Dawes stays loyal to Magpies
Collingwood power forward Chris Dawes has resisted offers from rival clubs, and will re-sign with the Magpies
COLLINGWOOD forward Chris Dawes will remain a Magpie after agreeing to terms with the club on a contract extension.
The 23-year-old will put pen to paper this week after reaching a deal with the club he has played 48 games for since his 2008 debut.
Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh told Trade Week Radio on Tuesday morning Dawes was poised to confirm his immediate future as a Magpie despite newspaper reports suggesting the Magpies fielded interest from other clubs regarding his services on the first day of the trade period.
Last month, Dawes said he wanted to remain at Collingwood and was prepared to take a pay cut to stay with his premiership teammates.
Dawes was drafted by Collingwood with selection No.28 overall in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft, and had a breakout season in 2010.
This year, he struggled after breaking a knuckle in round 15 that forced him to miss seven games.
Walsh said Dawes had committed to the club and an official announcement would be revealed shortly.
"We've agreed. I don't know who's writing in the paper that we've not agreed but Chris and his management are signing the deal this week and it's been agreed for a week," Walsh said.
"It's just some minor little details that had to be worked out in relation to yesterday's announcement with the CBA. That's done now and we'll lodge the details in a timely fashion."
Walsh said he was surprised by comments from Andrew Krakouer's manager Peter Jess that the small forward was worth a $500,000 annual salary.
"Andrew's contracted til 2012 so that was fairly bemusing. It is the silly season, trade week, at the end of the season people jump out of trees to get involved and that's what's happened," he said.
The Magpies are unlikely to play any further part in trade week after negotiating a deal to bring Marty Clarke back to the club on Monday.
"Our primary objective is to keep our list together and that’s what we are working to do," Walsh said.
"So I think that will mean that we’re not going to be major players in trade week at all."
No trades are official until paperwork has been accepted by the AFL and formally recognised after 2pm on Monday, October 17.?
Follow our complete coverage of the 2011 AFL exchange period from October 10-17. Join the AFL trade conversation on Twitter: use #tradeweek in your tweets