Pies confident they can find compromise with De Goey

Collingwood remain confident a suitable compromise can yet be reached with Jordan De Goey on a new contract that still affords the club some enhanced protection against another serious off-field incident.

The club insists the behavioural clauses they have proposed in the contract offer are only for serious incidents and are not at the complete discretion of the club.

Jordan De Goey celebrates with Magpies fans.Credit: AFL Photos

The moves came as the players’ association warned players not to sign contracts with behaviour clauses of the type De Goey has rejected in his new five-year contract offer.

The AFLPA said standard player contracts and the code of conduct were sufficient to cover any behavioural breaches by De Goey, or any player, and additional clauses were unnecessary. The PA has been advising De Goey’s management but made the statement as a broad comment on players varying from standard contracts.

Collingwood believe contracts should be tailored to take account of personal history and circumstances.

On Sunday De Goey’s management informed the club he had rejected its latest five-year contract offer - an initial two-year deal with a trigger for three more years - due to the behaviour clauses the club wanted in the contract.

The trigger for the final three years of the five-year contract is based wholly on behaviour and avoiding trouble, not on games played or any other measures.

De Goey was concerned the contract gave Collingwood the discretion to decide what incident constituted a serious breach.

Sources familiar with Collingwood’s position say the Magpies remain determined to have some protection in the event of another significant incident from De Goey, bearing in mind his history and that they have multi-million dollar contracts with major sponsors such as Nike to take into account.

Collingwood’s view was that the behavioural clauses were only for serious breaches - a speeding fine, for example, would not bring any consequences for the midfield star.

The trigger for the final three years of the five-year contract is based wholly on behaviour and avoiding trouble, not on games played or any other measures.

“The AFL Players’ Association does not support additional behavioural clauses imposed on players beyond what’s already in place through the AFL Standard Playing Contract,” AFLPA manager Brett Murphy said in a statement.

“Players are also bound by the code of conduct, the AFL rules and other policies, which provide options for sanctions where appropriate and permitted in different circumstances, as well as broader legal principles applying to all employees.

“The content of AFL players’ standard playing contract is agreed between the AFL and AFLPA. Having a standard form contract is the norm in world sport and any attempt to deviate from them undermines the integrity of this process and creates inconsistency.”

St Kilda remain keenly interested in De Goey should he be unable to reach terms with Collingwood.

Former long-term Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh is close to making a decision on accepting a position as head of football at St Kilda.

Walsh has had a long relationship with De Goey and was a very staunch supporter of the star midfielder he regarded as an A-grade talent.

He would likely be a strong advocate of St Kilda securing De Goey, but St Kilda sources felt De Goey was still more likely to recommit to Collingwood.

Keep up to date with all the AFL trade action this week with our daily newsletter. Sign up here.