‘Need to pay the rest of the team back’: De Goey’s bold admission on what he owes Magpies

Collingwood superstar Jordan De Goey admits he owes his teammates a super September after playing the long game on return from injury.

De Goey played just five games before Round 21 after an injury-plagued start to the season.

But the proven finals performer announced his full fitness against Melbourne in the final home and away game before another top performance in the qualifying final against Adelaide.

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Now De Goey says he’s in an element of debt to his teammates for allowing a finals-focused recovery.

“For sure, I’m the freshest of the list, all the boys have made that pretty clear,” De Goey said.

“The body feels really good and in a way I do feel like I do need to pay the rest of the team back.

“It’s such a long year and all the boys did such a fantastic job to be in the position they were in and if they weren’t winning I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did.”

De Goey sustained a string of soft-tissue setbacks before an unfortunate concussion in a collision with Brayden Maynard at training.

He says “a mixed bag” of coaches, medical staff and himself opted for the slow route back needed to put the team first.

“I put my hand up and said, ‘I wasn’t right and I didn’t want to keep putting myself out there when I am nowhere near my best, someone else is going to be able to fill that role’,” De Goey said.

“For us it was Lachie Sullivan, he come in and did an enormous job throughout the year.

“At the end of the day it is a team sport and I wasn’t ready to put myself in a position where I didn’t think I could do my best.

“Yeah, (the concussion was) not ideal, unfortunately that’s Brayden for you.

“That was my first drill back and he knocked me out straight away. I started wearing a helmet at training after that and avoided Brayden.”

De Goey has delivered some of his better performances in big games, including famous moments in the 2018 and 2023 grand finals.

Despite kicking the go-ahead goal in the grand final against this week’s opponent, De Goey says he takes only “a little bit” of confidence out of form on the biggest stage.

“I think 2023, it feels like a while ago, now we’ve put that one behind us now,” he said.

“Obviously, you do take some confidence out of that, being able to play in and win a grand final.

“A new team, new year, new focuses … (we’re) not really worrying about the past.”