AFL star Jordan De Goey is in mourning following the death of his beloved grandmother Elisabeth, who lost her battle with cancer this week. The Collingwood premiership player took to Instagram after the news emerged, declaring ‘I’ll cherish this moment forever’ and ‘RIP Oma’.
‘Unfortunately, she has terminal cancer, so this will be the last game for her,’ he said at the time. ‘It means the world to me to have her here.’ The midfielder kicked two goals as the Magpies snared a record-equalling 16th premiership and was caught up in emotional scenes in the dressing rooms afterwards.
It was accompanied by an image of the pair taken at the MCG soon after the Magpies beat the Brisbane Lions in this year’s AFL grand final. De Goey, 27, dedicated his premiership medal to Elisabeth and said celebrating with his family parents Roger and Lee were also in the sheds with him was the highlight of his life.
De Goey was captured on video placing his premiership medal around his grandmother’s neck after asking her, ‘Do you want it?’, then calling for someone to take a photo as a beaming Elisabeth bit into the metal like she was testing whether it was genuine.
‘Obviously it’s a bit of a stressful period of time but, at the bottom of my heart, I always wanted to stay at the Pies,’ he said at the time. ‘They have just created this family culture and I’m really thriving in that, as a lot of the other boys are, too.’
The victory was especially sweet for De Goey after the way he turned his career around after running into trouble off the field over the past two years. He overcame those dramas to sign a five-year extension with Collingwood last September after knocking back a big offer from St Kilda.
