Newly inducted AFL Hall of Famer Jonathan Brown has revealed there were several reasons why he turned down Collingwood's mega offer in 2008.
Following the star forward's sensational 2007 campaign, the Magpies put forward a multimillion-dollar deal for him to return to Victoria and join the black and white.
The three-time premiership star revealed that his love for the club, his wife Kylie and former coach Leigh Matthews all played a part in his decision to remain in Queensland.
โThey went close,โ he told The Herald Sun.
โI can't put a finger on why (I stayed), there were a number of reasons but I guess at the end of the day the reasons just werenโt compelling enough to tip me over the line.
โI had that real genuine affection for the club, I was captain at the time and was just about to marry my wife Kylie and sheโs a Queenslander.
โNo doubt you look back and go, โGee, I would have loved to have played in more success, more finalsโ, which Collingwood went on to do that ... but I think ultimately to be able to look back and be very proud to have played 15 years at the one club.
โI think when Leigh (Matthews) used to say it to us that his proudest achievement as a player was to play his career at the one club, you think he's saying that because heโs just trying to get us to stay.
โBut I get it now, you look back on those words and I can certainly relate to them.โ
Brown retired in 2014 after 256 games and 594 goals with the club, where he won three premierships, a Coleman Medal, three best and fairests and two All-Australian selections.
