Collingwood star Jordan De Goey has rejected the club’s new contract offer because he won’t accept the behavioural clauses that are part of the deal, reports The Age.
The Magpies have placed an extended five-year contract on the table for De Goey following an immense finals series where he was best-on-ground in both the qualifying and semi finals.
They had previously withdrawn a four-year deal – two years, plus a trigger for two more – after his Bali escapades which added to a long list of off-field indiscretions and mistakes by the 26-year-old.
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De Goey was arrested after a drunken incident at a New York nightclub last year, eventually pleading guilty to a downgraded charge of harassment, while he made lewd gestures at a woman in Bali on a mid-season holiday this year.
He has also previously been found guilty of drink-driving on his P plates, lied to the club about how he broke his hand after sustaining the injury in a bar fight, and faced an indecent assault charge over a 2015 incident which was eventually dropped.
After the Bali incident De Goey said he was seeking help for a diagnosis of ADHD.
Despite his chequered history Collingwood has stood by De Goey, but in their newest offer placed behavioural clauses which he would need to follow.
The clauses would mean if De Goey breaks the rules in the first two years of his deal, the remaining three years would be torn up.
According to The Age, De Goey told coach Craig McRae and football manager Graham Wright he would not sign the contract offered to him because of some of the clauses.
He is said to believe they are “too broad and arbitrary”.
St Kilda is the lone external suitor for De Goey, the Saints willing to sign him on a more lucrative deal in restricted free agency.
If he does leave the Magpies, the club would receive a compensation pick tied to their draft position, likely a first-round selection (pick 16).
But that compensation would be weakened by any other signings, such as Brisbane free agent Dan McStay, so in a scenario where McStay joined the Magpies and De Goey left, the Pies would almost certainly not earn a first-round pick as compensation.
The report stated “a club source said the Magpies had not given up of re-signing De Goey and remained hopeful that a deal could be reached”.
