Gamble on de Goey may pay off for Pies

COLLINGWOOD’S “Hail Mary” decision to send Jordan de Goey to Germany has turned into a stunning success that could see him make a shock grand final return.

De Goey returned from treatment overseas last Sunday and immediately set about peeling off a series of impressive training performances.

He conducted sprints and parts of Collingwood’s training session on Thursday, churning out a 7-8km training session with no pain or soreness in his hamstring.

It seems if Collingwood beat GWS tomorrow, he would test his injured hamstring at 90 per cent intensity in a Sunday session that could hit 10-11km.

He injured his hamstring in the opening minute of the qualifying final.

It would set the scene for a difficult decision for Collingwood’s medical staff given they would weigh his brilliance with how early he broke down in the qualifying final.

He was still able to play for more than a quarter after that injury tackling Tom Atkins to the ground but didn’t feel he could stretch out.

Coach Nathan Buckley said on Thursday after he took part in much of that training session the club hoped his hamstring injury was not as bad as initially believed.

“He is moving well so whether that’s the work he has done over in Germany I dare say it would be but also it might indicate the injury potentially wasn’t as we may have thought.

“He did run around for 40 minutes after feeling it in the qualifying final so we are not getting carried away with what we have seen.

“After today he will watch and observe our game and we will watch and make a decision on what he does after that.”

De Goey has told friends he will be fit to play as long as he doesn’t suffer another setback, having initially had a six-week break leading into the qualifying final contest.

That hamstring issue was close to his tendon, with the Pies able to exercise caution because they had already locked in a finals spot.