Star Collingwood midfielder Jordan De Goey is “pushing” to be fit for Opening Round against GWS, but the club says prioritise an early-season berth over his season-long health.
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The 28-year-old De Goey, who is dealing with a knee complaint and considered no certainty to suit up against the Giants, didn’t play against Richmond in Tuesday night’s 83-point Community Series win and will be put through his paces in a key session tomorrow morning.
“Jordy, he’s certainly pushing for it. He’s going to train strongly tomorrow morning,” Magpies assistant coach Jordan Roughead said on Tuesday night.
“He’s one that we just need to make sure we get his loads to the right level and inject him at the right time.
“We want to set him up, similar to Brayden (Maynard), we want to set him up to have a really good season.
“So, we’re not going to prioritise round zero over the rest of the year, and we’re just going to make sure that we find the right balance with him.”
As for Maynard, Roughead expects the premiership defender to make the trip to Sydney for the Pies’ bout on March 9.
“We expect Brayden to play (against GWS), he had a little bit of soreness through his foot after the game last weekend, and we just wanted to make sure that we set him up to have a really strong season.
“This (him not playing against the Tigers) was the right selection for this week.”
But while De Goey and Maynard were sidelined, marquee Pies recruits Dan Houston, Tim Membrey and Harry Perryman fired.
Membrey kicked four goals and was involved in seven scores, while Houston notched 22 disposals, seven marks, 435 metres gained and one goal on Tuesday night.
Perryman added 20 disposals, 10 tackles, six inside 50s, 85% disposal efficiency and one goal of his own.
“It was great to see Dan (in defence) and to see ‘Pez’ playing really strongly through the midfield, and obviously Tim Membrey hitting the scoreboard,” Roughead said.
“I think he (Membrey) had four goals and a dozen or so touches and really played his role in what was a pretty good performance. We were really efficient going forward and inside 50 and (it was) great to see some of our guys hit the scoreboard.
“I’m wrapped to have Dan running around at half-back, and he’s been nothing but impressive since coming to the footy club back in November.”
Ex-Saint Membrey fit in seamlessly alongside the likes of Dan McStay and Brody Mihocek in Collingwood’s attack, and Roughead has no concerns about their ability to gel from the get-go in 2025.
“It’s interesting, because there is some new personnel, but we’re pretty strong with the belief that you can put anyone in the jumper and play them in a position,” he said.
“We’ve got a really strong system that allows us to play to our strengths and to see all those guys hit the scoreboard was great.
“I’m sure we’ll have a really nice balanced spread of goalkickers throughout the year, and again it’s nice to see those guys getting some reward in front of the big sticks.”
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