Nathan Buckley might want to keep his sandwich press warm.
Having played his part in tempting ruckman Brodie Grundy to re-sign through a couple of ham and cheese toasties just before Christmas, Buckley can now start thinking about offers just as enticing to fellow uncontracted stars like Jordan De Goey and Darcy Moore.
Grundy became the first of Collingwood's quartet of high-profile out-of-contract players to re-sign on Friday, with the two-time All Australian committing to a lucrative seven-year deal with the club.
But a number of other key figures within the Collingwood playing group – De Goey, Moore and captain Scott Pendlebury – remain without new deals beyond 2020.
Read: Grundy re-signs for seven
Grundy, a South Australian native, admitted on Friday that he did feel the lure of returning home when his contract at Collingwood originally expired at the end of the upcoming season.
However, he stressed he had no formal talks with either Adelaide or Port Adelaide about that possibility.
Instead, the two-time club best and fairest winner said he was completely satisfied with his decision to ultimately commit his future with the Magpies the end of the 2027 campaign.
“Throughout the year I did take my time to explore the possibilities of what that (going home) would look like,” Grundy said.
"But at the end of the day, it always came back to staying at the club.
"Internally, the conversation was always rolling and at the end of last year it all sort of crystalised.
"I'm really proud. It's overwhelming, but largely it's just a really proud moment for myself and obviously for my family as well."
Given the series of contract discussions that are currently ongoing at Collingwood, with Pendlebury, De Goey and Moore also due for new deals, the length of Grundy's extension had been a significantly talking point before the star ruckman re-signed.
In the 25-year-old's view, the security given to him via a seven-year contract was crucial in his decision to ultimately remain with the club.
"It was pretty important from my perspective," Grundy said.
"As a player, you want to have that long-term security. But in terms of also fitting in with the list strategy that [Collingwood list manager] Ned Guy is working so hard to try and tick off on … we had to try and come to an agreement and both parties were happy."
Buckley's ham and cheese toasties were also a significant factor in the mutually beneficial agreement between the two parties.
"I called him up and said, 'what's up, what are you doing?'" Grundy joked about their meeting last month.
"I asked if I could come around for a chat and he made me a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches and we went out the back and ate the sandwiches. Then I said I was staying and he said, 'that's great'.
"It was a really good chat and he's a great mentor. He's one of the big reasons why I've stayed on."
Buckley later added to the toastie-related banter on Twitter.
I poured my heart into those tuna, cheese, tomato and avocado on sour dough toasties (w herbed salt and cracked pepper) Took me an hour to prepare. Only to be reduced to “ham and cheese” 😐Reassessing the relationship right now @brodiegrundy
— Nathan Buckley (@ncb_cfc) January 17, 2020
