Jordan De Goey put a turbulent summer behind him to help Collingwood start her new era under Craig McRae in a positive way with a 17-point victory over St Kilda in the AFL opening round.
Goey, who was arrested in New York for a nightclub incident in the off-season, received muffled cheers from the stands when he arrived at the ball on Friday night.
But the explosive star made his football talk, 27 throws and five saves as well as two important goals in the second half, three in total.
It was a decisive contribution to the Magpies ’15 .12 (102) to 12.13 (85) victory over Docklands in McRae’s first game in charge.
Collingwood took a 35-point lead in the third quarter as mature age debutant Jack Hayes helped inspire a St Kilda fightback.
The Saints hit the front early in the final inning as Jade Gresham marked his return from a lengthy injury lay-off with a goal behind a pack.
But the Magpies stabilized and took a breather as De Goey scored a brilliant pass from brilliant defender Darcy Moore and kicked off his second big midfield through the final quarter.
Father-son draft pick Nick Daicos showed off his dubious talent and fellow Collingwood new son Patrick Lipinski also appeared, while Jeremy Howe was back to repelling his high-flying best in defense in a series of opposition attacks.
Daicos, who is number 35 from his famous father Peter, started badly as his turnover gave Mason Wood the opening goal, but quickly dropped to 27 points in a promising debut.
With his new glasses, Mason Cox had no disposal in the first term and was grooming the ribs in the second after an off-the-ball bump from Dougal Howard.
It was a plague contest where a heavy wood bump left Taylor Adams groggy and several melees erupted throughout the match.
Former SANFL star Hayes has scored three goals and taken four contested marks for St Kilda on his debut.
Tim Membrey also scored three goals for the Saints, with captain Jack Steele (28 throws) and Brad Crouch (27) in midfield.
Gresham, 24, finished with two goals in his first game since the third round last year.
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