Collingwood have signed prodigal recruit Dayne Beams to a fresh four-year deal, contracting him until the end of the 2022 season.
Beams, who turns 29 in February, has agreed to a deal that will see him paid considerably less than he had been in Brisbane, but with the trade-off a longer term.
Beams signed a six-year deal with the Lions that was heavily front-loaded, with the contract dipping significantly in 2019 and 2020. He was due close to $500,000 for each of those two years, having had the Lions' share, so to speak, in the first four seasons when he was among the highest-paid players in the competition.
Collingwood's tight salary cap has meant that the Magpies needed to stretch out the payments to Beams over a longer period than a player of his age would normally receive.
Back in black and white: Dayne Beams.Credit:Sebastian Costanzo
That Collingwood managed to accommodate Beams and still retain out-of-contract players Darcy Moore and Tom Langdon, along with Jamie Elliott, was a turn of events that seemed improbable during the season.
The long-term deal to Beams means the Magpies have the majority of their key players contracted for at least the next two years, with Jordan De Goey, like Moore, having signed a two-year extension.
During an eventful post-season, the Pies also re-contracted veterans such as defenders Lynden Dunn and Tyson Goldsack and tagger Levi Greenwood for 2019 only, while Travis Varcoe was able to exercise a trigger that gave him another season, too.
The Magpies achieved their objectives of acquiring Beams – who had told the Lions at the club best and fairest that he intended to stay – while drafting highly rated academy recruit Isaac Quaynor and father-son Will Kelly in the national draft.
Collingwood matched bids for Quaynor and Kelly from Greater Western Sydney and Adelaide respectively. Under the matching system, which clubs largely think generous to clubs with academy players or father-son recruits, Collingwood also avoided a points deficit that would impact on their draft position in 2019, although they had already sacrificed their 2019 first-round pick for Beams.
Beams returns to a team that, ironically, was greatly strengthened by his trade to Brisbane, which enabled the Magpies to pick up De Goey (pick 5, 2014), Jack Crisp (from Brisbane) and Greenwood (pick 25, trade to North Melbourne).
While Brisbane was incensed that Beams wanted out and held out for the best possible deal, the Lions were ultimately comfortable trading him back to his old club, given the mixed messages he had given the club this year.
One time Lion: Dayne Beams.Credit:AAP
Beams, who won best and fairests at both clubs, was the instigator of his return to Collingwood, where he has a close friendship with Steele Sidebottom and strong relationships with other former premiership teammates.
He had a meeting with coach Nathan Buckley this year that dealt with any lingering issues between the pair in the wake of Beams' departure four years ago.
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