Collingwood coach Craig McRae says Jordan De Goey will return from suspension a better version of himself

Former Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse infamously talked about a slow ox and now Craig McRae has gone deep talking about Jordan De Goey.

Collingwood coach Craig McRae is adamant Jordan De Goey will return a “better version of himself” after serving his three-week suspension after witnessing significant maturity from the superstar.

Twelve months ago De Goey found himself in trouble after heading to Bali during the club’s bye that resulted in a $25,000 fine and time away from the club.

It put his Collingwood future in jeopardy, and the club even pulled a contract offer before the one-time wild child made every effort to turn over a new leaf and set himself on what he said this week was “creating a new path” for himself.

He’s hardly put a foot wrong this season, except for the ill-timed bump that concussed West Coast youngster Elijah Hewett and earnt De Goey a three-match ban, which became a four-week break given it crossed Collingwood’s bye.

Jordan De Goey was given a three-match ban for this bump on Elijah Hewett. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

This year during the break neither De Goey nor any of his Collingwood teammates found themselves in any trouble, allowing McRae to take his family away.

On Friday, as the rain poured and McRae was addressing the media, de Goey was still training as part of the program he had been given to finetune himself during his suspension.

In a deep assessment of the 27-year-old, McRae likened De Goey to a “dripping tap” and was enthusiastic about what he could bring in Collingwood’s push to the finals.

“We all stand here seeing Jordy grow in front of our eyes,” McRae said.

“Sometimes when you have a dripping tap it takes a while to form a puddle. He’s been a dropping tap for a while now and we are really happy with his growth as a person. We’re really proud of him.

De Goey is growing as a player. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

“He’s still out there. This is what he did last time when he missed a big of footy, he got to work. Look at how hard he’s working. That’s what we are exited for.

“He gets one thing taken away from him, clearly we’d love to have him play this weekend … but he’s getting to work and we know when he comes back he’ll be a better version of himself.”

Collingwood will get De Goey back for the round 17 clash with the Western Bulldogs.

Originally published as Collingwood coach Craig McRae says Jordan De Goey will return from suspension a better version of himself