Five players central to the future of the Collingwood Football Club have signed new contracts.

In a great boost for the club, Dane Swan, Nathan Brown, Ben Reid, Heritier O’Brien and Tyson Goldsack have all committed themselves to the Magpies.

Swan’s deal sees his current contract terms extended by one year to the end of 2010, while Brown and O’Brien have committed until the end of 2011 with three-year deals and Reid and Goldsack will be Magpies until at least the end of 2010 via two-year deals.

Collingwood’s chief of football Geoff Walsh is delighted to have secured the signatures of the five players. 

“It’s great to have those five boys re-commit to the club, and for us to make a commitment to them, because they’re all players of considerable talent and promise,” Walsh told collingwoodfc.com.au.

“All are at the beginning of their careers, bar Dane, who has made some great inroads in the last two or three years in particular, to become one of our premier midfielders.”

Brown, Reid and Goldsack are all products of the 2006 draft, while O’Brien is a success story of the rookie list system, having been elevated to the senior list at the end of 2006 after honing his craft for two years. 

“Nathan, Ben and Tyson have all, at different times, made a mark in senior footy in their first 18 months, so that augers well for us as a club, as we know we’ve got some young talent at our disposal.

“Harry’s probably 12-18 months ahead of those three boys, in terms of making a spot in the seniors his own.

“It does give us some confidence that we’ve got some good young players underpinning our future.”

Click on the links below for player profiles:
Nathan Brown
Tyson Goldsack
Heritier O’Brien
Ben Reid
Dane Swan