Luke Ball’s AFL season-ending knee injury has not stopped Collingwood re-signing the courageous midfielder for the next two years.
Ball and fellow Magpies premiership players Steele Sidebottom and Jarryd Blair have all been locked in until the end of 2014, the club announced on Wednesday night.
Ball, 28, who played 142 games with St Kilda before joining Collingwood at the end of 2009, has played 51 matches with the Magpies, placing in the top five in their best and fairest count in each of his two completed seasons.
Sidebottom, 21, who has played 72 matches, has become an important cog in the Collingwood midfield and has hit a rich vein of form in recent weeks, topping 30 disposals in four of his past five games.
Small forward Blair, 22, has played 46 of a possible 48 senior games since being elevated from the rookie list to make his AFL debut in the Magpies’ 2010 premiership year.