plain “dumb”.

“It’s dumb beyond belief to use that cover story,” Leach said on SEN Afternoons. “It’s a lie the size of Mount Everest and it undercuts the values of the football club in 2017. He torches it.”

They say trust is a massive thing in footy clubs. Jordan De Goey with one stupid lie, suddenly loses the trust of his coach.

Foolish.

— Shane McInnes (@shanemcinnes) March 21, 2017

Cover-up worse than crime. De Goey repeatedly lied to club, management. Just so stupid when reports were out yesterday about alternate facts

— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) March 21, 2017

His lie brings back memories of another incident at Collingwood in 2008 involving Alan Didak and Heath Shaw.

Shaw crashed into parked cars while driving intoxicated but the pair denied Didak was in the vehicle too, prompting a famously vigorous defence from president Eddie McGuire. “Didak will be accused of the Kennedy shooting next,” McGuire said.

But the truth came out and Didak and Shaw were both suspended for the rest of the season.

“Who will ever forget Eddie McGuire standing up and defending Heath Shaw and Alan Didak in the most vehement (fashion)?” Lyon said. “He was sold a pup by Didak and Shaw at the time about a crash and fleeing the scene.

“Since that time, every club went back to their players and said, ‘Listen, just don’t do it. Front up, get it over with (and) we’ll deal with it.’

“Every person out there in the public has a phone, every phone has a camera and they’re all going to talk, and you’re not going to get away with it.”

Former Melbourne forward David Schwarz doubted De Goey’s tale from the beginning, suspecting there was more to the story than met the eye on Monday.

“I might be putting two and two together and getting six, but there’s plenty of smoke there,” Schwarz said on SEN’s The Run Home.

“I put this to you. He can avoid six tacklers yet he can’t throw a toy near a door without breaking his hand.

“I don’t think we are hearing everything.

“If Bucks finds out he is lying to him he makes Bucks look like a fool and puts pressure on him straight away.”

De Goey has already broken a promise he made to Buckley the night he was drafted. The Herald Sun uncovered the conversation that’s now come back to haunt De Goey.

“I saw my name in a couple of mock drafts going to Collingwood so I was obviously pretty excited about that and wishing that was going to come through. To finally see that today was unbelievable,” De Goey said.

“When I met Nathan Buckley on stage, obviously it was a massive whirlwind. I said to him, ‘I’ll never let you down.’ That’s something I live by and I won’t let the Collingwood fans down.”

To avoid another farce like Didak/Shaw in 2008, Collingwood need to act swiftly and decisively if De Goey did break his hand in a fight.

— tony jones (@TJch9) March 21, 2017

Buckley's presser he said "you wouldn't believe story of how De Goey broke his hand" Made coach look like a fool. Punishment must be severe

— Michael Felgate (@MFelgate7) March 21, 2017

Assuming Pies genuinely didn't know, you can't really blame the club. De Goey is an adult and chose to lie. Will be a long stint in doghouse

— Nathan Templeton (@nathantemp7) March 21, 2017