Collingwood star Jordan De Goey has been slammed over his “embarrassing” statement attacking the media after he was found to have travelled to Bali during the season.
De Goey has found himself in the middle of yet another firestorm after vision emerged of him partying in Bali, but hit back despite the poor optics surrounding the trip, taking aim at an “uneducated, bias (sic) and ill-informed narrative” surrounding his decision.
The statement did not sit well with Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes, who said the 26-year-old had severely misread the room by attacking the media.
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“His statement is embarrassing. For him to blame the media for this is embarrassing and he’s misread the room as much as he’s misread the room by going to Bali,” he told Nine’s AFL Sunday Footy Show.
“To think that he could blame the ‘uneducated, bias and ill-informed narrative that has gone too far’, how about he takes some ownership?
“Absolute fault with the management and absolute fault with the club, but 98 per cent fault for Jordan De Goey for putting himself in this position again.”
It remains to be seen whether De Goey will be sanctioned by the AFL or the club for his actions, with an investigation into the trip ongoing, and Cornes believed there was grounds for a suspension.
“The action that he’s done over there, I don’t think it’s acceptable to behave like that in 2022,” he said.
“I think they’ve set him up to fail and it was a ridiculous decision. Once again, Collingwood is on the front page of the paper for two days in a row and they look foolish as a result of one of their players.”
Former Essendon and St Kilda star Brendon Goddard laid some of the blame on De Goey’s manager, his brother-in-law Ryan Vague, who was signed by the Magpies enigma last year after splitting with his previous manager, Ben Niall, in 2020.
“It sounds like Jordan De Goey has put a lot of trust in people who are somewhat inexperienced,” Goddard told the Sunday Footy Show.
“You look at his manager being his brother-in-law, and (with) respect to him, he doesn’t have a lot of experience in the area.
“I know if I was in that position, yes I wouldn’t go, but even if I wanted to, I knew that someone I would lean on, my manager Craig Kelly, he would look me in the eye and say, ‘Mate, you’re not going’.
“That’s taken away from the club. Ned’s (Kelly) got the best interest for me and so should Jordan’s brother-in-law.
“So that’s where I think he could maybe put a bit more trust in the people that would know the landscape a little bit more and say, ‘Mate, you’re not going, it’s not a great look’.”
The ill-advised Bali trip is the latest in a number of off-field issues that have hampered the ultra-talented De Goey throughout his short career.
According to Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd, the mistakes are those that De Goey will live to regret once his playing days are in the rear-view mirror.
“He’s 26, I reckon at 36 he’ll have a lot of regrets that he didn’t get the most out of the ability that he’s been blessed with,” he told the Sunday Footy Show.
“You look at the coaches’ votes, you’ve got Lachie Neale on top. Would he do it? Would he go to Bali and be drinking now? No, he wouldn’t.
“(Andrew) Brayshaw second, (Patrick) Cripps third, (Christian) Petracca fourth, Clayton Oliver fifth, Touk Miller sixth … none of these guys would even think about it.
“Whether it’s right or wrong (to be allowed to go to Bali), we can argue that, but in terms of why he is what he is and where he’s still at in his career, not being a top five in a best and fairest, it’s because of decisions like that.”