Veteran Melbourne forward Brody Mihocek has revealed he felt "insulted" by Collingwood's low-ball offer to retain him at the end of last season, prompting his move to the Demons during the off-season.
Opening up for the first time about the reason behind his departure, the 2023 Magpies premiership player said he endured "sleepless" nights during a rocky final few months at his former club.
Mihocek kicked 267 goals in 159 games for Collingwood and had no intention of leaving the club that gave him a chance at age 24 in 2018, after he missed six drafts as a youngster. However, he was forced to reconsider his future when the Magpies' offer was modest and Melbourne came knocking.
"I knew I had to talk contracts, even though it's the hardest thing to do while you're still playing," Mihocek told former teammate Tom Mitchell on Ball Magnets. "The first initial contract I got from the Pies wasn't great. I knew the first contract is just a starter, a little talking point. It happens to everyone. It just hits you. You want a good offer to start so you don't have to go through the process, and then once it hits, it's insulting."
Mihocek kicked 36 goals from 22 games last season and remained a key contributor to the Pies' forward line, but he admitted the ongoing contract negotiations were a significant distraction.
"I knew I didn't need much, but to have that in the back of your mind and still play, you get your sleepless nights, and then everything last year just sort of all came together and it was really hard to stay focused and get through the season," Mihocek added. "I'm surprised I actually did get through it; I look back on it now, some days I wasn't happy going into the club. And then you didn't get feedback that you needed sometimes, and then it got towards the end and we were trying to go for another flag, we were still the best team, you're trying to play your part in that, and then it got towards the end and it's like, 'Well, I might have to leave here.' It started to get a bit serious."
Melbourne then entered the picture, expressing a need for experience in their younger forward line. "I had to make a decision; it still wasn't made right up until trade period. I didn't have a decision," Mihocek said.
Mihocek signed a two-year deal with Melbourne as a free agent after Collingwood failed to come to the party with a more reasonable offer. The decision clearly caught the playing group off guard, as vice-captain Brayden Maynard's reaction earlier this year indicated. "We obviously got rid of a five-time leading goalkicker in 'Checkers'," Maynard told the Herald Sun. "No one wanted him gone, I don't know what happened there, but anyway. Then Coxy (Mason Cox) went to Fremantle and we had to figure out a way to score and we do have boys down there that can score. I do miss him a lot, I had a really good relationship with 'Checkers', a real unique one. I love him very much, so did everyone. But that is football, that is the industry we live in and he is doing really well at Melbourne and it's good to see."
Mihocek said it was refreshing to arrive at a club where he felt wanted. "I felt a bit that they (Collingwood) didn't want me or need me and then obviously you go into a club that wants you there and it feels good," he said. "At the end of the day it was a hard decision, but something I needed for my football I think. I had Will (Hoskin-Elliot) leaving, a few other young boys that I got along with really well that were going off as well, and the club was changing in my eyes and I needed to get out of there and start fresh."
