Ralph: Jordan De Goey’s latest indiscretion could cost him his AFL career

Jordan De Goey’s Collingwood contract will likely rise and fall on the result of his court date. If it is torn up, there will be little sympathy in the AFL world, Jon Ralph writes.

Jordan De Goey’s pathetic act as a wannabe AFL bad boy is surely close to running its course.

A New York court will judge the facts about a charge of forcible touching and assault, which will guide the AFL and Collingwood as they consider whether De Goey still has an AFL career.

As revealed by the Herald Sun on Sunday, the Pies have stood De Goey down indefinitely and it remains to be seen whether he will ever grace the field in Collingwood colours again.

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But what De Goey has already proved beyond doubt is that he is an entitled brat who doesn’t believe the usual rules apply to him.

After spending his entire career trying Collingwood’s patience with a constant string of offences, De Goey had finally shrugged off the mantle as footy’s most overrated player.

In a year where indecent assault charges from 2015 were dropped and copped a $2075 fine for a string of driving offences, he had finally put together a strong season of AFL football.

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Jordan De Goey’s career is at the crossroads after he was stood down by Collingwood in the wake of criminal charges in New York. Picture: Getty Images

This was now the time to bunker down, stay out of the limelight and prove this season was the rule rather than the exception.

Instead after a week-long publicity push of his personal brand while training in California, De Goey and his mate then partied it up while boasting about their exploits on Instagram.

The court will judge whether De Goey is found guilty of assault and forcible touching, which can both bring jail terms of a year and but alternatively up to six years probation for what is officially labelled a sex crime even without that jail term.

But De Goey, who plays up his tattooed bad boy motorbike-riding exploits despite a junior pathway smoothed by private school and football academies, has again put himself into a position of risk.

If Collingwood does keep him on it should be only before he serves a half-season internal penalty.

And if the facts are upheld after he was alleged to have touched a female on her vagina and buttocks then punched and kicked her male friend, Craig McRae’s decision to end his Collingwood career should be clear.

Collingwood has already suspended him for three games when he lied about a broken hand suffered in a bar fight only three years ago.

For most players it would be their Steve J moment – a career-defining wake-up call – but De Goey has already dodged the chance to make that previous club-based suspension count.

If they sacked him it would after his third strike even under the most generous interpretation of events.

De Goey had gone to the US to enhance his pre-season fitness. Picture: Instagram/@johnnylouch

There has been the 2018 drink-driving, his lies to the club over the bar fight that saw him break his hand, the initial 2015 incident that saw De Goey formally apologising via letter for his language and conduct to the woman who eventually pressed charges.

There have been a litany of driving charges that smack of the penny not dropping.

At one stage the Collingwood board seriously considered sacking De Goey over those indecent assault charges, which were eventually dropped with police paying his legal fees.

Collingwood will be under intense pressure from its sponsors to respond accordingly if De Goey’s actions are upheld in an American court after the reputational damage of the Do Better report’s bungled release.

But more to the point, they should and will be prepared to crack down on De Goey because it is the right thing to do and the perfect chance for new coach McRae to set the culture of this joint.

As one Pies insider said of De Goey on Sunday: “It won’t end well for him”.

AFL players are allowed to have a life. They are even allowed to party like it’s 2019.

At some stage there comes a point where they run out of chances.

De Goey has never been able to read the room, but talk about a tin ear.

For two seasons the AFL’s players have been able to fly across the country with special liberties staying in five-star hotels while people couldn’t attend funerals of loved ones over borders.

Then after spending time at a California “training camp” funded by his relationship by an energy drink he uses that licence to party it up in Manhattan.

Then in one of the more monumentally stupid acts he presumably gives his mate permission to post a string of videos of a tattooed De Goey prancing about on the dance floor half clothed.

We all have the tendency to over-share on social media, but what about a boneheaded decision, and one that must have come not long before the pair were involved in the incident at hand.

Now De Goey’s contract at Collingwood will likely rise and fall on the result of that December 8 court date, and if that contract is torn up there will be little sympathy in the AFL given his inability to learn from his mistakes.

Originally published as Ralph: Jordan De Goey’s latest indiscretion could cost him his AFL career